Educational Technology in the UK: A Research Paper

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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
Educational technology in the UK
Sergio Antonio Hurtado Hernández
Abstract
The major in English Language was inaugurated in 2005 in the University of Camagüey, starting with the
improved Syllabus "C". Prevailing conditions in the Cuban economy cause that literature for teaching the
vast number of students in higher education to become a critical issue for the teaching-learning process.
Nonetheless, with the ever-increasing existence of computers, laptops, and tablets, the number of
computer labs in schools, and the Youth Computer Clubs in neighborhoods, to provide computer products
for independent study is one of the solutions to the aforementioned problem of literature. Out of this
reality, there emerged the idea of developing a computer program as a teaching aid for the subject History
of the English Speaking People (Great Britain), which will not only offer the contents for studying but also
exercises to help assimilate these contents. The program was used in the second semester of the 15-16
school term with good results as exposed in this paper.
Introduction
The growing existence of computers, laptops
and tablets in the hands of the university
population, the number of computer labs in
higher education centers, and the "Young
Computer Club" available in cities are an
additional opportunity to bring texts, videos,
images and other sources of information closer
together. This article aims to evaluate a
software proposal developed with the aim of
promoting learning teaching of UK history. It is
based on the construction of a theoretical
framework that bases the design and use of the
software and the documentary compilation of its
content and then introduce it through a
pedagogical experience in the subject History of
English Speaking Peoples I (Britain) in the
second half of the 2015-2016 academic year
and evaluate its potentialities from surveys,
observation and interviews. The fundamental
result was the software already mentioned and
the evaluation of its impact on the training of
English Language specialists.
For many years, the computer was considered
a working instrument for the calculation of
complex operations. From the 1950s on, some
projects began to materialize for use in teaching
work in developed countries. With the
emergence of the microcomputer in the first half
of the 1970s, interest in computer-aided
teaching grew significantly. In this regard,
Macias (1986, p. 11) notes: "The introduction of
microcomputers into higher education in Cuba
immediately resulted in a change in the
conceptions of them in the educational sphere
in our country."
The 1980s saw a boom in computer teaching
applications (teaching software), accompanied
by theoretical publications and specialized
journals, including the area of foreign language
teaching. A new section of work currently known
as Computer-Assisted Language Learning
appears in foreign language teacher circles, or
generally as CALL (Downes, 1993).
Estudiante de Ingeniería en Tecnología de Software, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Nuevo León, México
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
There is a set of terms to refer to teaching or
learning that you actively use to the computer.
These included computer-aided teaching (or
learning), computer-controlled teaching (or
learning),
computer-based
teaching
(or
learning), intelligent teaching systems (or
learning, advanced technology learning,
computer communication learning. In the use of
these terms it illustrates a behavioral tendency
to minimize the role of the teacher in the
direction of the teaching-learning process, with
which we do not agree, "the computer is another
technical means in the educational teaching
process, which fulfills the function of allowing
the teaching medium - the software - to make
teaching more efficient, on the one hand, and
learning , in which is its main accommodation.
(Macias, 2000; p. 26); Levy, 1997; and Uría,
1989) argues that the introduction of the
computer into the teaching-learning process
should contribute to the increase in the
improvement and optimization of educational
systems.
As early as the 1990s, with the advent of the
Internet, there was a far-reaching leap in
technology in terms of greater access to
materials, people and learning environments
(Levy, 1997). Local networks also appear at the
same time, favouring access to information on a
small scale, for example in the field of
institutions, state agencies, and research
centres, among others.
The Bachelor's degree in English Language
opens in Camaguey in 2005, starting with the
Perfected "C" Curriculum (Ministry of Higher
Education, 1991). Some of the teaching
literature of this curriculum was in development,
and the existing one did not meet the enrolment
of students in this career throughout the country.
Books that were delivered at the beginning of
the course returned to the warehouse at the end
with some deterioration, and sometimes with the
answers to the exercises already resolved,
which was a problem for the next course.
The conditions of the Cuban economy make
teaching literature for large enrolments in Higher
Education a critical aspect to the teachinglearning process. However, with the growing
existence of computers, laptops and tablets in
the population, the number of computer labs in
higher education centers and the "Young
Computer Club" available in cities, it promotes
digital resources for the independent study of
subjects. Teachers prepare digital teaching
materials for their students in the most dissimilar
ways: PowerPoint presentations, PDF and
Microsoft Word files, Microsoft Excel tables,
applications developed in conjunction with
specialists or students of the computer
specialty, etc.
