Since classes were suspended in Argentina due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have assumed responsibility for helping the education system migrate to digital teaching methodologies.
In the last 4 months, we’ve trained more than 3,500 teachers and 180 schools in the use of technology. We’ve also provided the necessary platforms to various pedagogical institutions in the country, reaching more than 25,000 students.
Our head of Talent Management in Argentina, Mauricio Salvatierra, has led one of our most ambitious initiatives to date – providing webinars to thousands of teachers and launching Google for Education at more than 180 educational institutions throughout the country
Among the tools that Globant has implemented and promoted during the pandemic are: Google Classroom, classes with Google Meet, and Jamboard, among others. But the most important thing is to have contributed with a series of virtual pedagogical experiences, promoting the recording of videos and podcasts on secure platforms, promoting synchronous and asynchronous classes.
Additionally, together with a technical team from UNICEN (National University of the Center of the Province of Buenos Aires), we put together a solution for people who do not have internet, but do have a data plan on their cell phone.
The solution looked for a way for them to be able to access virtual education without consuming that data. Thanks to this solution, today there are students in the Argentine city of Viedma accessing different educational platforms, without consuming any resources on their plan.
Tips and lessons from the pandemic
Over the past few months, in our work with schools, teachers, and students, we have seen many of the same issues occurring over and over again. In particular:
- Today teachers have an extreme need for technological training, but only attending talks is not effective. They need hands-on experience in order to learn.
- Teachers are attempting to use technology as best they can. Typically, they start to test products that they think will help them with their students. But they run into various problems and limitations, such as paid products, lack of space in their personal accounts, and even possible legal problems.
- Teachers need to learn and implement new, high-quality solutions as quickly as possible.
In the last few years, Globant has been very active in the education industry. We recognize that the next step is to turn technology into a tool that can enhance how we teach and how we learn. As Mauricio Salvatierra, our talent development manager in Argentina often states: “We know about technology and there are a lot of people who are experts in education. We’re ready to help organizations combine these two worlds.”
