Artículo de revista
ICT & learning in Chilean schools: Lessons learned
Fecha
2008-12Registro en:
COMPUTERS & EDUCATION, Volume: 51, Issue: 4, Pages: 1621-1633, 2008
0360-1315
Autor
Sánchez Ilabaca, Jaime
Salinas, Alvaro
Institución
Resumen
By the early nineties a Chilean network on computers and education for public schools had
emerged. There were both high expectancies that technology could revolutionize education
as well as divergent voices that doubted the real impact of technology on learning.
This paper presents an evaluation of the Enlaces network, a national Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) and education initiative designed as part of a series of programs
to overcome inequity and quality issues of public education in Chile, by integrating
teachers and learners into the knowledge society. Data gathered and the results obtained in
four major areas of educational policies – infrastructure, digital literacy, conditions of
learning, and the impact on school learning of major national and international tests –
are presented and fully analyzed. The strengths and weaknesses of Enlaces as a visible
component of the educational system and educational reform are also discussed. Enlaces
has provided basic infrastructure tools, connectivity, ICTs, and teacher training to a huge
number of schools, but critical results are narrow in terms of classroom learning and no
additional competencies have been observed. Data and results are limited by structural
bottlenecks in the educational and social system. Finally, the lessons learned after more
than 15 years of implementing technology in Chilean schools are presented and fully
discussed.