Estudiante de Ingeniería en Tecnología de Software, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Nuevo León, México
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
On computer media and its teaching work
The computer means, properly used in the teachinglearning process, can promote the individualized
attention of students by the teacher according to the
development achieved by each and, therefore, offer the
possibility of providing the necessary aids, not only from
the teacher-student and student-student interaction, but
from the exchange with the content itself, which has also
been socially created. This takes on importance in all
modalities of Higher Education (2016, p. 80).
In the case of the subject History of English Speaking
Peoples I, which is taught in the second semester of the
Bachelor's degree in English Language, in a total of 48
hours, according to the Curriculum "D" Perfected
(Ministry of Higher Education, 2009) the situation of the
teaching media that was confronted was critical. There
was little or almost no availability of textbooks in the
teaching literature store, and on the intranet (FTP
service) there was nothing in the folder for the year in
question.
From this reality, the objective of this research was to
evaluate a software proposal in support of the learning
teaching process of the subject History of Great Britain
that is taught in the fourth year of the bachelor's degree
in English language at the University of Camaguey.
Materials and Methods
For the development of the study, theoretical and
empirical methods were applied, from both a quantitative
and qualitative perspective of research. The theoretical
methods used allowed to study the problem, build and
develop the theoretical foundations and perform the
initial and final qualitative analysis of the research.
Empirical methods enabled the reflection of reality from
its properties and relationships and favored obtaining
the data to verify the scientific presumption. The
application of the interview and the survey and
observation made it possible to obtain information about
the investigated object.
For the development of the study,
theoretical and empirical methods were
applied, from both a quantitative and
qualitative perspective of research. The
theoretical methods used allowed to study
the problem, build and develop the
theoretical foundations and perform the
initial and final qualitative analysis of the
research. Empirical methods enabled the
reflection of reality from its properties and
relationships and favored obtaining the data
to verify the scientific presumption. The
application of the interview and the survey
and observation made it possible to obtain
information about the investigated object.
The study used analysis and criticism of
sources as a fundamental theoretical
method, with the help of historical and
logical, analysis and synthesis and
induction and deduction. The first task
carried out was the bibliographic review,
which included the university library, related
information
sites
on
the
Internet,
documentation of the latest international
congresses Pedagogy and University, and
the memoirs of some national scientific
events linked to the teaching of the English
language.
For the design of the software and the
computer
resources
involved,
Galenomedia's productions were taken as a
reference, a group that at the University of
Medical Sciences of Camaguey develops
teaching materials by discipline, which
serve students for self-preparation.
Estudiante de Ingeniería en Tecnología de Software, Facultad
de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Nuevo León, México
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
Results and Discussion
The reference subject programme includes four topics
covering the history of Britain (with an emphasis on
England) from man's arrival on the islands to the
present day, and is taught in 48 hours divided between
conferences and seminars. Among the instructive
objectives is to expand its historical conception of the
English-speaking world through the panorama of
Britain's formation and development and the
Commonwealth of English-speaking nations.
For the study of the subject, students could have been
given all the necessary digital materials: original
documents, photos, videos, etc.; and documents with
exercises for independent study. The conception of
developing the software was the organization of all
those materials and the possibility to use the
interactivity of the computer through hypertext and
man-machine communication in reviewing the solution
to the exercises.
The instructional software, in addition to having all the
program content, contains a lot of exercises that allow
the student to self-check the level of assimilation of the
contents of the subject program. So this was the task
to be solved before the second semester of the 20152016 school year began.The results presented
describe a teaching strategy to develop the cognitive
independence of students pursuing the English
Language career from a medium that will support their
extra-class preparation.
In the design of the software it was initially considered
to be of a very simple structure for distribution, two
files only: an executable and a database, small
enough to be stored on a low-capacity USB stick, such
as those marketed in city establishments. Another
important element of the design was the work
environment that, although students are familiar with
working with programs from different environments,
should be very simple for their proper use.
The program was developed in Pascal language, in
the environment of the Delphi XE6, with objectoriented programming that allows the reusability of
the code. The database was encrypted and
password protected to prevent access to its
contents, which are the teaching materials of the
subject with its exercises. Each application (program
+ database) does not exceed 1Gb in size. The use
of the program does not require a previous
installation, so the limitation of administrative
privileges on the computer's operating system for
use is ruled out. The only requirement of use to be
observed is that that operating system must have
installed some version of some program to view PDF
format files.
