I wish you had a beautiful Holy Week. We remember the day of Jesus-Christ resurrection which is the most culminate day for Christianity. Once we are capable to understand that Jesus-Christ has been the only holy man who has defeated the darkness of a tomb after three days that he was assassinated by the Romans, then it is clear for everyone why Christians adore him. No other holy man has been able to raise after a slaughtered murder. No other man on 6,000 years of our registered history was capable to do it. Jesus power and quality comes from his resurrection. Sometimes I feel that Christians put too much attention in the crime of Jesus, which is the most frightened of all for the standards of his epoch, but the influence of Jesus is fundamentally founded in his resurrection. I love and cherish Jesus Christ because he was an innocent consecrated man, he was able to resuscitate, and his stories changed the world forever. That is why we call him with more than 100 phrases to him. Some of the titles of Jesus are Almighty One, Alpha and Omega, Advocate, Author and Perfecter of our faith, Bread of Life, Beloved Son of God, Deliverer, Good Shepherd, Great High Priest, Head of the Church, King of Kings, Lamb of God, Immanuel (God with us), Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Lord of all, Messiah, Mighty one, Risen Lord, Savior of the World, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Our Redeemer. Don´t forget the power of  Jesus comes from his resurrection. The pivotal answer to all our human questions is there.  Don´t forget it.

“Innocence”. A bunny painted by Eleonora Escalante over Holy Week 2020. Made with love on watercolor paper Fabriano 5. Size: 18cm x 25 cm. If you wish to buy it let me know.

This is the last week of the current saga. We are almost done. Indeed, I need to finish this saga as soon as possible, because we are already preparing the outline for the next one. The next saga will start on May 1st. The next saga that has been triggered because of the underway state of affairs in the world caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. I have named the coming new epic under the name: “On eagle´s wings”. I understand it will be hard to re-start again, but we will make it. We will resurrect from these pandemic times. This saga will be about how to resuscitate integrally after difficult times, from the point of view of a corporate strategy artist. I am so eager to outset it. Stay tuned. The epic has the name of one of my favorite worship songs.

As a result, I will publish continuously and daily from today until I finish my promised outline. If I end to write the current heroic Iliad before the 19th of April, Thanks to God. If I stay a couple of days more in order to provide a different point of view, don´t be mad with me. It is a blessing to stay longer just to make you a bit content. In one way or another, I will finish around the 19th of April (maybe 2 days later). And that is fine. I also wish to clarify that the activities Have Sex-Reproduce will be moved as the last topic of the saga. In the meantime “aujourd´hui” we will proceed with the learning-studying activities. See below the updated schema. Thank you for your comprehension.

Updated outline as of today 14-April-2020.

Integral Education. Between the 5th of November 2018 to the 21st of January 2019, I wrote a saga called “Integral Education, Strategic Challenges and a road-map ahead”. I invite you to revisit this saga. Wrote 30 episodes.
The start article URL link is here: https://eleonoraescalantestrategy.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/integral-education-for-emerging-markets-strategic-challenges-a-road-map-ahead-i-introduction/
The last episode URL link is here: https://eleonoraescalantestrategy.wordpress.com/2019/01/21/integral-education-strategic-challenges-and-roadmap-ahead-xxx-final-thoughts-about-the-roadmap/

The majority of my thoughts in relation to education were shared in that epic. Nevertheless, since that education saga was not specifically designed to open up about my views in relation to all the newest technological dynamical aspects of education, my aim today is to share a profound reflection about the essence that I must say in relation to technologies applied to education.

