Students in the Jalapa middle school Computer Center
Technology Program (formerly known as the Computers Program) teacher Carmen Cristina found the Cooperative for Education (CoEd) Computer Center at Jalapa middle school to be an ideal place to share her knowledge and her passion for teaching. As a systems engineer by profession and a teacher by vocation, she shows daily how her enthusiasm for technology and teaching goes beyond the usual by facing constant challenges and changing the paradigms of an educational system with many shortcomings.
“I love teaching classes and sharing my knowledge with students,” Carmen Cristina says. “Before the arrival of the new equipment, the situation was complicated. Computers were practically obsolete,” she explains.
“We went from 20% functionality to 100% with the new computers. The obsolescence of previous equipment severely limited teaching capacity and student learning.”
Carmen Cristina
CoEd Technology Team installing the Computer Center at Jalapa middle school.
With the incorporation of the new equipment thanks to CoEd’s Technology Team and our supporters, the dynamics in Carmen Cristina’s technology classes changed radically. “The students are motivated, it caught their attention, and they seem interested in learning more about the course,” she says excitedly. The difference in the performance and functionality of the new equipment has been notable.
Now, students are not only more motivated, but have also shown significant improvement in their academic performance.
“They have responded positively, they feel happy. Now there is better school performance, personalized teaching, and they use the appropriate tools to carry out tasks in other subjects,” observes Carmen Cristina. Updating the laboratory has allowed us to enrich student learning in a way that was not possible before.
The implementation of the new equipment has not only improved school performance but has also facilitated more personalized teaching and allowed students to enrich their learning using more advanced tools. “So far we have not faced unexpected challenges. CoEd enriched my knowledge through training. I started without knowing where to go and from that first day they have supported me. This allowed me to get to know the tech and adapt my students to the new work system,” she says.
Students in the Jalapa middle school Computer Center.
Among other things, Carmen Cristina has also received positive feedback from parents about the school’s incorporation of the new computers. “They were informed and shown how the equipment and the program worked. They were very happy because their children had a better quality of education,” she says. Finally, she expresses her deep gratitude to the donors who made this transformation possible. “Thank you infinitely because your support strengthens us as an establishment and allows our students to achieve the skills they need to function in this technological era. Thank you so much,” she concludes sincerely.
The words of Ms. Cristina, as her students affectionately call her, are a powerful testimony to the impact that the generosity of our supporters has for communities like Jalapa, where an educational center underwent a technological transformation that has significantly improved the quality of teaching and learning. With this new access to resources, Jalapa’s young people are now prepared for a future full of opportunities.