Both the database and the program that uses it
adequately exploit the relational mechanism of the
data to ensure the integrity of the information, as well
as its uniqueness and uniformity. This makes it
possible that there is no unnecessary duplication of
data and therefore its size is as compact as possible.
The program consists of a main screen with a menu
that gives access to information and exercises. In
addition, it has an illustrated help mechanism and is
also accompanied by a navigation map that, in the
kind of table of contents, shows where the different
components are located in the program
environment.
In the pedagogical experience referred to in the
Methods section, the classes in the subject History
of English-speaking Peoples I were structured in
Conferences and Seminars. For the conduct of the
seminars, a document was offered in PDF format
with the guiding guide for student preparation. This
guide explained which part of the programme should
be used according to the topic in question, and the
tasks to be performed in the independent study. As
part of the seminar, the student was required to
present a section of the subject under study, relying
on a properly crafted PowerPoint presentation, and
had to deliver a PDF file with the content prepared
for the exhibition. The activity was recorded on video
and delivered to the student, after editing by the
teacher.
Estudiante de Ingeniería en Tecnología de Software, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Nuevo León, México
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
Through surveys, observation, and interviews,
teachers were generally found to use informational
content files from their subjects in Word, PDF, and
PowerPoint format. Students were also directed to
prepare for work to deliver and be evaluated in these
same formats. The data matches when most work
on these file formats on the computer. And contrary
to what is heard in some teachers like orbice so as
not to use educational technologies when they
propose that "most students do not have an
electronic device...", in addition to having the
equipment at home, they have smartphones and
some even double the capacity with the possession
of a laptop.
It was logical to expect students to highlight the
importance of educational software as an option for
learning as they are materials made for teaching
purposes, are interactive, individualize work, are
easy to use, use the resources provided by
multimedia techniques, and with their use achieve
greater motivation and interest of students in
learning (2013).
The perspective of the use of the software, the
subject of this article follows the premises of what
was raised by Granados-Romero (2014, p. 291), in
particular as regards the one that the student "is
solely responsible for his learning, interacting with
the information with a critical, reflective and creative
vision, managing..., and supported by the teaching
mediation and sources of information available to
him."
A study by Cotton (1991), based on the analysis of 59
duly documented research results reports, reports in
29 of these that the use of the computer in the
teaching process produced better results than those
obtained in traditional teaching. There are 13 reports
that the speed of learning is higher. 8 reports are
included that show better results in content
memorization rate. It is highlighted in 3 reports that
students' attendance at classes was better.
A positive aspect in the implementation of the program
is the presentation of the exercises randomly, which is
not characteristic in other software of this type. Most
foreign language learning programs present exercises
sequentially,
which
favors
monotony
and
mechanistics in the solution. This random
presentation of the exercises makes it possible to
make the set of items different from the previous one
in each training session. Storing the exercises in a
database also allows you to have a large amount, from
which a reasonable amount will be randomly selected
for your solution.
Hardistyy Windeatt (1989) reaffirms the idea that
computer use positively favors interest in teaching
activity and suggests that no one who has observed
the atmosphere of concentration in a group of students
working on computers may doubt its motivational
power. Although these ideas have been published
more than 25 years ago, it is interesting how they still
remain in force.
At the international level there is a group of software
aimed essentially at people who learn the English
language as an element of culture, but most of these
follow commercial criteria and dismiss the
pedagogical component (cf. Headway, Interchange,
Rosetta Stone, among many others).
Estudiante de Ingeniería en Tecnología de Software, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Nuevo León, México
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
Conclusions
UK boosts school programming with BBC
The integration of the computer as a carrier of
software suitable to be used as a teaching medium
in the process of training language skills and habits
in a foreign language is not very common in
language courses in our country. There is already
significant experience accumulated mainly in
developed countries (England, France, Spain, USA,
Canada, Japan, etc.), in teaching environments that
differ somewhat from the reality of a country like
ours.
The UK has launched, in collaboration with the BBC,
the BBC micro:bit project, which seeks to boost the
learning of inter-school programming and make
them digital creators. Through this initiative schools
receive a free kit with which students can
understand the logic of programming and take their
first steps in a simple and intuitive way. It includes
programmable boards for students and gives access
to various support resources, such as videos and
tutorials or a teacher's guide. The aim of the project
is to promote technological and computer
knowledge, science and engineering among
students, to make them adults prepared for the
future. The project, heir to BBC Microcomputer –
launched in the 1980s – targets 11- and 12-yearolds and is open to all schools and home-schooled
students in the UK upon request. The idea arises
from concern about the lack of professionals
prepared in the field of technology in the country and
aims to inspire the digital creativity of students,
encourage them to act as creators rather than just
being mere consumers and thus train a new
generation of technological pioneers. In fact, thirty
British and international companies have
collaborated in the development of micro:bit, many
of them related to ICT, such as Microsoft, Samsung
or Cisco.
