Dear all, it is a pleasure to meet all of you. I answer the questions proposed, in essay format.
I graduated as an EFL teacher and immediately went into Sociology as I kept on working as a teacher of English. After I became a sociologist I kept on working in education, first in teacher training and then in management positions in a network of binational centers. I pursued a specialisation in Education and ICT in FLACSO, Argentina. I participated in the development of a blended program to teach English in these binational centers and trained teachers to teach with it.
Then I started coordinating a Diploma in Educational Innovation. It is an online program for teachers of any area that is provided in FLACSO, Uruguay.
Then, in 2013 I entered the University of the Republic, in the interior of the country, Casa de la Universidad de Cerro Largo where I work right now coordinating a year-long program for first year university students (CIO SOCIAL) in the region, as a multimodal program. I also do teaching and research.
As for expectations about this course, I hope I can familiarize with the notion of smart learning, both theoretically and practically.If you ask me about five reason why it is important to learn about smart learning environments, I'll name the following:
- It is a "buzz word" that has become much too common, but we need to know what it means; otherwise, it might be confusing to use it.
- It sounds promising in the area of education.
- We are surrounded by technology called "smart"
- I really know very little about the technological basis of teaching with ICT.
- We need to expand and enrich our notion of learning environments. In my case I have been working with Moodle for quite a long time and I need to understand other digital environments.
Now, to be able to realize how smart pedagogies and smart contents support student journey, I would need to know better what "smart " means, when used as an adjective of pedagogies and contents. That is a little blurred today. What I know for sure is that the best learning experiences in my life have taken place mostly outside the traditional classroom, when I had exchanging experiences with other learners or with teachers but in a pretty horizontal manner, being able to ask and engage spontaneously. Also getting lots of feedback has been fundamental. I would relate real learning with authenticity, with real interests that arise from real concerns. It is nothing new, it is the notion of meaningful learning. "Smart" would necessarily apply to highlighting that authenticity. That ability to "grasp" the real learning needs and interests in order to find tangible answers, would be what makes learning enduring. That would be my opinion on the matter.