[The archived video is at the bottom of this post. Happy viewing!]
Plan Ceibal was created in 2007 as a plan for inclusion and equal opportunities with the aim of supporting Uruguayan educational policies with technology. Since its implementation, every child who enters the public education system in any part of the country is given a computer for personal use with free Internet connection at school. In addition, Plan Ceibal provides programs, educational resources and teacher training courses that transform the ways of teaching and learning.
Uruguay is the only country where every public school student, nationwide, is given ownership of a computer, with free Internet access. Uruguay also owns a high-quality videoconference network, which is unique in the world, and connects more than 1,500 schools across the country. Each student receives a device in 1st grade .That device is changed in 4th Grade of Primary School and in the 1st year of Middle School.
In 13 years, Plan Ceibal went through three stages:
Since 2007. Accessibility. Hand-over of devices to students and teachers, and Internet connection at schools. Installation of high-quality videoconference equipment.
Since 2010. Training. Teacher’s professional development and incorporation of technological and educational programs. Training and motivation to choose when and how to use technology.
Since 2013. Deep learning. Development of the approach of the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning through methods focused on the student: expansion of the teaching beyond the classroom; and use of the technology in the service of concrete and specific ends.
https://www.ceibal.edu.uy/en/institucional
Our guests are:
Leading the edtech national strategy during COVID-19 crisis, Leandro Folgar is the president of Plan Ceibal. He has a degree in Education (Catholic University of Uruguay, UCU) and a masters degree in Technology, Innovation and Education from Harvard University. He is a Fulbright alumnus, entrepreneur, and consultant for the corporate sector. He worked as a researcher and teacher at the Human Sciences and Business Sciences departments of UCU. Learning environments of the 21st century is his line of research. He also specializes in Active Teaching Methods and Adult Development. He is also a professor at UCU Business School and UCU Education Department.
Mariana Montaldo has a degree in Education (Uruguay), and a Masters Degree in Bilingual and Multicultural Education ( UMASS, Amherst). She is a Fulbright alumni and she is currently the Institutional Liaison at Plan Ceibal. Her focus is on strategic alliances and international collaboration. Her areas of interest are critical literacy in digital media, education video games, Competences for Deep Learning and New Pedagogies. She has led projects at national level such as Biblioteca Pais, a digital library with over 4500 contents for all citizens of Uruguay, and the creation of over 30 education apps for kinder and elementary school kids. She collaborated in Ceibal en Inglés, a national level initiative to teach English through video conferences to Elementary School kids. She has also collaborated with other international experts in many articles related to Education and Technology focused on the necessary dialogues among pedagogy and technology to foster Learning.
Eileen McGivney is a PhD student in human development at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on sociocultural factors in learning with technology, including how learners from varying contexts and identities experience digital educational opportunities, from virtual reality to MOOCs. Recently she has conducted research on young people’s science identity development in EcoXPT, an immersive ecosystem science curriculum, and on the experiences of women and learners in Latin America in online courses. Prior to her studies at Harvard, she worked as a research associate at the Brookings Institution, studying innovation and scaling in education systems in the global south, and as a research assistant at the Education Reform Initiative in Istanbul, Turkey.