Latin America

Multiple crises are afflicting young and mature democracies alike. Extreme social polarisation, mistrust of authority and information (from media, scientific communities, governments themselves), the rise of populism, drastically deepening socio-economic inequality, and greater alienation and disenfranchisement of social groups are among the serious challenges that global society is confronting.One of the chief threats to democracy today is a form of populism that seeks to create powerful totalitarian narratives, silence alternative perspectives and assert its dominance via force rather than reason or cooperation.Universities have a vital role to play in constructing more robust societies that are better able to resolve complex social, economic and political challenges. They can do this if they take two aspects into consideration: their structure as pluralistic institutions that protect and privilege the free exchange of ideas, and their turn towards becoming open knowledge institutions. This entails rethinking the university not as a gatekeeper of knowledge but an organisation that coordinates a complex network of individuals from a wide range of social spheres.Resource collection: Higher education’s role in upholding democracyWhat can universities do to protect Russian and Ukrainian academics fighting for truth?Spotlight guide: Why knowledge exchange is important for universitiesProtecting diversity of opinionUniversities are spaces where plurality and diversity of opinion have always been respected and protected. Debates are resolved peacefully and respectfully, and divergent perspectives are protected. Universities are spaces where critical viewpoints can be discussed without fear of reprisal or repression. In countries with a history of suppression of free speech in the public sphere, the value of this protection should not be underestimated. This protected critical sphere is vital to the healthy functioning of democracies. The university tradition of tolerance and plurality is something that must be inculcated into every student that passes through and every person the university touches.In Latin America, public universities have an important nation-building role. Since their foundation, they have provided large numbers of senior civil servants, especially judiciary, as well as serving as important policymaking and deliberative bodies that offer not only an important critical function but a constructive one, too. The health and strength of young democracies is intimately tied to the constructive and critical functions of their flagship higher education institutions.The traditional configuration of the university is diverse and tolerant with regards to its own community, but reticent &nbsp;to engage with those outside of it. Access to these privileged spaces tends to be more open to the socio-economically privileged. In part, this distancing can feed the rise of populist sentiment and rhetoric, as we have witnessed in recent years in Brazil. Diversifying the student and staff bodies and extending the reach of higher education is essential to strengthening civil society and making democracy more inclusive.Universities and scientific institutions have special organisational characteristics that have the potential to greatly strengthen democratic norms. However, their nature as closed systems is often limiting.Open knowledge institutionsOpen science means much more than just free access to journal articles. The process of transitioning to an open knowledge institution requires commitment to opening the institution to society during planning, processes, publishing and evaluation. The principle of openness to society must be embraced to ensure that universities and their values permeate society more widely, and the university can react and listen to the society that funds and sustains it.To do this, public universities can:Establish consultive councils made up of a wide range of internal and external stakeholders who can articulate societal demands. This should include civil society representatives, representatives of the public sector, community leaders and elected officials. The job of a consultive council is to articulate societal demands and to discuss and set ambitions for the knowledge network that the university supports. They are consulted in the process of setting strategic plans and parameters for institutional and staff evaluation. This ensures institutions are better able to respond directly to societal concerns.Set clear targets for student body diversity during admissions, and track graduate outcomes into the workplace. This will help in monitoring how effective universities are as motors of inequality reduction, and hopefully improve the diversification of&nbsp;political, judicial, social and private-sector leadership.Set hiring targets for more diverse academic staff and senior management to ensure that a greater diversity of perspectives is present to influence public policy decisions.Explicitly value knowledge from marginalised and underrepresented groups in knowledge creation and dissemination to widen the number of voices heard among policymaking communities.Find mechanisms to measure and reward policy impact, so that it is as highly valued as academic or economic impact and becomes a more central part of career progression and recognition.Reward research that engages a wider spectrum of knowledge creators, in a wider variety of media. Research created with the general public, public authorities and non-governmental organisations helps to broaden the network of knowledge production, and as a result includes more actors in policymaking and influence.Justin Axel-Berg is a higher education policy researcher at the University of São Paulo in Brazil.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the Campus&nbsp;newsletter.

