This document summarizes Uruguay's national program to provide blended remote English instruction to students. It created a strong technology infrastructure, providing laptops and internet access to over 700,000 students. To address a lack of certified English teachers and unequal access to language classes, it implemented a remote teaching program where foreign English teachers provide instruction to multiple classrooms simultaneously via videoconferencing. Evaluation results found annual performance improvements across all socioeconomic groups, high student engagement correlated with online interaction, and that remote teacher interaction was a key predictor of performance. Coordination between remote and classroom teachers also correlated with higher performance. The program demonstrates that social innovation and technology can be effectively combined to connect communities through learning.

1. World Atlas of the Ar.ficial Night Sky Brightness (David Lorenz)
Blended Teaching:
Remote English Instruction in Uruguay
Cristóbal Cobo
@cristobalcobo
Center for Research –
Ceibal Founda.on, Uruguay

2. 1. old/new EdTech
2. incremental innova.on EdTech

3. 3. radical innova.on EdTech

4. 715.000 users with laptops, tablets and Internet
52.000 laptops, tablets and Internet
in libraries in schools
767.000 beneficiaries
All students in
public educa=on
Grades 1 to 10
Tablets
1-3
Laptop
4-6
7-10
2007 - 2017
creating a strong technology infrastructure

5. 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
87%
79%
75%
72%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
People access to a PC by fiths of income in Uruguay
In percentage by person
you can call it innova.on (only) if you can scale it up
Overall Country average (2014) = 77,3
1st quin=le
2nd quin=le
3rd quin=le
4th quin=le
5th quin=le

6. Digital Platforms
Educa=onal Resources
On-line Evalua=on
Digital library
LMS
Remote
Teaching English
Math Adap=ve
PlaYorm
Progamming
Robo=cs & digital labs

7. o Lack of cer.fied English teachers
o Unequal access language class
Remote teaching of English
Remote Teacher (BC)
Classroom
Teacher
• 2 ways HQ VC + HD Tv
• Fiber optic connectivity
• LMS (lesson plans, materials)
• Strong quality control: Common EU
Framework of Reference for Languages)
• Co-Teaching: RT (A) + CT (B,C)

8. 82,000
106,000
TEACHING ENGLISH
93% of groups
from 4° to 6°
Primary school
1st to 3rd grade
Secondary
700 groups
33,000
57,000
2012
VC 1,000 st
VC 25.000 st
1,000 groups
2013
VC 50,000 st
2,000 groups
2014
VC 77.000 st
3,297 groups
2015
2016
VC 80.000
students
3,476 groups
112,000
1800 RT class weekly
MX.UK.PH.AR.
Online
Adap.ve
Assessment
65,000
Students
V-R-G-L

9. 1. Inter annual improvement in all SES
2. Engagement: Performance is correlated
with online interaction
3. Performance: RT interaction - key
predictor
4. Coordination between RT – CT
correlated with performance
Results Summary:

10. Lessons learned
The plan works:
• Strong coordination: good balance Social Innovation & Tech.
• Teachers are great learners

11. @cristobalcobo
From using technology to replace people into
using technology to connect communities
– learning as a social practice