Comunicación para la inclusión social de minorías. La Clase Mágica, un modelo de intervención para el cambio social

Las minorías culturales y étnicas son con frecuencia los grupos más desfavorecidos en términos sociales y económicos debido a su falta de representación institucional. El objetivo de este artículo es proponer un modelo de intervención capaz de aumentar el poder de participación de una minoría a través de la comunicación horizontal con otras identidades mayoritarias. Los resultados del estudio de caso del programa socioeducativo La Clase Mágica, para el que se utiliza una metodología eminentemente cuantitativa a partir de cuestionario, demuestran que estos aspectos contribuyen a que los mexicanos de primera y segunda generación en el sur de California desarrollen capacidades clave para el empoderamiento y la inclusión social. Además, el programa impactó en un factor determinante para que una comunidad consiga ganar poder de acción y voz suficiente para influir en las instituciones sociales: los apoyos externos.

Research-action Methodology between Computer Science and Educational Psychology: a Multidisciplinary Approach

Computer science studies possess a strong multidisciplinary aptitude since most graduates do their professional work outside of a computing environment, in close collaboration with professionals from many different areas. However, the training offered in computer science studies lacks that multidisciplinary factor, focusing more on purely technical aspects. In this paper we present a novel experience where computer studies and educational psychology find a common ground and realistic working through laboratory practices. Specifically, the work enables students of computer science education the development of diagnosis support systems, with artificial intelligence techniques, which could then be used for future educational psychologists. The applications developed by computer science students are the creation of a model for the diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), sometimes also commonly called the autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The complexity of this diagnosis, not only by the exclusive characteristics of every person who suffers from it, but also by the large numbers of variables involved in it, requires very strong and close interdisciplinary participation. This work demonstrates that it is possible to intervene in a curricular perspective, in the university, to promote the development of interpersonal skills. What can be shown, in this way, is a methodology for interdisciplinary practices design and a guide for monitoring and evaluation. The results are very encouraging since we obtained significant differences in academic achievement between students who attended a course using the new methodology and those who did not use it.

Open educational resources: the role of OCW, blogs and videos in computer network classrooms

This paper analyzes the learning experiences and opinions obtained from a group of undergraduate students in their interaction with several on-line multimedia resources included in a free on-line course about Computer Networks. These new educational resources employed are based on the Web 2.0 approach such as blogs, videos and virtual labs which have been added in a web-site for distance self-learning.