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The construction of an analytical system for the national case

A Conceptual Framework for the Analysis and Visualization of Uruguayan Internet for Education

Cristóbal Cobo (Fundación Ceibal); Matías Mateu (Plan Ceibal)

In this article, the authors make an analysis on the needs and potentialities associated with the consolidation of an analytical system for the experience of online technologies platforms at the service of education in Uruguay. The construction of analytics will enable the different educational actors to have an information system that contributes to improve the learning processes-teaching students and teachers, as well as the digital practices of those who make use of digital resources. For this purpose, the authors analyze, based on characteristics about the access and use of the Internet for the period 2011-2015, the main trends in the demand and supply of internet for users of this national policy of educational technology (Plan Ceibal) and project these results for the future. Their conclusions constitute a relevant conceptual contribution for the design of an integrated system of analytics that allows to better know the uses, interests and needs of the users of the different digital devices that are part of the national educational system.

As Cobo and Mateu put it, Uruguay is a paradigmatic case in the region in terms of social inclusion, a context that contributes to the development of this type of initiatives. With the implementation of Plan Ceibal since 2007, the levels of Internet access have been increasing, being now among the top places in the region according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The authors, based on Mateu’s (2016) study, analyzed the universe of schools and high schools in urban areas throughout the country (1,535 facilities with internet connection). The data come from the monitoring system of Plan Ceibal, and refer to the daily use per hour. The considered variables comprised: download internet traffic, upload internet traffic, and simultaneous connections. For the analysis of the results Cobo and Mateu performed two types of diagnoses, one focusing on the patterns or trends for the period considered (2011-2015) (figure 1), which shows in the first graph a sustained increase for the period according to quartiles, While in the second graph the increase for the period according to months highlighting the strong fall during the summer period (December to February). Figure 2 identifies the increasing demand in the use, (Internet downloads have increased 13 times for the period), which implies challenges in improving infrastructure conditions for the coming years. For this, they leave open different questions that reflect on the responsibilities involved in developing relevant sources of information as well as an approach that allows to anticipate from the strategic planning and the technological roadmap, the sizing of the services, with the purpose of satisfying the new Infrastructure demands considering the future challenge of increasingly active populations in the use of the internet.

This work is part of a data protection plan, which subscribes to the recommendations established by the corresponding body: the Electronic Government Agency and the Information and Knowledge Society of Uruguay (AGESIC). Along these lines, the importance of continuing to make progress on the safe use of data, which protects those fundamental aspects of security and privacy.

References:

Mateu, M. (2016) “Plan Ceibal 2020: Future Scenarios of Technology and Education”. Unpublished master’s thesis. Universidad de la República, Facultad de Ingeniería, Uruguay.

Cobo, C.; Mateu, M. (2016). “A Conceptual Framework for the Analysis and Visualization of Uruguayan Internet for Education”. Revista Interactions. Noviembre – Diciembre. Vol XXIII.6.