Students showed satisfaction in using this program.
The program was easy to use and useful for the
preparation of seminars. The exercises of the
program facilitated the assimilation of the contents
of the subject. The subject benefited from the use of
the software developed to function as a means of
teaching-learning, as a replacement for an
unavailable textbook, in that all students had easy
and comfortable access to information, and had
availability of a large amount of exercises to check
their level of assimilation of the contents of the
subject. The degree of motivation towards the
subject was visible, measurable by the interest
shown by the students towards the new teaching
medium, something that they had not experienced in
any other subject in the previous four years.
WHAT TO DO WITH BBC MICRO:BIT
The BBC micro:bit is a small pocket computer (4×5
cm) that incorporates bluetooth technology, two
small programmable buttons, various LEDs,
microUSB connection and external battery
connection, a motion detector, an accelerometer
and a compass. In addition, it can be connected to
the computer or to sensors, objects and devices
such as Arduino, Galileo, Kano, littleBits or
Raspberry Pi. The project website and kit received
by the centres includes a lesson plan, explanatory
videos, several ready-to-use code examples and
four editors that can be used to program the BBC
micro:bit with a scratch-like system, from blocks.
Estudiante de Ingeniería en Tecnología de Software, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Nuevo León, México
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
Micro Bit: the microcomputer to teach
schoolchildren
It is Micro Bit, a minicomputer that was born as a
collaboration between the BBC and several
technology companies to teach UK children how to
program. Earlier this year, nearly one million
schoolchildren from different schools across the
country received these devices.
-
What is a Micro Bit?
It is a palm-sized circuit board with a series of 25
LEDs and a Bluetooth chip for wireless connection.
It can be programmed to display letters, numbers
and other symbols and characters.
It includes two buttons, an accelerometer and a
compass, and rings to which other sensors can be
connected.
Instead of entering the code directly into the
computer, users should write it in a choice of four
PC-based programming languages, or on a tablet or
smartphone, through an app.
They must then transfer the codes to Micro Bit,
which functions as a standalone device that can be
used to project messages and record movements,
among other tasks.
It can also be added to other devices to form a
robot's "brain" or develop a musical instrument.
A new feature enables communications between
these machines, which means that one Micro Bit
can transmit information to another, opening up a
new spectrum of possibilities.
Older students will take care of hardware design
and build their own models, as a "do-it-yourself"
mode.
Uk, the new titan of technology?
The UK is at a key moment to consolidate its
technology sector at the forefront of the global
market. This is what ensures a study by consultancy
Deloitte, which also warns of the need to take urgent
action to avoid being unseated by aggressive rivals.
British technology already competes with
technology powers such as China and the US in the
fields of microelectronics (used in mobile phones
and CPUs microprocessors), biotechnology, and
software design. But according to the study, there
are some factors that make it difficult to consolidate
British technology companies like those of these
rivals.
The main shortcomings in British management
highlighted by Deloitte are coordination between the
various technological actors at the national level.
The report highlights the need to establish better
channels of communication between government,
researchers, corporations and financial firms.
Another reason that curbs the take-off of new
technologies in the UK is the sharp lack of
investment - both public and private - in the sector,
by the distrust of investors to bet on technology
companies following the decline of the technological
boom and the devaluation of the late 1990s
compoints.
Contrary to the situation in Spain, which currently
ranks 29th in the world in technological
development, and where the situation is so critical
that it compromises the development of the country,
the study considers that the United Kingdom is at a
time of technological maturity comparable to that of
world leaders.
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
UK to reform premium education to adapt it
to new technologies
The proposed new curriculum would mean, if
approved, the biggest change in primary education
in the United Kingdom in a decade, from thirteen to
six areas: understanding English, communication
and languages; understanding mathematics;
scientific and technological understanding; human,
social
and
environmental
understanding,
understanding in physical health and well-being;
understanding of art and design.
The plan, drawn up by a former head of Ofsted (the
body that regulates British schools), further states
that children must move to high school after
demonstrating the mastery of the blogosphere,
Wikipedia or Twitter as sources of information and
new modes of communication that they are.
In addition, the need for students to have good
calligraphy is emphasized, but it is also established
that they know how to type on a keyboard.
