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Fundación Ceibal participated in an international publication highlighting Plan Ceibal experience
The international publication on connectivity at school, “The Digital Transformation of Education: Connecting Schools, Empowering Learners” includes the Plan Ceibal experience as a successful case of a connectivity programme generating inclusion and empowerment in children, young people and the community, while incorporating principles of domestic sustainability and appropriation.
Leandro Folgar, president of Plan Ceibal and Fundación Ceibal, said that this report is of great importance in giving visibility to the enormous joint efforts made by teachers, students and families and Plan Ceibal’s work with the ANEP to overcome an unprecedented education crisis.
Written by the Broadband Commission—one of the most influential organizations in promoting internet access, made up of UNICEF, UNESCO and the International Telecommunications Union—the report is one of the most important on digital education published in 2020 and the result of work and research during 2019 and part of this year in the working group on connectivity in schools. The group was formed to offer advice on challenges and opportunities regarding connectivity in schools all over the world and the digitalization of education: technology, business model, funding mechanisms and a connection of quality with inclusive education.
Fundación Ceibal was invited to participate and was represented by its director, María Florencia Ripani, in her capacity as an international expert. Ripani presented the specific case of Uruguay so that it could be included as a model to keep in mind among the accounts included in the publication.
The report highlights the creation of Plan Ceibal in 2007, the distribution of laptops and training of 28,000 teachers and the enormous availability of resources that the Plan introduces through the CREA learning platform. The report mentions that 70 percent of children at urban primary schools have access to English classes through the Ceibal en inglés (Ceibal in English) programme, using videoconferences and other online learning systems. The report also covers the mathematics learning platforms, with exercises and ideas for play-based learning.
Part of the Plan Ceibal’s success can be attributed to the continuous monitoring of the use of its resources and permanent updating of content and improvements in the Plan. As examples, the report highlights the education contingency plan implemented during school closures for COVID-19, in which “Ceibal en casa” (Ceibal at home) included specific support for teachers, students and families, and the integration of videoconferences into the CREA platform. The report also mentions the contribution to fundamental aspects for an appropriate use of technology, covering questions of safety and privacy. Connectivity in schools is coordinated with quality, inclusive teaching and learning.
“The Digital Transformation of Education: Connecting Schools, Empowering Learners” identifies a set of basic principles, the goal of which is to contribute with governments and other stakeholders in developing integral school connectivity plans. It introduces a methodology and a framework to connect primary and secondary school to the internet on the basis of four pillars (mapping, connecting, funding, and empowering) and includes accounts of four experiences from different countries that illustrate examples of connectivity programmes that have been successfully implemented.
