Dear all
First of all I apologize for my English, I have basic knowledge and I find it very difficult to write and much more to speak. But thanks to the google translator, and to many iterations correcting the result, I was able to do this work. Hope it's understandable....
I hold a math teacher degree, a degree in computer engineering and a master's degree in computer science. Currently starting studies at the International Inter-institutional Doctorate of UFRGS for the University of the Republic of Uruguay.
I currently work as a teacher of mathematics and computer science in two institutions. My main job is in computer science, I am director of IT division in a public education institution (Consejo de Formación en Educación - CFE) who is in charge of teacher training for primary and secondary education in Uruguay.
My experience in learning environments has been both in the teaching role and in the computer role. I have taught distance math courses through the Moodle platform and I have used in face-to-face courses to support classroom work. I have also installed, configured and managed Moodle for distance courses taught at the CFE (Teacher Training of Uruguay) and for the academic departments of that institution.
I take this course as part of my doctoral training. As I still have defined the subject for my doctoral studies, I hope this course will provide me with useful information and knowledge for the subsequent definition of the subject of my thesis.
I have little knowledge about intelligent systems in education which motivates the need to learn about the subject, since I consider it a current knowledge that is necessary to have to do a doctoral research in computer science and education. I am interested in learning about the development and application experiences of these systems. Because of my basic training, I am very interested in research on subjects that link the teaching of a particular discipline with computer science.
Regarding the relevance of SLE I think the following
- Smart learning environments are the evolution of learning environments, which occurs naturally through the development of technology, and proposes to generate significant learning situations through its application.
- Smart learning environments are not incorporated into the learning processes in Uruguay, I believe that it is the obligation of the community that can dedicate itself to the study of advances in science and education to know the development of new areas to return that knowledge to society and democratize it.
- The use and development of Smart learning environments can provide the educational community of Uruguay with new approaches and new challenges for pedagogical practice.
- Smart learning environments take advantage of the access that the vast majority of students have to the permanent use of the cell phone in order to improve learning. I think the fact of the widespread use of cell phones in our country allows us to think that it is possible to incorporate intelligent learning environments, generating universal access to learning resources and generating accessibility spaces that are not always viable.
- I think it is important that knowledge and scientific development on computer science in education be incorporated into the teaching-learning processes of our students, at all educational levels.
The learning experience I remember most was very traditional, but it enriched me in relation to what I learned about ways of learning. When I started studying mathematics teachers in Uruguay, I returned from living in another country, where I had finished high school. In that country the math that was taught was far below what was taught in Uruguay, and also theoretical math was not taught like here. This made it almost impossible for me to understand the theoretical concepts and even the language of theory in class. With some colleagues we formed a study group and began to study together. In a short time, I began to understand the basic concepts and most importantly, I began to be able to communicate concepts in mathematical language. After this experience I overcame the difficulty and was able to continue with the race. Although it was a long time ago, it made me understand the ability of interaction with peers in the construction of knowledge.
In my opinion, the application of technologies in the teaching-learning processes is not necessarily related to obtaining better learning experiences for students. I think that the application of technology for the improvement of learning is a problem that must be tackled from the specific didactics of each area of knowledge and as such I consider it a didactic problem. In our country, attempts to introduce technology to improve learning processes have generally been introduced from outside organizations to educational institutions (for example: Plan Ceibal). In parallel, generic training has been carried out for teachers to introduce the use of this technology to the classroom. The fact is that this action has not resulted in improvements in student learning outcomes at any level. I think the problem is that teacher training, where the specific didactic discipline of each subject is dictated, has not appropriated the didactic use of technology as part of its curricular content.
It also seems to me a great challenge for our country to incorporate intelligent tools that help teachers to have a real-time feedback on the application of the different teaching strategies in their courses and thus improve their practice.