Fri 19.09.2014 - 15:20-17:30 - Plečnik 2-3

Three Challenges, One Solution – PENTA UC Goes “Digital” For Talented Students with Low Socio-Economic Status Who Live in Rural Regions of Chile   Paper  Presentation

Presenter: Diana Boyanova
Author(s): Diana Boyanova (Catholic University of Chile - PENTA UC program, Chile), Patricia Morales, (Catholic University of Chile - PENTA UC program, Chile), Paulette Laclote (Catholic University of Chile - PENTA UC program, Chile), Marcelo Mobarec (Catholic University of Chile - PENTA UC program, Chile), Macarena Escalante (Catholic University of Chile - PENTA UC program, Chile), Lesly Maldonado, (Catholic University of Chile - PENTA UC program, Chile), Pablo González, (Catholic University of Chile - PENTA UC program, Chile)

It is a well known fact that students with academic talent have specific characteristics and therefore – specific educational needs. If not satisfied, talent would be lost. This is especially true for children with low socio-economic status (those from municipal schools in Chile) who are not only more difficult to identify, but also are less likely to have the same resources as those afforded by students with higher SES. To cope with this problem, More than 13 years PENTA UC (enrichment, out-of-school program, situated at Catholic University of Chile) provides educational services for more than 900 children every year. With the goal to reach as many talented students as possible, the model of PENTA UC has been transferred to five universities in Chile. Still, in regions far from the main cities in Chile, there are talented children from municipal schools, who are not only unlikely to be identified, but most importantly do not have the physical ability to attend any of the existing programs. Recent studies demonstrated that Chile is one of five Latin America countries with more than 50% people who use internet and one of three, in which 60% of the population use internet from home. This is an optimistic trend considering that in past years, most of the people were able to use internet only in internet clubs and “cyber cafè-s”. Taking all these factors into account PENTA UC initiated concrete actions to design the first online platform for talented children in Chile, which is planned to provide courses in Mathematics and Languages for students from rural regions of Chile. In the proposed presentation, the challenges of the design of online courses will be discussed, along with the aspects of the identification and selection of talented students with low SES from rural areas.

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