International publications on blended learning report Plan Ceibal experience

The international publications on blended learning “Connecting Learning Spaces: Possibilities for Hybrid Learning” and “State of Broadband Report 2021“, by the Broadband Commission, reflect on Plan Ceibal and the Ceibal en Casa programme. They focus particularly on the adopted teacher training proposal and the available educational resources.

The Broadband Commission – made up of UNICEF, UNESCO and the International Telecommunication Union – is one of the most influential organizations promoting internet access.

During 2021 it produced the report “Connecting Learning Spaces: Possibilities for Hybrid Learning”, which is the result of the hard work, research and discussions of the Sustainable Development working group on Digital Learning, which Ceibal Foundation is a part of through its director, María Florencia Ripani, in her capacity as an international expert.

This publication, which introduces factors to make blended learning a viable option for students, requiring: I) Deliberate planning II) Informed decision-making III) Substantial investment, makes reference to the Ceibal en Casa programme, implemented in 2020 by Plan Ceibal and ANEP (Uruguay’s National Administration of Public Education), which, among other initiatives, proposed a training experience for teachers using the same narrative techniques and resources intended for adoption in their lesson plans.

It points out that the COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary to develop innovative proposals to provide teachers and pedagogical leaders in the country with tools and strategies to adapt distance and blended learning. In this context, it is mentioned that teachers accessed training materials and content through television, digital channels, podcasts on Spotify, the Plan Ceibal platform and social networks. Students were encouraged to use the more than 1,500 open educational resources (OER) and their usual tools, such as instant messaging and social networks. It also notes that a national survey carried out by Plan Ceibal during 2020 among a representative sample of primary and secondary school teachers found that Ceibal’s educational resources were the most used by teachers in Uruguay and, according to the Alexa rankings, the CREA platform was the fifth most visited website in the country by mid-2020.

The publication also refers to the significance of Plan Ceibal’s strategic partnerships between the public and private sectors, mentioning the project in collaboration with the British Council of the United Kingdom, “Ceibal en Inglés” (Ceibal in English), which uses hybrid learning models to solve the problem of lack of English teacher specialization in Uruguayan primary schools.

Regarding the role of Ceibal Foundation, the publication highlights its active work disseminating Plan Ceibal’s experience within the regional network of public policymakers that it coordinates: the Alliance for the Digitization of Education in Latin America (ADELA), a project funded by IDRC Canada.

In addition to the aforementioned publication, the BroadBand Commission released the State of Broadband Report 2021, where it refers to the current situation of digital learning, lessons learnt from the pandemic, advances and policy recommendations. Among the main lessons learnt, it highlights Plan Ceibal, pointing out that Uruguay was already working on a digital plan before the COVID-19 pandemic. The report mentions that in addition to providing one laptop per schoolchild, the scheme also develops skills and applications that effectively leverage the hardware infrastructure, and makes platforms, content and schoolbooks available, which has contributed to rapid adaptation during the health crisis.

Publication Connecting Learning Spaces: Possibilities for Hybrid Learning
Publication State of Broadband Report 2021