Students should have the ability to place historical
events they study on a timeline and establish
relationships between them; however, it is up to
each school to decide which of these events are
studied. Thus, it could be the case that a child takes
primary school without receiving lessons on World
War II or the Victorian era depending on the school
in which he is enrolled, something that the
government nevertheless rejects that will happen.
In addition, emphasis will be placed on mental
calculation to the detriment of using the calculator.
Finally, students will receive lessons on healthy
lifestyle habits, how to combat bullying, or how to
relate to other children or their own family.
According to a study produced by Panasonic SA,
Spain is located, at European level, just behind the
United Kingdom in terms of educational technology.
The British country has most committed to adapting
its schools to a new form of education thanks to new
technologies, making almost all its classrooms
equipped with an interactive display.
For adapting their schools to a new form of
education thanks to new technologies, making
almost all their classrooms equipped with an
interactive display. In other countries, such as
France, where only 20 percent of schools are
equipped with an interactive whiteboard, the
education technology market is still at an emerging
stage.
Although the UK is currently the technology leader
for education in Europe, the efforts of other
countries in this regard are showing that it will not
be long before they can catch up with the British
explains Karine Picqué, Marketing Manager of
Panasonic Europe's Imaging products division.
The case of Spain, which has invested 200 million
euros to manage to digitize all classrooms before
2012, is one of those that motivates us to think that
the educational landscape will change substantially
in the very short term. However, the School 2.0
project proposed by the Spanish government, the
financing of which is both in charge of the
government and the autonomy by 50%, has had a
varied acceptance. Communities such as the
Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Cantabria or the
Basque Country have become fully aware of the
project, and ensure that all public schools will have
digital classrooms in the next school year. On the
other hand, and in contrast, communities such as
Madrid, Valencia or Murcia have not joined the
government's plan and are committed to continuing
traditional classrooms.
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
In addition, there are other countries in Europe that
have opted for the project and will adapt their
schools to new technologies in the coming years.
Among them is Germany, whose government
invested 10 billion euros for education and science
in 2009, an investment that has to increase to 24
billion euros in 2015. On the other hand, the French
government is struggling to rank among the most
ambitious countries in this sector by committing to
invest 67 million euros to provide laptops to 6,700
rural schools.
In three years Panasonic aspires to become one of
the most important players in the education market,
equipping classrooms from all European countries
that bet on the school of the future. Our company
not only provides interactive whiteboards, but a
complete package for new classrooms, which will
help teachers deliver more dynamic and visual
classes, and in turn help improve student attention
and outcomes, Picque concludes.
About the interactive whiteboard
The interactive whiteboard is a revolutionary tool
that enhances all communications and learning
experiences.
UK and Spain top European ranking of
computers per pupil and use of ICT in the
classroom
The study on "Equipment and use of Information
and Communication Technologies in European and
Latin American centres", carried out by the
International University of Valencia (VIU), reflects
that the United Kingdom and Spain are the
European countries where there are the largest
number of computers per student, where ITCs are
used most weekly in the classroom and where there
are more centers with internet connection. This is
apparent from the study carried out by the
Coordinator of the Degree in Primary Education of
the VIU, Vicente Gabarda Méndez, on a
representative sample of five European countries
(Finland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom
and Spain) and five Latin Americans (Brazil,
Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Costa Rica), with the
aim of offering an overview of the integration of ICTs
into the different educational systems through the
analysis of three criteria : equipment of the centres,
curriculum integration of ICT and use thereof.
Connected to a PC and projector that allows
teachers to:
– Getting the public's attention
- Create visual materials and content
– Go directly to Internet pages
– Register and modify all the contents on your PC
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
According to the data analyzed, in Spain there are
32 computers per 100 students in Primary and 31
for every 100 in Secondary, well above the
European average (15 computers per 100 students
in Primary and 21 in Secondary). These figures put
our country ahead of countries such as Finland (17
and 20 computers per 100 students); France (12
and 18 computers) and Germany (15 in Primary
education) and behind only the UK where there is
practically one computer per student.
As for the use of ICTs in the classroom, the United
Kingdom and Spain return to the highest rates,
since, in Secondary school alone, 71% of English
students use the computer weekly in the classroom,
followed by 52% of Spanish students and 41% of
French students.
The most prominent cases are those in Germany,
where only 24% of Primary and 31% of Secondary
pupils use ICT in the classroom once a week or, in
the case of Finland, the use is 24% in Primary and
27% in Secondary, the country that uses the
computer in class the least.