No longer just guardians of knowledge, public universities are critical to the health of young democracies. To support civil society and democracy, flagship institutions must embrace their role as coordinators of open knowledge exchange

How open knowledge strengthens democracies

Everyone in the teaching world knows there are different types of students: those who require considerable amounts of control and precise follow-ups from teachers; and more independent students who need freedom to advance their knowledge without feeling too limited or tied to a school structure.

For the most part, these independent students have experiences that have required them to be part of their learning and they understand that success lies in the way they self-manage. In our experience, such students are increasing in number, meaning that designing and/or implementing self-directed models is becoming ever more crucial.

We recently designed a self-directed course model in the department of digital education at the Monterrey Institute of Technology to meet the needs of this type of student and to strengthen self-management competency across the board.


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We designed nine general training courses in this modality, which were then taught in intensive and semester periods. They received a grade of&nbsp;9.14 out of&nbsp;10 in the student satisfaction survey, confirming the model’s effectiveness.

We recommend that universities implement this model for students with a high level of self-management. If you are in the early stages of doing so, here are some tips on what to consider. To start, a self-directed model should:


	Give students control of the learning pace of the course, with all activities and academic contents integrated into an educational platform (such as Canvas) that affords them the flexibility to study asynchronously in the place and time that the students decide, provided that they complete everything by a specific closing date.
	Evaluate the course’s training activities – those that evidence that students have acquired competencies should be reviewed based on interviews/reviews scheduled with an expert teacher in the subject. This teacher ensures that the student has complied with and demonstrated the course’s specified competencies before assigning a passing grade to the student.
	Support the development of self-management by offering a suggested calendar or schedule.
	&nbsp;


The learner’s experience in a self-directed course should consider the following elements:


	Start with a self-diagnosis of previous knowledge.
	Have access to the contents, resources and activities at any time and place and as many times as necessary.
	Allow for exchanging points of view with remote colleagues.
	Assessments to measure progress of knowledge at the end of subject modules.
	Access to a single digital environment designed to meet learning requirements.
	Advice from the teacher when required.
	Access to a virtual assistant at any time.
	Develop evidence to demonstrate acquired knowledge.
	Personalised feedback from the teacher after reviewing evidence.
	&nbsp;


The advantages of such a model for the students are numerous and include:


	Learning to manage their time efficiently and responsibly.
	Benefiting from a model that is flexible, automated and asynchronous.
	The inclusion of microlearning content.
	The opportunity to review contents and academic resources and carry out activities until they master the content (as long as the course is completed before the deadline established at the beginning of the period).
	Developing disciplinary and digital skills.


Meanwhile, some advantages of the model for the institution are:


	Courses can be given in different academic periods, such as intensive periods and semester periods.
	Because content is asynchronous, it can be a good option for those studying remotely or overseas.


We can conclude that much of the success of this model lies in the profile of the student, who requires a high degree of self-management, and also in the profile of the teacher, who must be comfortable vacating the role of “lecturer” of academic content and becomes, instead, a manager who monitors students’ learning progress. In our experience thus far, when these two elements marry up, the self-directed model is an effective and popular means of learning.

Blanca Benavente and Estela Murrieta are both directors of digital experience for professionals at Monterrey Institute of Technology, Mexico.

With increasing numbers of students learning remotely and showing high levels of independence, the ability to offer self-directed courses is more important than ever

Things to consider when designing a self-directed course model

Mens sana in corpore sano, or “a healthy mind in a healthy body”, is a well-known phrase originally used by the Roman poet Juvenal. I’m convinced that the phrase – and the sentiment behind it – is relevant in higher education settings and that our students will benefit greatly if we adopt it as a personal goal. 

