Plan CEIBAL and the Incorporation of Digital Tools and Platforms in the Teaching of Mathematics According to the Teachers’ Perceptions

Gustavo Bentancor-Biagas,Denise Vaillant,Eduardo Rodríguez Zidán

doi:10.29333/ejmste/11307

Gustavo Bentancor-Biagas, Denise Vaillant + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11307

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Abstract

This article is based on research in which the three authors participated. The main objective is to identify, describe and analyze the practices of using digital tools and platforms for teaching mathematics in lower secondary education. Framed within a set of ICT policies promoted since 2007 by Plan CEIBAL in Uruguay, a mixed study was conducted, 176 teachers participated in a digital survey, and 15 of the participants were interviewed. Among the study’s main results, it is worth mentioning that mathematics teachers reported a low-frequency use of digital tools and platforms, and mainly an instrumental use of digital technology. It is necessary to foster and boost the development of best practices on the use of digital tools with pedagogical meaning in the context of teacher education degree courses through more prescriptive proposals that give meaning to innovation.

Highlights

Uruguay is one of the countries in Latin America with the highest levels of internet coverage, students’ access to digital resources, broadband development and mobile telephony, and information and communication technology penetration in homes and educational centers (Lugo & Delgado, 2020)
Almost all teachers agree that the use of digital tools facilitates the learning of Mathematics (97%), the vast majority agrees with the statement that the use of digital tools contributes to improving the teaching of Mathematics (95.6%), that the use of digital tools must be included in the subject syllabus (87.4%) and, that in the future it will be necessary to organize virtual exams through the use of platforms (64.4%)
The smartphone was the preferred device by the teachers (32.2%) in comparison to the laptops provided by Plan CEIBAL (26.1%), to the tablets (22.8%), and to working with the students in the Computer Lab (21%)

Summary

Introduction

Uruguay is one of the countries in Latin America with the highest levels of internet coverage, students’ access to digital resources, broadband development and mobile telephony, and information and communication technology penetration in homes and educational centers (Lugo & Delgado, 2020). Plan CEIBAL has been implementing a series of support programs on technology for the teaching and learning of Mathematics in primary and secondary education for over a decade. The universal incorporation of digital technologies in the educational systems internationally and in Latin America is a relatively recent phenomenon that seeks to promote, among other effects, digital literacy, digital skills, and technological competencies of both teachers and students (OCDE, 2015). The advances in Latin America regarding universal access to digital technology have been evident and achieved through different policies and programs Among others, those which stand out are 1:1 programs at a national or subnational scale, online applications, support platforms for teaching, as well as the implementation of standards for teacher education and the development of skills with ubiquitous digital technology (Jara, 2015; Sunkel et al, 2014).

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