Also, in some countries of those analyzed in Europe
and Latin America, it has been found that greater
equipment is not always synonymous with greater
use and introduction of technologies in the
classroom. So much so that there are cases where
above-average equipment is recorded (such as
Finland in the EU and Uruguay in Latin America)
where the use of ICTs is below average, while data
have been found from countries with less equipment
where the use and imbrication of new technologies
is higher (Costa Rica).
Teachers and use of ICT
As for teachers, the study reveals that 8 out of 10
teachers have used ICT in the development of their
classes in the last year and 9 out of 10 have used
them to prepare the contents of them.
In general ICT is used in most countries in a crosscutting way, that is, as a tool at the service of all
subjects. So much so that in Primary only the United
Kingdom and France include them as curriculum
content, while the rest of the countries bet on
transversality at this stage. Already in Secondary,
the study highlights that all countries, except
Finland, already view it as independent curriculum
content.
Latin American
Also and already in the Latin American field, the
study reveals that 51.8% of Latin American students
and almost 30% of teachers never use new
technologies in the classroom.
According to the data analyzed, in Latin America
there are an average of 27 students per computer in
Primary and 17 in Secondary, Uruguay being the
country that registers the highest rate of computers
per student, since in schools there is one team per
student. At the end of the table are Argentina and
Costa Rica, where there are 59 and 42 computers
per student, respectively.
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
In terms of Internet connection in schools, the data
reflect that only 36% of Latin American Primary
centers and 34% of Secondary are online, a fact that
contrasts with uruguay's 95%.
The VIU study notes that 31.2% of Latin American
students use the computer once or twice a week at
school. This ranking is headed by Costa Rica,
where more than 52% of students use it weekly,
followed by Chile (42.3%), Uruguay (34%),
Argentina, with only 29% and Brazil, with only 22%.
As is apparent from the data extracted, new
technologies must be part of the educational field
because they promote the integration, motivation
and possibilities of the student in their context and
because schools must become "urgently" the
spaces where students acquire the skills necessary
for integration.
The study has focused on the compulsory schooling
stage which, in most countries, comprises what is
known in Spain as Primary Education and
Secondary Education.
The 'post ICT' era in schools in England
The English government, through the Department
for Education (DfE), is carrying out a redefinition in
its strategy of developing technological skills within
the school context. The goal is to implement this
reform by 2014.
This review promoted by the DfE is relevant when
taking into account the prominence of British
policies in the context of the European Digital
Agenda in the field of digital competences. But it is
also strategic because it points towards structural
innovation in relation to the competency frameworks
previously implemented by DfE itself.
One of the strategic axes that this redefinition poses
is to rething the current emphasis and focus on
digital skills being inserted into education. A recent
example of this has been a change in its regulations
which suggests that from 2013 it will no longer be
mandatory to adopt the current 'ICT curriculum' at
Key 1 and 2 levels.
Today the debate is focused on migrating from an
'ICT curriculum' to a 'computing resume'. However,
this change goes far beyond an adjustment in the
nomenclature, and arises from the critical analysis
of different actors in society against the 'irregular'
impact of digital technologies on school education
environments. This is not to mention that students
themselves have evaluated the current 'ICT
curriculum' (focused on the functional use of mainly
office-type software) as obsolete, "poor, boring and
basic".
Estudiante de Ingeniería en Tecnología de Software, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Nuevo León, México
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
On the other hand, this rethink seeks to foster a
deeper understanding on the part of students in
those principles that enable the creation of digital
technologies (both software and technological
devices). This relates to stimulating from an early
age learning in the area of computer science as well
as the creation of new employability opportunities
within labour markets linked to cutting-edge
technology (e.g. video games, special effects, etc.).
This new approach, which seeks to expand and
enrich what is now meant by digital literacy, also
focuses on developing students' skills and
knowledge in areas such as: 'learning by doing'
through programming and creating Apps, knowing
how to manipulate computer boards (e.g. Raspberry
Pi), creating molecular modeling (e.g. animation and
3D) as well as other skills in areas such as privacy
and digital identity management , e-security,
creative entrepreneurship in digital environment,
among others.
Similarly, this strategy shows a growing debate
about the need to create more appropriate tools to
assess the use and development of these skills. On
the other hand, work is also being made on the
creation of new incentive packages for the updating
and training of teachers (such as for recent
pedagogy graduates to train as Computer Science
teachers). It also envisages the importance of
consolidating new relationships between schools,
teachers and the productive sector (technological
and content industry). According to Michael Gove,
the current minister of the DfE, the dissatisfaction
manifested in the face of the current national
curriculum in ICT makes us think about the need to
create an open-source curriculum and that is
precisely the task that is being carried out both
inside and outside the education sector.
