|
In Mexico, there is great difference between educational opportunities received by students of the upper, middle, and low level socioeconomical classes.
This gap is known as "the digital divide" and undoubtedly is a problem that impacts the education and therefore the economy of a country.
The National Development Plan of Mexico 2001-2006 identifies improvement in educational opportunities as a top priority to reach social development.
A strategy to reach this goal is the gradual inclusion of new information and communication technologies into educational settings.
"The Enciclomedia program is a technological tool with the potential to lessen the digital divide among public schools in Mexico. Enciclomedia is a software conceived and made in Mexico, which organizes, integrates and articulates different resources and tools related to primary education. It is based on original federal government printed textbooks but takes into account the innovation of digital technology. In other words, many innovative pedagogical materials, such as videos, images, maps, music and virtual activities, have been added to the traditional books, now digitalized, in order to create and offer meaningful knowledge to the student". (as cited in Enciclomedia). The purpose of this research project was to describe the theoretical foundations of this technological tool based on philosophical, social, and pedagogical perspectives. A description of the learning context is provided and an analysis is made on how the educational technology supports the learning process. It is also described the technological and pedagogical requirements for the efficient use within the educational programs. Through a field research of two educational contexts equipped with Enciclomedia, an comparisson between the theoretic and practical use was evaluated. To conclude, a series of suggestions were provided to help stakeholders improve the difussion, implementation, and institutionalization of the learning tool. This project has provided me with additional practice in the evaluation of educational settings and the learning artifacts they use. Also it provided me an opportunity to compare the theoretical with the practical and real use of an innovation. It helped me to reflect on the difficulties of the adoption of innovations and to try to suggest strategies to overcome them. Document in Spanish. |