For they are in the process of modelling their minds via demanding academic standards and are constantly making significant decisions that might impact their adult lives. As such, physical activity is not only welcome but necessary for them – and, in my opinion, for anyone involved in intellectual endeavours. 

Of course, many students already give up their time to practise sports or exercise and enjoy it, but many see these activities as optional. There are, of course, many reasons why this might be the case, with the simplest being that students are very likely to have a packed agenda that sees them juggling academic courses, part-time jobs, and time for family and social engagements. 


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This led me to consider how I might help engage students in healthy physical activities. I came up with an idea and implemented it several years ago: why not help students engage in exercise via a challenge that rewards physical activity academically? My thinking was that young adults are easily stimulated by challenges, and many care about their personal image and social acceptance. Plus, a boost in their final grades is always welcomed, so this idea was bound to be well accepted. 

I am glad to report that it has been. I named it The Rams Challenge, after our university mascot, and the scheme has been in place since 2014. Students are challenged to individually traverse 1,000km (621.3 miles) during a term. This distance can be covered by walking, running, cycling, roller skating, swimming or any combination of these as part of playing sports or commuting. For every 100km covered, they earn one extra credit point, up to a maximum 10 extra points (out of a possible 100) in one term. 

To enter the challenge, students sign up to and use a high-quality sports app, such as Strava or MapMyFitness, that allows them to track their physical activity in real time. The challenge is formally announced as part of the course syllabus and policies, and to further encourage student participation, I take part in the challenge, too. 

A simple calculation suggests that students must cover an average of 8.5km per day if they want to gain the full number of extra credits. It is also a true challenge in another sense, requiring excellent time management if they’re to make space for this activity – about an hour a day – in their crunched agendas.

And they seem to be responding to it. Since 2014, more than 1,000 students have enrolled in the challenge (an average of 60 students per academic term) with 70 per cent of them showing active participation. They have frequently extolled the benefit on their lives beyond the extra credit points. Some students had never tried running, jogging or cycling in a systematic way and discovered they enjoy it; others have lost weight, improved their general fitness and increased their confidence in a healthy way. Others simply acquired a positive, healthy habit and even asked to enrol on the challenge in other terms, even if they cannot claim the extra credit points. 

Meanwhile, other professors, lecturers, staff and alumni have also been enthusiastically participating, comparing their levels of fitness with young university students and benefiting through healthy activity.

The challenge addresses the World Health Organisation’s recommendations on physical activity and supports previous findings regarding the relationship between exercise and learning. I must say that I have not conducted longitudinal research to systematically measure the benefits of this challenge, but I do believe that, due to the positive results shared by students, the challenge has been successful, helping them achieve what the Romans once believed: mens sana in corpore sano.

Roberto Villaseñor-Roldán is a full-time professor of industrial and system engineering at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, Mexico.

If you found this interesting and want advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the&nbsp;THE Campus&nbsp;newsletter. 

The body hears everything the mind says, so it is said. That is certainly true when teachers offer extra academic credits in return for physical activity, says Roberto Villaseñor-Roldán

Want students to exercise more? Make it part of their course

Nowadays, the graduate profile is intrinsically linked to “competencies”. Thus, students require educational resources, theory and practice that they might use to solve current challenges or problems. 

Competency-based training seeks to develop students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes for the competitive world of work in these globalised times. As a teacher, much of your concern will be ensuring that students have the knowledge and are well prepared to face the challenges of their chosen profession. Therefore, they must be able to learn autonomously, work collaboratively, participate responsibly in society and more. 

Digital modules can lend themselves to competency-based training very well, because they are self-directed, interactive, flexible and personalised. Indeed, the design of their educational content should be based on a personalised learning methodology, according to the learning needs of the student and with adaptable bases. That is, the educational resources are organised in learning paths developed by the teacher, but the paths can be adjusted based on students’ understanding of the content.

How is a digital module used?&nbsp;

A digital module can be implemented as a learning object, since it is designed to cover specific learning purposes, or be incorporated as a support element within other learning experiences. 