On the one hand, this rethink is aligned with a
national strategy that seeks to train the next
generation of programmers and creators of new
businesses linked to the digital industry (see
Livingstone and Hope, 2011). Moreover, this
approach articulates the visions and interests
gathered through various consultations and studies
that analyze the feasibility of a renewed human
capital formation strategy at the national level.
Among the agents and organizations that have
participated in this process are the British Computer
Society, Computing at School, eSkills UK,
Association for Learning Technology and NAACE,
as well as other local actors linked to the school
education field.
Estudiante de Ingeniería en Tecnología de Software, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Nuevo León, México
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
7 technological innovations that will
revolutionize education
Who said learning couldn't be fun? The world of
education is in a time of profound change, thanks in
part to new technologies. With the innovations in
education of the different technology companies, it
is intended to encourage students to learn while
having fun. Here are seven amazing technological
innovations.
1. Minecraft Education Edition. The cubic
world reaches the classrooms! After
providing educational tools to the game,
Microsoft will present on November 1 the
version adapted for Minecraft classrooms.
This block-based building-based video
game will give teachers the ability to teach
through different interactive maps, where
students can learn, while playing
individually or collaboratively with the entire
class, subjects such as mathematics,
music, natural or social sciences.
2. Google Expeditions. Can you learn what the
eye doesn't see? Google thinks not. For this
reason, he has developed a project with
which through his virtual reality glasses
Cardboard will allow students to travel
around the different parts of the world and
even take a walk around Mars sitting on
their desk. With this new educational
method, which has been successfully
tested in different schools in the UK, Google
aims to make education interactive and
visually complement everything books can't
offer children.
3. Virtual School Suitcase. Like Google,
Samsung also believes that you can't
understand what you don't see. For this
reason, the Korean group has presented at
SIMO Education 2016 the immersive
learning solution Virtual School Suitcase.
Through virtual reality, Samsung proposes
to provide students with the necessary tools
to observe, explore and interact in different
virtual scenarios related to the different
curriculum content.
4. Classroom 3D. And if you can't learn
without seeing... better to see the objects in
3D than on a piece of paper! CoLiDo has
presented at SIMO 2016 its classroom 3D
project, with which it aims in a controlled
way to bring to the physical format the
contents that students study thanks to 3D
printers. Through the possibility of touching
and observing an object directly, it is
intended that students assimilate the
concepts of subjects such as architecture,
art history, plastic or geometry.
5. Appvise. This mobile app aims to reduce
bullying in classrooms. To achieve this,
Appvise
facilitates
continuous
communication between parents, teachers
and students, so that teachers can warn
parents about any type of anomalous
behavior performed by the student or
communicate lack of class attendance. The
purpose of this application is to prevent,
detect, treat and track cases of bullying in
classrooms
Estudiante de Ingeniería en Tecnología de Software, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Nuevo León, México
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
6. Reinvent the classroom. This program
developed by HP together with Smart,
Microsoft and Intel aims to revolutionize the
way we understand classrooms through
specialized
tablets
for
education,
computers with 360o swivel screen and
applications such as Microsoft Office 365,
Skype and HP Adaptive Learning among
others. The aim of this project is to drive
educational innovation and drive the next
generation of learning experiences.
7. Chromebooks. Many publishers are
adapting to technological innovations to
deliver their content in multimedia form.
Book house Edelvives, for example, has
signed an agreement with Google to
distribute its contents within the Google for
Education program and has created
projects such as Sirabún, which offers for
children between 3 and 5 years old different
applications to stimulate learning.
New Technologies in education
Just two decades ago, we saw how thanks to the
Internet there was a kind of information revolution
that brought about a large-scale change in
education. The Internet has allowed students instant
access to an ever-widening world of information. Its
presence has been the catalyst that has facilitated
the rapid adaptation of users to this new
technological world and has become a new tool for
the education and training of students.
We are currently at another stage of this
technological revolution; revolution that will
completely transform the way we educate and
educate our students. We have gone from reading
and studying theory in books to finding and
analyzing more specific information thanks to the
use of the Internet. This forces us to be much more
critical with the information available but also offers
the opportunity to educate current and future
generations through a medium that provides a much
more practical and immediate type of training. At the
British School of Valencia we are investing a lot of
effort to ensure that students not only learn through
traditional channels, books, but also have the
opportunity to be formed through these new means
that allow the student to enter fully into the subject
matter in question. To this we must add the
incursion of digital devices that allow permanent
access to this immense source of information and
that extend training to the classroom.
