ProFuturo is a digital education programme for the improvement of educational quality, using digital tools, in vulnerable environments and does so with a dual strategy: on the one hand it improves teacher training at the techno-pedagogical level and, on the other, it promotes meaningful student learning through motivational digital learning experiences.
Share
«Nicole is a brilliant student —she loves reading and her favourite subject at school is English— and she is about to discover what will be her greatest dream: to fly, to become an air hostess one day.»
8.2 mill.
million children have benefitted from Profuturo’s work in Asia between 2016 and 2018.Nicole and her mother begin the day by checking on the weather, in case they have to prepare for rain. The rainy season in the Manila region begins at the end of June.
We analyse educational initiatives that face challenges from an educational perspective, especially those related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. ProFuturo Observatory is The Observatory analyses, explains and contemplates not only the state of digital education in vulnerable environments but also the challenges it faces.
The teacher at Nicole’s school thinks Profuturo will help Nicole to have the same opportunities as children who are born in less vulnerable environments.
Jeian Mae, Nicole’s teacher, receives the training that forms part of the professional development itineraries for teachers that ProFuturo runs under its comprehensive digital education framework.
The dreams of Nicole and her teacher Jeian Mae cross paths in the air. Despite the difficulties of their environment, their dreams are of a future full of opportunities for the two of them, of airplanes and travels in which they can go around the world discovering cultures, tastes, landscapes and new horizons.
From the air, the Malabón landscape is divided into modern skyscrapers and traditional low-rise houses with coloured roofs. In the suburbs of this city, which was considered by many as the Venice of the Philippines, the flood waters mix with the waste water coming from a poorly maintained sewer system, which causes health problems amongst the population, particularly among the younger children.
After having breakfast and washing, Nicole clears away the dishes, puts on her uniform of a green skirt and white blouse, and walks to school with her mother and brother, dodging out of the way of scooters, bicycles, cars and tuk tuks.
«I love going to school», says Nicole. «I’m happy at school because I have very good teachers. I like going to class because I learn lots of things». Nicole’s school, Acacia Elementary School, is a small state-run school with overcrowded classrooms: in total there are some two thousand two hundred pupils, divided into two shifts. In spite of the lack of space and of not having the best facilities, it is a colourful school, light and bright with some trees, and where the children can learn through lessons with painting.
With the help of ProFuturo, the teachers at Acacia take care to awaken the curiosity of the children and provide them with the necessary skills for the 21st Century, such as digital skills, the ability to work as a team, creativity, problem-solving, etc. The teachers are aware of the great attraction of technological devices for children, who are ecstatic when they have a class in the computer lab, and they make the most of this to get the best results from their students.
The team of teachers works with ProFuturo’s teaching content, which is intended to develop the students’ curricular skills, especially in the areas related to linguistics and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
After returning home, Nicole goes to bed, waiting excitedly for a new sunny day to begin, full of adventures and learning, games and sport at the Acacia Elementary School.
