We can no longer conceive of 21st century teaching without the educational possibilities offered by new technologies. However, in many schools in different parts of the world, marked by economic and social difficulties or by geographical barriers, having an effective Internet connection in the classroom can still be a pipe dream.
Fortunately, for a few months, students like Carlos Torres, an 11-year-old boy who studies at the Los Héroes de Yungay school, in the La Granja neighborhood, one of the most depressed in Santiago de Chile, are already becoming familiar with the advantages offered by handling an electronic tablet.
This is also the case of the almost 350 boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 who study at the small Liceo Hernán de Magallanes de Porvenir, a community located in the heart of Tierra del Fuego, in a remote place with rather hostile, which has now opened a window to the world, applying a holistic methodology that incorporates the possibilities offered by tablets and fiber optics.
All this has been possible thanks to ProFuturo, a digital education program promoted by Fundación Telefónica and Fundación "la Caixa", which aims to reduce the educational gap worldwide, providing quality digital education to children living in vulnerable environments so that they can develop the essential skills for our time.
Since its inception in July 2016, the program has already been implemented in 40 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia, benefiting some 23.4 million boys and girls and more than 1.1 million teachers. As Magdalena Brier, general director of ProFuturo, explains, the results “of this hybrid method, which mixes technology and traditional face-to-face teaching, are evident and almost immediate. It is surprising to see how the boys leave after a ProFuturo class commenting on what they have studied, as we saw in a Lebanese refugee camp”.
In addition to creating a comprehensive digital education model, the program develops actions adapted to specific humanitarian contexts, such as those of refugees. And it also proposes an open digital education model that offers open content, accessible online, and virtual or face-to-face teacher training courses.
It is about the children of a school located in a remote place like Porvenir having the opportunity to have "a training itinerary in neuroscience, educational and technological innovation, the same as any child in the United States or Europe, with the same type of training and access to materials,” says Brier.
The best confirmation of the success of the initiative is the positive reaction it has aroused among students and teachers. Elizabet Olivares, a teacher at Los Héroes de Yungay, explains that "being a public school, we don't have resources that come easily, so this contribution from ProFuturo has been wonderful."
Agustín Caro, a 15-year-old student at the Liceo Hernán de Magallanes, for his part, is happy that now "with fiber, one flies" and explains that studying through digital media is not only more entertaining, but also offers many more possibilities.
Certainly, the incorporation of these new methodologies has led to a revival of interest among students. As Boris Sambuesa, Mathematics teacher at Hernán de Magallanes, explains, the change is perceived “in the enthusiasm of the boys, in the way they face the subject”.
Undoubtedly, the students appreciate the possibility of being able to participate in activities "that are not seen every day" and that help to "interact, work more in groups and socialize better", as Javiera Recabal, a 15-year-old student belonging to the same institution.
ProFuturo places teachers at the center of its proposal, considering them as fundamental activating figures to stimulate learning and achieve a significant change in the quality of education. For this reason, the program focuses a large part of its efforts on their training, accompaniment and continuous support.
Technologies allow teachers to have more reliable information on the progress of their students. As Sambuesa explains, now "I can review the progress instantly, see how many kids have connected to the platform and have much more effective control of the course." Something similar is the opinion of Olivares, who appreciates having a “friendlier” method of learning: “Children, in general, tell me that it is like playing and learning at the same time. They are much more submerged and that makes my job much easier.”
At the same time, teachers are clear that technology should not distract from the main task, but should support teaching. For this reason, they guide students so that they understand that this resource allows them to “learn, with their own initiative, investigating topics. We teach them to use technology responsibly”, stresses the teacher.
In addition to promoting teacher professional development, ProFuturo's comprehensive model offers pedagogical accompaniment and technical support in the schools themselves, through a network of coaches.
The digital solution is made up of technological equipment and a learning platform, adaptable to different environments, which allows class management and has a monitoring and evaluation system, as well as innovative educational resources to promote literacy, work on universal concepts (especially important in the early stages of primary education) and concrete competences in language, science or technology, as well as in values and life skills.
In addition, ProFuturo is developing a community for the exchange of knowledge and good practices among teachers from all over the world, both virtually and in face-to-face meetings, to continue advancing the educational quality of this program through the experiences of all the participants.
Technology thus becomes an essential ally to promote the inclusion and development of the new generations, regardless of their place of origin or residence and their socioeconomic status. As Brier states, “it is impressive to see how digital education greatly favors equal opportunities in the most remote places on the planet”.
