Complement for reverse class: Return on experience with Audencia Masters 2

On May 15th, Master 2 students in the SciencesCom program at Audencia tested a novel flipped classroom format, facilitated by a conversational AI avatar. Designed with their instructor as part of the "Responsible Information" course, this experiment aimed to evaluate the pedagogical impact of interactive, oral, and individualized learning within the flipped classroom model. Here's a look back at this innovative experience, conducted with Complement.

An AI to talk about disinformation

It was at Audencia, a business school in Nantes, that one of the first large-scale experiments of the Complement . The module focused on disinformation and was co-developed with Estelle Prusker-Deneuville , a teacher in the SciencesCom program, as part of her course “Responsible Information”.

The goal: to entrust an AI avatar with an introductory part of the course normally taught in person. Students discovered key figures, graphs, and issues related to trust in the media, with thought-provoking questions: Which media outlets do the French follow? How can information be verified? How can disinformation be combated?

Everything was done remotely, via a simple browser. No software to install, no static video: the AI ​​tutor conversed orally, analyzed the answers and adapted their pace to each student.

A creation in less than a day

The 40-slide module was designed in just a few hours using Estelle's course materials. “In a 1.5-hour workshop, we had finished some of the slide scripts and interactions, and we had completed half of the quiz,” explains Gabriel du Chalard, co-founder of Complement. Estelle then finished creating the module on her own, which was subsequently tested by the Complement team. Gabriel adds, “The idea is to empower teachers to create their own learning materials independently.”

Colline Thérial, co-founder and CTO, adds: “When Estelle saw that she could control everything herself – information provided, pace, questions and exercises – she became the conductor of her own course. That's exactly what we want to enable with Complement.”

A well-received hybrid experience

On May 15th, the students (in a work-study program, Master 2 level) received a brief briefing in class, then completed the module independently at home, at their own pace. The following day, they returned to a face-to-face meeting with their instructor to discuss the experience, with Coline joining via video conference.

Their feedback was very positive:

• “It’s simple, fluid, very intuitive.”
• “I enjoyed the oral interaction; it’s new and more engaging.”
• “I retained more information thanks to the oral presentation and the questions asked.”
• “Being able to customize the virtual teacher’s voice and style is great.”
• “It’s fun, but it won’t replace teachers. I think it’s a tool that should be used in conjunction with them.”

The key takeaway:

• 70% of students report that the platform has improved their understanding of the subject
• The majority found the module “fun” and “engaging”
• Oral interaction and personalization are perceived as factors in concentration
• Ease of use: average rating of 4.35/5

The experiment also allowed us to collect other data related to the course, notably that nearly half of the students in the experiment get their news from “youth” media or media with an accessible tone (Brut, HugoDécrypte, Konbini), with traditional media being cited much less, except for a few exceptions like Le Monde.

Next step: review with the school

A debriefing meeting is planned with the Audencia teams to share the detailed results. For Complement, this experiment marks a key milestone: demonstrating that AI can enrich the learning experience and enable flipped classrooms, without ever replacing human interaction.

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