Main advantages of digital modules


	Self-directed and online: the content is always available and the student chooses content based on their interest.
	Interactive: the student has unlimited interaction with the resources.
	Portable and mobile: students can view the content anywhere and from any device.
	Reusable: can be repackaged for different training experiences.
	Iterative: students can review the resources as many times as they want to understand the content.


How to design a digital module


	Initial planning: state the learning purposes and evaluation criteria and list the topics and subtopics.
	Design learning paths: map the elements of each learning path. One path is created per topic and each topic is divided into subtopics, divided in turn into at least three concepts. Each concept has an objective that will provide the guidelines for defining the base and reinforcement resources. We recommend including at least three educational resources that explain each concept in different formats, such as infographics, videos and audio. The path also indicates the appropriate point for formative evaluations; they can be conducted at the end of the study of a concept or the end of a topic. 
	Development of didactic resources and formative evaluations: educational resources are developed from the processes of resource creation or curation, the latter of which means resources selected from the web with the teacher’s input.
	Construction of the digital module in an LMS: finally, the technological structure is generated, that is, the spaces where the educational resources and evaluations will be designed and published.


How is a digital module incorporated into competency-based training?


	Identify the learning purposes to be developed: this allows selecting the ideal module to complement the learning experience.
	Define the evaluation scheme and value of the work in the module: the teacher defines the percentage or value given to completing the module in the general evaluation scheme.
	Describe in the methodology how the module is incorporated: include an explanation of the training action’s relationship to the module and its components.
	Incorporate the digital module into the technological structure: the teacher follows the steps indicated in a tutorial to incorporate the digital module within the LMS in question.
	&nbsp;


Those teachers who decide to include a digital module play a fundamental role in enriching the learning experience from the moment they select a suitable module through to the follow-up they provide to validate progress and student performance.

The didactic use of digital modules is an excellent resource for improving students’ academic performance. At the Monterrey Institute of Technology, we have incorporated them into undergraduate courses (transversal contents) and in graduate-level courses, at which point students have highlighted their ease of use and the access they provide to a variety of resources for knowledge reinforcement.

Adela Vega is academic coordinator of the social sciences and government area, and Laura Castillo is solution design leader, both at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, Mexico.

If you found this interesting and want advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,&nbsp;sign up for the&nbsp;THE Campus&nbsp;newsletter. 

Digital modules lend themselves well to competency-based training. Adela Vega and Laura Castillo offer a guide to designing and incorporating them into a digital learning experience

