Fundación Telefónica

One of the most appreciated sections of EducaRed is this portal and on-line forum.Designed with Microsoft technology, this portal provides training for teachers and helps them to develop their professional skills and share knowledge and innovative activities amongst themselves. Aimed originally at education professionals in Spain, where it began operating in 2004, this initiative was extended to Mexico in 2007 and to Colombia in 2008. At present, more than 37,350 registered users can also find all types of help such as software, on-line help, lesson plans based on the Internet and ICT and many other resources. Importantly, last year Fundación Telefónica and Microsoft signed a new collaboration agreement for implementing Innovative Teachers in other Latin American countries. This means that thousands of new teachers will be able to take maximum advantage of new technologies for their educational work.

This center, the result of a collaboration agreement signed in 2006 by Fundación Telefónica in Spain and the Encounter Foundation, has the threefold objective of generating innovation in the field of ICT and education, stimulating debate and analysis of research results, and spreading the knowledge created to those involved in the sector, thus generating leaders in the process of educational change. CEFA is built upon three central pillars: a technological research laboratory for learning, a Forum of Pedagogical Experiences and a program of postgraduate courses tied to leading universities. The most important CEFA activities in 2008 include the following: the creation of the Web 2.0 EducaLab tool; the presentation of a study on educational use of low cost computers; and the organization of the first two new degrees:  the “Master’s in  E-learning Management", offered by   Universidad Carlos III of Madrid, and the “Masters in Families, Education and ICT", in cooperation with the Faculty of Educational Sciences at Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca.

Created in 2006, this intensive pedagogical program for ICT integration is carried out at a series of schools in the span of three years. The aim is to develop a methodology and a number of intervention models that allow this experience to be applied generally in Spanish schools. Four schools have been equipped with state-of-the-art technology while their teaching staff are trained and advised in the use of educationally-specific technologies. The first trial is being carried out in the Montserrat School in Madrid, the San Felix de Candás Public School (Asturias), the public high school of Eria (Oviedo) and the Gómez Moreno Primary School in Granada, with the participation of more than 200 teachers and close to 3,000 students. The Third Annual Intercenter Conference was held in 2008, attended by teachers from all the EducaRed Model Centers.

In 2008, Fundación Telefónica strengthened its support for technological training of education professionals via EducaRed Innovation Week. This is a new teaching model developed through agreements signed with the Education Councils of the various Autonomous Communities of Spain. The mechanism is simple: an educational team, with advice and tutoring from the Fundación Telefónica, sets up a 3-day technology class at a training center giving various workshops on ICT to teachers, parents, and workers in public administration and the media. The training received includes the latest IT teaching programs, as well as state-of-the-art digital devices such as interactive Tablet PC or digital whiteboards. Nearly 800 people in Mérida, Palencia and Santiago de Compostela attended the first three classes offered. 

For their part, Fundación Telefónica and the Ministry of Education in Peru organized the EducaRed Week in the cities of Piura, Ayacucho, Arequipa and Lima, in coordination with the Regional Departments of Education in these cities. This event brought together various renowned educational specialists to discuss educational ideas and experiences through specialized lectures. Under the slogan of “Understanding what I read", the main theme of this meeting (attended by 1,200 teachers and headmasters), was the “Reading Plan”, a pedagogical strategy proposed by the ministry to promote reading skills and reading habits in primary school students.   Moreover, for the first time, all communications were sent live using video streaming technology from the EducaRed portal.

EducaParty Aragón, which was held in January 2008 in Zaragoza, was a fun educational convention for teachers of non-university subjects with Information and Communications Technologies and with other colleagues who already use them in their teaching. One of the key activities during the event (attended by more than 250 public school teachers from the Aragon Autonomy) was an intensive course on integrating ICT into curricula, with both face-to-face and on-line training. The face-to-face training offered workshops on subjects such as the use of the Tablet PC, the interactive digital whiteboard, the latest technological features, and the Web 2.0 tools and their application to classrooms.

In 2008, through its EducaRed portal, Fundación Telefónica continued to work closely with Fundación CEDDET (Center for Distance Learning for Economic and Technological Development). The goal was to reinforce the Latin American public administrations’ technological and communications infrastructure by providing the means for training programs through the internet.

Together, both foundations offered 98 training courses in various content areas, with 2,697 public administration employees from 19 Latin American countries participating. In addition, 34 face-to-face complementary seminars were offered in Spain and Latin America, with an additional 408 experts participating.

It is important to note that in 2008 sixteen expert networks were formed, 15 of which were set up on the EducaRed portal, with participation from 4,134 Latin American professionals, who continued their training and shared experiences of good practice with their fellow Latin American colleagues.