Improving and enhancing the conditions of equipment for the well-being of the entire university community is the objective pursued by the acquisition of new computer equipment for the Computer Center of the Department of Economic and Business Sciences of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences of the University of The Serena.

In a solemn ceremony with the presence of the main authorities of the University of La Serena, academics and students, the official inauguration of the new computer equipment took place, which is part of the actions committed in the multi-year institutional strengthening plan performance agreement of the ULS 1656 project, with contributions from the Ministry of Education.

The Dean of FACSE, Dr. Luperfina Rojas Escobar, emphasized the institutional commitment in favor of the integration of information and communication technologies, "elements established in the strategic plan of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, which allow the integral development of the students and the continuous improvement of the Faculty as a whole”.

The new computer equipment will provide a direct benefit to the students of the Auditing, Law, Engineering in Business Administration and Commercial Engineering careers, all belonging to the Department of Economic and Business Sciences.

In this way, the Director of the Department of Cs. Economic and Business, Mg. Alberto Hernández Venegas highlighted the commitment to strengthening equipment. "The important thing now is that technology is with us and will allow us to advance in what is required for the transversal training of students," he said.

The inauguration included the traditional ribbon cutting in which the Rector of the ULS, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés Pizarro, the Dean of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Dr. Luperfina Rojas, the Director of the Directorate of Strategic Development and of Quality, Dr. César Espíndola Arellano and the Director of the Department of Economic and Business Sciences, Mg. Alberto Hernandez.

The ceremony ended with a tour that allowed to know the operation of the new equipment, in which the students of the Commercial Engineering career participated with the chair of the academic Luis Carrasco, Advanced Information Systems.

Written by Paula Godoy, ULS journalist

The activity was carried out within the framework of joint work between the British Council and LIITEC-ULS, and was certified by the CPEIP.

With the purpose of providing teachers with new tools and methodologies to develop essential skills for the XNUMXst century, the Core Skills digital literacy workshop was held, an instance where efforts were focused on introducing digital programming into the classroom. through training in the use of the micro:bit digital device. Both tools transversally complement teaching in all areas of classroom learning.

The event was aimed at teachers from educational establishments dependent on the Gabriel González Videla Corporation of La Serena, who actively participated in the sessions where the director of the LIITEC ULS Project, Mg., was also present. Francisco Lopez.

“This workshop is a collaborative instance between the British Council and LIITEC ULS that aims to train teachers in a specific area, digital literacy and programming language using devices; 10 educational establishments participate, of which 5 are LIITEC allies. This is the first activity we do with the British Council, but we want to continue doing this type of activities, which ultimately brings together all the committed institutions," said Mg. Francisco Lopez.

The English teacher and British Council facilitator, Evelyn del Valle, specifically in Core Skills, was in charge of teaching the workshops. “It is quite new because we had not carried out training for teachers associated with technology, which seems very good to me as preparation for the final work that they must present. Therefore, this workshop is a training so that they can pass it on to their students, so that technology is within the reach of all boys and girls. Furthermore, it is of great importance that the teachers who participate in these workshops generate networks, in this way they contact each other and can answer questions that arise from the classroom,” she expressed.

The Rector of the University of La Serena, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, was present at the closing of the workshop, who highlighted the connection that the university has with the educational community of the Coquimbo Region, and called on the teachers to “continue participating.” of these instances, to feel part of the ULS and to become familiar with these activities, which not only help professionally, but also help boys and girls in the Coquimbo Region."

While the Seremi of Education, Claudio Oyarzún, valued the implementation of these activities “where teachers are empowered by innovations associated with technology and programming; The above, in the service of education, allows the development of many skills in children, in addition to teamwork and collaboration, which helps the quality of learning of our girls and boys.”

In addition to the authorities and representing the Gabriel González Videla Corporation, there was Viviana Rivera, community pedagogical technical coordinator of the Department. of Education.

This activity is one of the various actions scheduled by the LIITEC ULS team, including visits to associated schools, with the transfer of knowledge being a constant in their work.

Written by Patricia Castro, DirCom

This, thanks to the first Teaching Day - Science Teachers, organized by the Science and Technology Dissemination and Dissemination Team of the University of La Serena.

With the purpose of sharing knowledge, the University of La Serena developed the First Conference of “Teaching - Science Teachers: University Students for a Day”, which brought together teachers from different corners of the Coquimbo Region.

The activity corresponds to a “pack of classes” of a theoretical-practical nature linked to science and technology topics directly associated with initiatives and activities developed by academics from the University of La Serena.

The Rector of the ULS, Dr. Nibaldo Avilés, highlighted that the institution is a strengthening actor in the scientific area for teachers in our region, allowing them, through this day, to update knowledge, “which is vital for the comprehensive training of the students".

In addition, he indicated that science and technology, represented in this activity by teachers of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology, "evidence that our country has highly trained human capital for the challenges in the area, on a global scale."

The objective of the conference seeks to provide feedback on the professional training of teachers, as well as the pedagogical activities associated with research and the study of science that they teach with students, in order to transfer scientific knowledge applying the sense of “Open University” promoted by the institution.

The coordinator of the ULS Science and Technology Dissemination and Dissemination Team, Alejandra Leyton, stated that it is expected that “this will be the first of many DoCiencia conferences, where we can incorporate teachers from more communities and remote sectors. , to bring them closer to the research initiatives that are being developed at the University.”

For her part, Estefanía Vásquez, a teacher at the Antonio Varas School in Vicuña, who works in the areas of Chemistry and Natural Sciences, highlighted the initiative. “I found it quite interesting, because it not only tries to rescue what we as teachers have to teach students today, but rather, it emphasizes the level of professionalism that we must have in the face of the new changes and challenges that exist in education".