1. Education is the key activity in which human beings learn to reflect. An education that doesn´t invite teachers and students to do thoughtful reflections about our knowledge, actions, deeds, and emotions is useless. We need to shift the model of “learning by studying only” to “learning by thinking before doing”.
2. When human beings do not think properly, the whole concept of their own endeavors is screwed. I have discovered that in our quest to make “money”, which is fair and productive for our own dignity quality of life, we have lost our brains in the process for the technologies.
3. There is no replacement in technologies for the content of education. Excellent content can´t be replaced by the most beautiful applications or videos. Even though, there are different learning styles, the digital aspects of education that we have seen during the last decade, are not able to provide an integral experience to students (and teachers). Some of us learn better by writing and taking notes, meanwhile others learn better by observing. Some of us have a genetic precondition to learn by doing or experimenting and making mistakes, meanwhile others adore to learn by listening and hearing to real-live teachers. Since human brains are all different, we also demand different types of methodologies in learning. During these pandemic times, many kids have experienced it at home. Some kids are fine by watching videos of their professors, or by taking lessons on line with videoconference zoom.com; but I am sure other kids do not like it or are easily distracted by its surroundings. They don´t feel comfortable with the digital process.  Many of the kids who are under quarantine are feeling as birds inside a cage, distracted by what is happening at home.
4. Technological resources for professors and students abound at the moment. These technology resources are of diverse nature. Some of the technologies are used merely for communication and instruction. Other technologies are used for administrative reasons. Other technologies are utilized to play. Such a huge range: from one-stop learn websites tailored made by educational entities up to google play applications for professors and parents. Social networking, class blogs, podcasting, and the usage of mobile devices for online teaching and instruction are being used today. It is not new for a University to provide a website communication portal where students find the valuable information that each professor wishes to share with them (homework, reports, assignments, reading material, student guides, activities schedule, etc). There are technological resources to use in the classroom, many of them connected with Wi-Fi. It is normal to find professors who wish to use Smart-boards, tablets, personal computers in class.  But are students really learning to think properly?
5. About the education applications: Nowadays many applications are using artificial intelligence and even chatbots as part of their structural backbone. Just go to Google Playstore, digit primary or secondary education course or a specific topic in education, and you will find free of charge available apps for an ample range of students (from preschool and kindergarten to basic core primary-secondary and university courses). I have been testing some of them. But one thing is to receive the information and repeat lessons day after day, as if we are parrots,  and another one is to have the opportunity to do creative and reflective thinking.
6. Interaction with videos has a limited scope. I have subscribed to several YouTube tutorials of many domains (from art, history, tedtalks, cooking to financial modeling). Even though it is practical and easy, I consider that it is impersonal. There is no instant interaction at all with the tutor, and even if you connect to them by sending messages, or by using specific video-conference alternatives as zoom.com, skype, facetime, whatsapp video conferencing, the emotion that is transfer in real life, that thing you can feel from the professor is not existent. In addition, you don´t learn anything from your peers. Many times I have learned more by watching the different answers of professors to other classmates, or by interesting in person by solving problems with someone who understands better or by someone who is also struggling. The feeling that you can see and perceive from the emotions of the one to one real-life interactions can´t be replaced.
7. The majority of technologies in place are not offering spontaneous adaptable thinking, neither collaborative problem solving, nor reflections from the past-present-future. I believe that the creative capacity in our brains doesn´t come by using predetermined digital experiences. The spontaneity is killed with the pre-determined applications.  Digital massive online applications are simply using our brains as a warehouse, but do not ignite unplanned creativity. It is like “machine learning” applied to humans. The unplanned, unrehearsed, impulsive, impetuous, unstudied, impromptu, spur-of-the-moment, extemporaneous, unforced voluntary, unconstrained and off-the-cuff opportunities to learn are not on the menu.
8. Digital Learning is not correct as it has been designed already. For me, integral education is balanced. It has some mix of digital and traditional lectures and activities in the classroom. Classrooms were designed to help students to learn. Classrooms help people to learn to relate with others and learn to tame our not so good habits. It is important to learn in groups to socialize and to interact with respect. The lack of classrooms create isolation and social media friends will never be friends who know you on a day to day basis. By isolating people to learn from home,  we are triggering selfish and violent people, or in automated robots that are being mocked to learn.

But I will provide some hints about this on my next publication. My next episode will be only about the elements that I foresee as important for the model of education in the future. A mix of the best of the traditional model, with just some touch of the best of the digital innovations that may be “useful for our brains”.

Sources of reference utilized to prepare the slides:

https://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/debbie-mcdaniel/50-names-of-jesus-who-the-bible-says-christ-is.html

https://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/educational_technology/

https://kidslox.com/blog/top-5-negative-effects-of-technology-you-even-dont-suspect/

Disclaimer: Illustrations in Watercolor are painted by Eleonora Escalante. Other types of illustrations or videos (which are not mine) are used for educational purposes ONLY.  Nevertheless, the majority of the pictures, images or videos shown on this blog are not mine.  I do not own any of the lovely photos or images posted unless otherwise stated.

Published by eleonoraescalantestrategy

Corporate Strategy Artist, San Salvador, El Salvador View all posts by eleonoraescalantestrategy