Estudiante de Ingeniería en Tecnología de Software, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Nuevo León, México
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
What does this technological revolution entail in our
field? Imagine for a moment that we are teaching
Some Spanish students about architecture in
Imperial Rome, we could use textbooks to teach the
class, show them images of the most emblematic
buildings or perhaps play some demonstrative video
that talked about it. Now let us imagine that we were
able to transport virtually the students to Rome so
that they could see for themselves those same
buildings but have them at their fingertips. They
might experience firsthand the excitement of seeing
the buildings instead of showing them some
photographs of them. This is now possible with the
use of the Oculus Rift device, a 360o virtual reality
headset that immerses the user in a virtual world
that allows them to be placed in a virtual
environment that can faithfully reproduce the
original and to experience endless new experiences
completely realistically.
In the technological field, we see how improvements
and new tools have been introduced which we
incorporated in the British School of Valencia. One of
the main changes has been the introduction of 3D
printing, which not only allows three-dimensional
reproduction of an object, because even though this
is correct, 3D printing has many other utilities.
Students need to learn how to design a 3D object,
using specific computer software while being able to
analyze, design, develop, examine, and evaluate the
object created in the 3D printer.
In this line, our students research different 3D
designs and have the opportunity to work together
with their colleagues, in a collaborative
environment, in order to make their own 3D models.
The process encompasses all stages, from the
original idea, their design and printing. This allows
students to show and develop all their creativity; to
carry out large and small projects on their own,
something that is tremendously encouraging for all
of us as it allows us to see their evolution and gives
us the opportunity to show first-hand students all the
technological advances of the moment and that will
be daily for them in the not too distant future.
Estudiante de Ingeniería en Tecnología de Software, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Nuevo León, México
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
We encourage students to get involved in this new
technological world and encourage them to enter
the competitions organized by the school, contests
in which they have to design and print 3D objects.
The competition was so successful that it was
decided to include 3D design within the different
subjects of the curriculum, especially ICT, from Key
Stage 3
In order to stimulate the teaching of computer
science and programming in schools, the use of
programming technology on 'Raspberry Pi' and
'Arduino' boards has been encouraged from the UK.
At BSV we have chosen to incorporate the first
ones. These devices are small board or single board
computers used for computer science and computer
science subjects. The Raspberry Pi board is the size
of a credit card and has been developed with the
intention of encouraging programming and
development of computer applications in colleges
and universities. This small device is capable of
performing certain tasks and operations that a
conventional PC cannot perform, such as
spreadsheets, word processing and games. You
can also program a media center that plays HD
video.
We are at an exciting time when we see how the
technological revolution has reached schools and
has had a huge impact within today's educational
field. Both teachers and students feel more
empowered to either teach or learn. They are on a
level that goes further and allows them to adapt to
the different situations they face in today's world.
We are always aware of possible changes that may
take place in the technological field in order to
implement these improvements and apply them in
the teaching of our students.
Raspberry Pi can be programmed by students for
use in robotics, either through specific software or
through the creation of custom algorithms.
Raspberry Pi can also be used to carry out various
projects such as:
– Creating a desktop computer
– The creation of recreational machines
– Robotic engine control
– Learn programming language through Scratch
– Creating a virtualized platform known as a cloud.
– Creating a tablet with touch screen, etc.
Estudiante de Ingeniería en Tecnología de Software, Facultad de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica, Nuevo León, México
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
Conclusion
This article covers the issues of the use of technology in education in the UK, as it has been
transformed over the years and how new generations have taken advantage of all this in order to
increase their level of education at all levels. In addition to the programs that are used to promote
children in fields of programming, forms of application with ICT, different software that help
education and serve to improve the learning of children and young people. All this in order to look
for how to apply them in different parts of the world and continue to renew day by day the education
that the government provides in its institutions, using the use of technology, obviously.
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ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 01-20,2021
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Through this duct, the student of the project:
Sergio Antonio Hurtado Hernández
We authorize Dr. Dina Elizabeth Cortés Coss, the relevant direction and changes in the physical
structure, design and format of the scientific article submitted to frame the conclusion of core
activity 1.
The changes cited are the requirements for the publication of the memoir or magazine article.
Kind regards
Name: Sergio Antonio Hurtado Hernández
Enrollment: 1843513
Signature of consent: Sergio Antonio Hurtado Hernández
San Nicolás de los Garza NL. 25/03/2021