In this way, the University of La Serena continues to work on sharing knowledge with the community in response to the institutional seal.

Written by Sergio Muñoz, Science and Technology Dissemination and Dissemination Team

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During the meeting, the Director of the School of Design of the U. de La Serena, Mg. Carla Pía López, presented the research: “Reflective practice as a tool for change in university teaching.”

The Director of the School of Design of the ULS Faculty of Humanities, Mg. Carla Pía López, participated as a research speaker in the 3rd Seminar “Innovative Technologies and Methodologies Applied to Design Teaching, which was held at the Metropolitan Technological University, in Santiago.

During the meeting, the academic presented the research: "Reflective practice as a tool for change in university teaching."

“This confirms that designers are concerned about quality teaching, about improving our teaching practice and about meeting certain criteria within what design is and how it is taught,” said the Director of the ULS School of Design regarding this instance intended to strengthen training methodologies through particular experiences.

Representatives of the higher education institutions that make up the Network of Design Schools of the universities affiliated to CRUCH participated in the Seminar organized by the UTEM School of Design.

Written by Gonzalo Lozano, DirCom

A second meeting was held by representatives of the institutions, with the purpose of strengthening ties and committing to hold future workshops, where the university will contribute with its experience in the area of ​​analysis of large volumes of data.

In order to carry out collaborative work that materializes in a contribution to the community, representatives of the PDI Prefecture Elqui and the University of La Serena met, once again, to strengthen ties and promptly begin the analysis workshops of large volumes of data, which will serve as a basis to achieve new information analysis for the work carried out by the Investigative Police through its regional Analysis Office.

Within the framework of the BIG DATA ULS-MINEDUC project and the digital transformation of the Coquimbo Region, the ULS seeks to transfer information products for effective decision making among the agents of the regional territory, said the Director of Strategic Development and Quality , Dr. César Espíndola. That is why professionals from said Directorate met with the prefect José Carrasco, with the purpose of explaining future actions to share experiences and develop explanatory workshops on different instruments, which in the opinion of the police authority could be replicated in units of the Northern Macrozone. , and would be directed by the University.

“At the Chilean Investigative Police, in our strategic plan, we seek to be a regional reference in matters of investigation of highly complex crimes and the fight against organized crime at the national level. In this context, our Criminal Analysis Center, which is located in Santiago, has analysis offices at the regional level, of which we are concerned with being able to strengthen professional skills to be able to deliver a better investigative product based on criminal analysis," Carrasco assured.

The prefect emphasized the need to update in terms of data analysis, especially because crime, in the opinion of the police institution, has been mutating and adding new challenges to the PDI, which is why they seek to “have a superlative level in strengthening our competencies and that is where the PDI links up with different strategic entities to strengthen these competencies, in this case the ULS.”

For the professionals of the ULS Institutional Analysis Office, this work will allow the transfer of knowledge, which is the fundamental and key idea of ​​the University, the exchange of technical experience, modeling, analysis, collection and processing of information.

“From criminal analysis it is essential to manage information and, in that sense, the alliance that we are forming with the University of La Serena is important, because it allows us to open doors of knowledge and improvement in these areas of specialization, computer science and management of large data volumes. By professionalizing our information product, the one who ultimately wins is the community, which is precisely the one that demands a better quality of service, a better performance of the officials,” stressed the prefect José Carrasco.

Written by Patricia Castro, DirCom

The research is directed by Professor Elvis Campos, Director of the ULS School of Pedagogy in the Humanities, together with Dr. Rodrigo Ruay, research scholar at the Integrated Management of Pedagogies Unit (UGIP).

The use of technologies has been advancing by leaps and bounds in recent years, and every day different digital tools emerge that are being used by various areas and sectors. One of the best known is YouTube, a leading platform used to share videos that address various topics and interests.

Considering that young people currently spend the highest percentage of their daily time connected to the Internet, it is necessary to take advantage of the platforms offered by the digital world as teaching resources that can be used in classrooms.

In this context, professors Elvis Campos and Dr. Rodrigo Ruay are working on the research project “Use of the YouTube platform as an autonomous learning tool: a case study”, which seeks to implement a method to develop autonomous work. in students and in this way they can enhance the learning of English language skills.

For this, 7 third-year students from a municipal school in the Coquimbo Region and 11 second-year students from the Ped program were summoned. in English ULS, who presented difficulties in acquiring English language skills. The study participants had to attend classes in English for four months, through certain YouTube channels, resulting in an improvement in the learning of English language skills, which was reflected in the grades obtained in the respective course closures.

“The research preliminarily informs us that following a YouTube channel directed by English-speaking teachers improves the motivation and learning of the students, who felt more confident with learning the language,” explains Professor Elvis.

Presentation at the VII International FID Congress

On October 3 and 4, the VII FID International Congress “Good Educational Practices” was held at the University of Los Lagos (Osorno), which addressed five thematic areas related to educational innovation, research and reflection on educational practice, the evaluation of teaching-learning processes, teaching and sustainable development objectives, as well as new challenges and problems in initial teacher training.

The main purpose of the Congress is to strengthen the initial training of teachers in the south of the country, and highlight good practices exercised in the classroom.

For this reason, professors Elvis Campos and Dr. Rodrigo Ruay presented the project and case study about students and the contribution that the use of YouTube has in autonomous learning. “Research has a contribution mainly to scientific production in education and provides a tool that can be constituted as an element to account for the learning that the student needs to do outside the classroom,” said Professor Campos.

Finally, this experience allowed the research to be disseminated among its peers and to share the experience with other universities, awakening interest in being replicated in other colleges and higher education institutions.

Written by Daniela Ledezma, UGIP