We made a presentation about the state of educational technology in Mexico (embedded below). Here is my blog post on the same issue.
Educational technology in Mexico
I won’t go into details and statistics here, they can be found in the presentation and the resources used in it. Here I have just briefly written about the main issues in Mexico’s situation.
Mexico is marked by endless problems associated with unequal access to technology. The top universities and private schools, located in big cities, allow students to make digital spaces part of their daily learning environment, irrespective of whether or not they physically attend a university. The problems associated with technology and telecommunications infrastructure (‘Digital divide’), and also with higher education models, laws and regulations are preventing distance learning from becoming a real alternative to the people who are in need of it the most.
Also, the lack of planning, sustainability and knowledge about the characteristics, needs and requirements of distance education and educational technology in general tend to raise false expectations and ultimately lead to poor results. A good example of this was in a presentation of the situation of educational technology in Romania, where schools without electricity received computers. Educational technology can be helpful in providing quality (distance) education in areas where traditional face-to-face education is not really an option. For this to happen substantial and structural changes in education, and society as a whole, need to be made. (http://rusc.uoc.edu/ojs/index.php/rusc/pages/view/call-for-papers-june2012).
Many of the challenges are political, and require confronting powerful interest groups that have “captured” the education system and benefit from the status quo. These include the teachers union (SNTE) and politicians who use the education system for patronage. Some suggested changes include making education for all a long-term state policy, reducing the power SNTE and enhancing the role of universities. (http://www.thedialogue.org/PublicationFiles/EducationinMexico0322.pdf)
In a system like this, you don’t have much of a chance for educational technology innovations:
“Teachers and administrators have little autonomy in the system. A recent Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report found that only 22 percent of educational decisions were made at the school level, compared with the OECD average of 42 percent (OECD, 2004). Teachers must follow the national curriculum and, in primary schools, use the national textbooks. In secondary schools they must choose textbooks from a nationally approved list. As previously discussed, school administrators have virtually no role in personnel decisions or allocation of resources (OECD, 2004). Principals’ duties are mostly administrative: filling out paperwork, resolving conflicts, and managing the school’s assigned budget. Principals can do community fundraising. They usually use the funds collected from these voluntary fees for building improvements and purchasing necessary equipment (e.g., copier machine, fax).” (http://www.worldfund.org/assets/files/RAND_Education%20in%20Mexico.pdf)
Synapsifier in the Sky 