Reform Symposium 04 (#RSCON4) presentation on Ceibal English

I was happy to be invited to present at the Future of Education´s Reform Symposium 04 (#RSCON4) and have decided it was a good opportunity to talk about the kind of teaching that is happening via video conferencing on the Ceibal English project.

Here are the details of my presentation:

Remote teaching, distance learning, team teaching or blended learning?

In Uruguay, due to a lack of qualified and experienced teachers, English is being taught in almost 1000 primary classes across the country via video conferencing, using teachers from elsewhere (other parts of Uruguay, Argentina, the Philippines, Colombia and Mexico). Because there are two teachers, the classroom teacher (CT) and the remote teacher (RT), a new type of methodology is being developed that combines elements of distance learning, team teaching and blended learning, but which is also requires a unique approach. 

Day/Time : Sunday 13th October 12.00-13.00 (UTC/GMT) 10.00-11.00 UYST

This online conference promises to be very special - there are lots of very interesting sessions already lined up to choose from. See you there?  

3 months of Ceibal English

I've now been working in Montevideo for Plan Ceibal for just over three months now and still can't get over the fact that it feels like I'm in a very special place at a very special time. Three months isn't a very long time, but it feels like I have learnt a lot since I've been here. As the British Council's project manager for Ceibal English (Ceibal en Inglés) in Uruguay, I took over from Dario Luis Banegas, whose article 'ELT through videoconferencing in primary schools in Uruguay: first steps' is an excellent introduction to the pilot and first stage of the project. The introductory project video (below) gives another good overview of what is involved.

Shortly after I arrived, the project expanded from 500 English classes a week to just under 1000, with classes being taught in multiple locations across the country by remote teachers from various institutes in Montevideo, the British Council in Colombia and Mexico, AACI and other institutes in Argentina, and SME in the Philippines. I'm happy to say this expansion phase was successful thanks to the efforts of many dedicated professionals and it definitely feels exciting to be part of what is a unique countrywide complex project involving the teaching of English and a combination of learning technologies.


Since the expansion phase in July, I've been able to observe teachers at work and my idea is to now blog about different aspects of the project here. It is a complex and dynamic project that is changing as it is being rolled out. There are parts of the project that tend to indicate a new teaching methodology is required, and Jeremy Harmer reflected on this in a recent blog post after visiting a school and observing a class. This post and the comments posted by a variety of people both involved and not involved in the project make very interesting reading. It's partly due to the comments posted there that I've decided to reflect on different aspects of the project here.

Find out more about the project here:

• Perspective from the point-of-view of a remote teacher - British Council blog post
• Report of Ceibal English session by Paul Woods at IATEFL
• Report of Ceibal English session by Nicolas Dantaz-Rico at IATEFL
• ELGazette Latin America supplement with articles about the project (needs registration and then access to back issue Jul 2013)
• El Observador newspaper article (in Spanish) about the pilot results and expansion
• Mariana Montaldo's presentation for the Virtual Round Table
• Video documentary giving a good overview of Plan Ceibal in general