Thus, HUAWEI together with PLATZI, the leading virtual education platform in the country, held the webinar The evolution of technology in education to show the revolution in learning and education processes that has brought the use of technological devices during the pandemic.

The webinar was conducted by Ana Vides, Marketing Manager of HUAWEI El Salvador and Ingrid Zúñiga, expert representative of PLATZI, to share data, facts and tips on technology-integrated education in times of blended learning.

More than two years after the pandemic, almost everyone knows firsthand how education has changed in its different modalities: initial, primary, secondary, high school, university, formal or informal education. The changes have made it necessary to accelerate the use of technologies and to undertake a process of constant change.

Overnight, we have gone from face-to-face education - in which everyone learns at the same time and in the same place - to a type of education in which learning can take place at any time and in any place.

It has changed the role of teachers, parents and students, who are now challenged to learn more autonomously.   With the support of technology and good training, this can potentially mean a much more flexible and personalized education.

For its part, UNESCO cited in the study What the pandemic taught us about distance education, by Lucía Mendoza, professor at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), that in 2020 more than 861.7 million children and young people in 119 countries were affected by having to face the distance education situation imposed by the pandemic, a circumstance that required the acquisition of skills and the application of teaching and learning strategies to which both teachers and students had to become accustomed.

Faced with this scenario, families and educational centers have found it necessary to acquire technological devices for their homes to improve connectivity and work/study conditions for each member: installation of routers to maximize connectivity, acquisition of tablets for virtual classes, laptops for academic projects, headphones for isolation from external noise, among others. This is in the best of cases. However, most students and professors do not have the tools to work virtually.

For Ingrid Zúniga, an expert at PLATZI, one of the most recognized virtual education platforms in Latin America, the acquisition of technology "should not be seen as a luxury or an extra whim, but as an opportunity for growth and expansion of knowledge".

"In the classroom, the teacher is close to the students. In a virtual classroom, interaction depends on connections, data transmission speed and video and audio quality. That is why it is necessary to have the right technology", said Ana Vides, Marketing Manager of HUAWEI El Salvador.

She said: "We see how work has been transformed today. It is important to realize that acquiring technological skills is necessary in order not to be left behind. Acquiring a technological device is a short-term investment for the classroom, a medium-term investment for learning for the future, and a long-term investment for the labor market.

The World Economic Forum, in one of its latest reports Technological Futures: Projecting the Possible, Navigating What's Next (April, 2021) that "if the 'gig economy' continues to grow in the future, so will the 'gig-learning' economy" and that, due to the accelerating pace of technological change in the workplace, it is projected that "65% of children entering elementary school today will end up working in entirely new types of jobs that do not yet exist," many of which are related to technology and science.

"PLATZI's mission is to turn Latin America into a digital economy with transformative education. A computer with Internet access is one of the first tools for a person to learn about technology", said PLATZI's Ingrid Zúñiga.

"We are looking for people to create technology, to not only be digital consumers, but to be the new creators of the future of technology. For that we need more people, no matter where they are, to have access to effective professional education", Zúñiga added.

The challenges for the education sector have been very diverse. According to the UNAM report cited above, teachers and students must overcome prejudices about virtual education and adapt to new demands with the intelligent application of human, technological and material resources.

"Information technologies must become the vehicle to enhance a comprehensive learning experience: a device should not be seen only as a gaming or entertainment device, but as an incredible source of information and training".

Teachers, for their part, will have to overcome the digital divide, that generational gap of technology literacy and empower their skills, to offer a learning experience that not only takes into account the "mind" but also the body, and considers other formats of didactic materials and resources (social networks, learning apps, video blogs), that considers the "doing" in the learning process and detailed planning.

Here are some useful tips provided by HUAWEI to apply technology to the educational environment:

Choose appropriate study spaces. Avoid exposing them to extreme temperatures. If you're going to use a MateBook, for example, choose a solid surface, without fabrics.

Buy devices based on their use. If you will be doing research or extensive work, choose a laptop with a good processor, eye protection and a full-view screen, such as the MateBook D14 or MateBook D15. If you'll be doing physical education or field research, choose a tablet like the MatePad T10 or MatePad T8, both excellent choices for students.

Build your working ecosystem. Take it one step at a time. Acquire first the most priority devices such as a laptop or tablet, and then you can complement it with an Internet router, headphones, wireless mouse, speakers, webcams, among others. You can take advantage of promotions at authorized stores that generally offer packages during back-to-school seasons. In addition, devices "expand" their capabilities when you connect them to an integrated ecosystem. Work flows better when you cover all movement and connection needs.

Download full-featured educational apps. For both students and teachers, you can search your app store, such as AppGallery, and explore the "Education" section. Try to use apps with endorsed developers with good reviews, ratings and star ratings.

Always learn about apps, software and new devices from tech experts through tutorials or video blogs. Never stop even if the road seems too long.

Update your operating system with official licenses. This will reduce the risk of damage to your device and you will be able to count on technical support when you need it.

Consult with a certified technical service for both the internal cleaning of the equipment and for any incident that may arise. For example, HUAWEI offers maintenance and repair services to keep all HUAWEI devices under expert supervision.