In the first days of November, the Global Computer Science Education Conference was held, organized by Code.org, the most important NGO in the world that teaches computing for free. Secretaries of education from several countries and leaders of the largest technology companies participated in this edition. The event left us with two fundamental lessons: first, there is a global trend to focus more on technology in education; and the second, that it is only viable if it has a social focus.
Among the projects presented, not only those from countries with a technological tradition stand out, such as the United States, Germany and Japan, but the cases of Bangladesh stand out in a very special way, where the government has promoted a long-term plan, called “Digital Bangladesh”, which seeks to modernize and revolutionize its educational system through the use of ICTs; Philippines, which seeks to ensure that students have technological skills for visual, informational, media, technological and digital literacy; Nigeria, which has promoted the “Education for Change Plan” to provide infrastructure for schools with fiber optic internet for all universities and educational institutions, solar panels, computers and emails; and the United Arab Emirates even has a Secretary of State for Artificial Intelligence.
The case of Mexico City is notable, since it is the only one with a comprehensive vision in which 3 spheres coexist: the social, technological and pedagogical, in addition to being the only one of all the projects exhibited that is based on a grand strategy. social implemented by Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum. In the social sphere we have scholarships for all students, breakfasts, insurance that protects girls and boys during their stay at school and support for uniforms and school supplies. In terms of technology, we have programs that we have already talked about such as Cuantrix, Digital Civism, School Peace Mission, as well as internet and computer equipment in all schools. And in education we have The School at Home; the Learning Reinforcement strategy; the Tool Box and Reading Adventure, which seeks to promote the habit of reading in our students.
The educational project of Mexico City is very avant-garde, since it balances these aspects; Without a social vision and only with a technological approach, there is a risk of replicating cases like Seattle and San Francisco, which are home to large technology companies and yet today are full of violence, drugs and homeless people.
As Lewis Mumford noted: “Technology has no meaning in itself; It is the human who defines whether it is used as a mechanism of exploitation or as a tool for growth”; Therefore, technology does, but only from a human point of view. XXX TWITTER @LuisH_Fernandez