One netbook per child in Argentina

Programa Conectar Igualdad (Connect Equality Programme) is a key initiative of Argentina President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner launched in April 2010 (see: Act Nº 459/10 ). It will seek to distribute 3 million netbooks by the end of 2013. To date 2.5 million have already been delivered. This project is specifically designed to improve educational equality and reduce Argentina’s digital literacy gap. 

I’d like now to share with you a very interesting Case Study Report carried out by Intel Education Transformation research, which makes a thoroughly description of this pioneering 1:1 technology integration program called Conectar Igualdad. 

As a future English Teacher, I consider this project of great importance since not all Argentinian students have access to this fascinating world of technologies and internet. This project seeks not only for a better public education, but also for equality and integration. In order to be a fully functional citizen in our 21st Century world, students need opportunities to develop their digital skills. What’s more, accessibility to new digital tools directly influences humans understanding of how our world functions. The concept of power is of absolute importance when talking about literacy skills and now digital skills, too. As Ignacio Ramonet explains in his article “El mundo en 2030” published in Le Monde Diplomatique magazine (May, 2013)  “(…) la generalización del acceso de la Red y la universalización del uso de las nuevas tecnologías permitirán a la ciudadanía alcanzar altas cuotas de libertad y desafiar a sus representantes políticos (…)”. To sum up, giving one netbook per child not only shrinks global distances, but also provides disadvantaged Argentinian kids and adolescents with something that should be equal for everybody, Rights.

If you would like to read Ignacio Ramonet's article "El mundo en 2030", click here

Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants

 According to Marc Prensky in “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” (2001) a completely new generation has born, whose members clearly differentiate from older generations not only in slang and cloth, but also in the way  these persons think and process information. “A really big discontinuity has taken place”, affirms the author. The main reason for this radical change lies in the kind of experiences these so called “Digital Natives” go through. They represent the first generations to grow up surrounded by and using technology.  And as Prensky (2001) says: “they are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet”.  “Digital Immigrants”, on the other hand, are those who weren’t born in the digital world, but have learnt how to adapt to this changeable technological environment. An important distinction between “Digital Natives” and “Digital Immigrants” is that the latter one “always retain, to some degree, their "accent," that is, their foot in the past”, Marc Prensky (2001).

An important issue to highlight is how this generational gap is perceived inside today’s schools. The majority of “Digital Immigrants” educators tend to “teach – slowly, step-by-step, one thing at a time, individually, and above all, seriously”, Prensky (2001). The way these people deals with information is completely different from how the students of the digital era do. “Digital Natives are used to receiving information really fast. They like to parallel process and multi-task. They prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite. They prefer random access (like hypertext). They function best when networked. They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards. They prefer games to “serious” work”, Prensky (2001).

This point calls my attention the most as it suggests that teachers of the “old country” methodologies and contents should be reconsidered. An excellent way to shrink distances is by adapting materials to the language of Digital Natives. Making the learning into a video game, for example, will be not only more appealing and interesting, but it will also make the learning more enjoyable and pleasurable. 

If you would like to read the entire Marc Prensky's article, you can click here  

Net generation at work

Digital Natives' interaction

Guidelines for designing effective ELT materials

These mind maps give us a short summary of J. Howard and J. Major's article: "Guidelines for Designing Effective Language Teaching Materials". You can read the article here

Each mind map has been arranged according to four main themes:

1. Advantages of teacher-produced materials
2. Disadvantages of teacher-produced materials
3. Factors to consider when designing materials
4. Guidelines for designing materials

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   I've made these mind maps using a software called Cmap Tools, which is not only free to download, but it is also ver easy to use. Click here to download it.