How to design and incorporate a digital module

For the many academics out there who feel the online teaching and/or learning experience isn’t quite cutting it, the hologram professor project – which we began at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico in 2018 – might offer some succour.The hologram professor is an innovative educational experience based on “telepresence” and, crucially at this juncture for higher education, it can recreate the natural dynamics of face-to-face environments – by creating a hologram of the lecturer in multiple classrooms at once, offering greater closeness and warmth for distance learners compared with current videoconferencing systems. Knowledge and experiences can be exchanged in real time while students interact and carry out activities in their classrooms. Here, we break down the nuts and bolts of the project.How does the hologram professor experience work?Students sit in “receiving” classrooms with up to 30 students per room – but on different campuses of the Tecnológico de Monterrey. The professor, meanwhile, is in a “transmitting room”, watching, teaching and interacting with students on all these campuses just as in a face-to-face class.The hologram professor transmission technology allows students to see the professor’s image live, in anatomically correct dimensions, projected to multiple receiving rooms through a videoconferencing tool.The magic of the approach lies in the fact the students feel like the professor is in the room with them and can get immediate feedback from her or him. Along with the hologram of the professor, students follow slides and other content on large monitors in their classroom, while other screens show their classmates from other campuses.How to apply virtual reality to enhance learning experiencesWhat to do when technology fails: an educator’s survival guide for online classroomsImmersive tech in teaching and learning: first steps into the metaverseHow do I get started?As with any educational innovation, this will need to be supported by several areas within the institution. It will be key to form a team with IT staff to set up and enable the receiving and transmitting rooms. And there will need to be instructional support in terms of training and coaching teachers in the use of the rooms.In the transmitting room, the professor stands in front of a black background to deliver the lesson, and there are two monitors that show course materials plus the students in the receiving rooms. This set-up does not require any particularly spectacular tech – the transmitting room needs simply a computer with a videoconferencing tool, a regular video and audio system (camera, microphone, speakers) with good audiovisual quality, the black screen for the background and the two monitors.In the receiving room, students sit like they would in a regular class and can see the professor’s image projected on to a holographic screen. On other monitors, they can see the class content and their classmates in other rooms. This room must have a holographic screen, but other than that, again, the requirements are fairly basic – a video and audio system (camera, microphone, speakers) with good audiovisual quality, two monitors, a projector and a computer with a videoconferencing tool.Alongside the professor is a transmission coordinator who makes sure that all the sites are receiving the audio and video signals correctly and supports the professor in following up on what’s happening with the students on the different sites. Meanwhile, in each classroom is a facilitator who supports the professor in carrying out teamwork activities, experiments and other learning, as well as monitoring and moderating the group’s participation and, if applicable, administering exams.Even once the rooms have been converted for the project, they can subsequently be used for other purposes such as face-to-face classes and regular videoconferencing classes.What is the hologram professor’s role? Does it change the way lecturers teach?The professor teaches their class in a very active way but otherwise acts the same as they would in a face-to-face classroom. However, instead of a traditional blackboard or interactive whiteboard, the professor uses a touchscreen or tablet to explain the content of lessons, solve problems, show videos and more. The teaching needs to be very dynamic, and professors must design activities to involve all the students who are connected across the different sites as well as working with their local classmates.Can we really recreate a face-to-face environment without the physical presence of the professor?Yes. We used the “technological ecosystem for telepresence with hologram effect model”, which has four components.First, a pedagogical strategy that utilises active learning. Students carry out various contextual activities to build their knowledge. They are engaged in learning through activities and discussions in class instead of passively listening to an expert.Technology is the second component. In addition to the hologram transmission technology, the teacher uses the learning management system (in our case, Canvas) and educational interaction tools such as Miro, Menti, Kahoot, Quizzis, chatbots and augmented reality apps.Third is educational resources. Students access a variety of content in different formats; these resources help the students understand the lessons and content.The fourth component is interaction in live sessions. Teacher-student interaction is once again achieved in a natural and agile way: the student raises their hand and participation is carried out in real time; professors communicate with students using their names as if they were physically in the classroom, helping to create an emotional bond. These small gains, and more, help to engage students and result in their enjoying the class.Continuing to innovate is essential for universities, and offering several formats for teaching and learning cannot help but attend to a wider variety of students’ needs. The hologram professor model has proven successful and effective, but above all, it’s been well received by the students, one of whom said: “It’s very comforting. It’s been one of my favourite classes in my time at Tec. It feels innovative, and that makes you want to participate in and attend classes more.”Carla Victoria Ramírez López is leader of educational innovation and the hologram professor initiative at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico.Leticia Castaño Sánchez is leader of educational innovation at Tecnológico de Monterrey.Patricia Aldape Valdés is innovation director of learning experiences at Tecnológico de Monterrey.If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.

Try becoming a ‘hologram professor’

Beaming a hologram of lecturers into classrooms offers greater closeness than video systems, say Carla Victoria Ramírez López, Leticia Castaño Sánchez and Patricia Aldape Valdés

Latin America

How open knowledge strengthens democracies

Things to consider when designing a self-directed course model

Want students to exercise more? Make it part of their course

How to design and incorporate a digital module

Missing face-to-face interaction? Try becoming a ‘hologram professor’

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