ONLINE EVENT: Education and Technology Strategies – Lessons Learned and Opportunities in Latin America

This post is also available in: Spanish

The pandemic has heavily impacted education systems around the world, and Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries are not the exception. Recently released estimates suggest that learning poverty could increase by over 20 percent in the region and more than two in three students in secondary education could fall below minimum proficiency levels. In addition to the massive interruption of face-to-face classes, the deployment of multichannel strategies to provide remote learning and support to teachers and students has emphasized the importance of having a robust educational technology (EdTech) digital ecosystem.

In LAC, the pre-existing socio-economic differences have exacerbated inequalities and digital divides such as access to infrastructure (connectivity and devices), availability of educational resources, as well as the development of digital skills among others. These preexisting conditions (or the lack thereof) have shaped the strategies of how countries are coping with these difficult times and are addressing the recovery of learning as schools reopen. Additionally, investing in educational technology can strengthen education systems against future crises and can help reform and reimagine traditional educational settings. 

This webinar, organized by the Education Program at the Inter-American Dialogue and the World Bank, will present the new educational technology strategy, Reimagining Human Connections – Technology and Innovation in Education at the World Bank, as well as showcase the experiences of  Brazil, Colombia, Panama, and Uruguay implementing innovative EdTech strategies to address short- and long-term challenges.

Follow this event on Twitter at #ReimaginandoLasConexiones and @PrealEd. 

We invite participants to send questions through the Q&A function on Zoom.

This event will be held in Spanish with English and Portuguese interpretation.

Watch the event here (in Spanish): 

Agenda

10:00 AM – 10:15 AM		Opening Remarks
		Jaime Saavedra, Global Director of Education, World Bank (@JaimeSaavedra22) Emanuela Di Gropello, Education Practice Manager, Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank Ariel Fiszbein, Director, Education Program, Inter-American Dialogue (@arielfiszbein)
10:15 AM – 10:25 AM		Presentation of Report: Reimagining Human Connections – Technology and Innovation in Education at the World Bank
		Robert Hawkins, Senior Education & Technology Policy Specialist and Global Lead for Technology and Innovation in Education, World Bank (@rhawkins)
10:25 AM – 11:25 AM		Panel Discussion
		Ana Caroline Santos Calazans Vilasboas, Director of Articulation and Support to Basic Education Networks, Ministry of Education, Brazil (@MEC_Comunicacao) Edna Cristina Bonilla Sebá, Secretary, Secretariat of Education, Bogota, Colombia  Leandro Folgar, President, Plan Ceibal, Uruguay (@leandro_folgar) Maruja Gorday De Villalobos, Minister, Ministry of Education, Panamá (@MarujaGordaydeV)
11:25 AM – 11:30 AM		Closing Remarks
		Ariel Fiszbein, Director, Education Program, Inter-American Dialogue (@arielfiszbein)

ORGANIZED IN CONJUNCTION WITH: