Rosy Aguila: Internet Advocate

Pioneer in teaching teachers to use the Internet for online, collaborative projects throughout Argentina.

by Grace Rubenstein
May 17, 2007

Rosy Aguila

Credit: Indigo Flores

The Daring Dozen Q&A

How do you use the Web in your work?

For collaborative projects, we download the iEARN project book [1] and visit the network's forums [2] to select the ones the students prefer and start working. We also use the Web to publish students' work, such as at www.ippi.edu.ar/alumnosterceranio.htm [3]. For research, my students use Google [4] and Yahoo! [5] search engines and directories, and informational Web sites such as the BBC [6].

Which resources have inspired you and informed your work?

My mentor and role model was the late Daniel Reyes, the headmaster where I used to teach, who spearheaded the creation of TELAR [7]. He was a visionary and had the ability to inspire people. He made me see I could do things I had never imagined I would be able to do, and I think that was because he trusted people's ability. My other constant resources are the Web sites of the International Education and Resource Network [8] and the Fundación Evolución [9].

What advice would you give those who consider you a role model?

As teachers, it's very important that we trust the capacity of our students to do much more than we see on the surface. We have to encourage them and give them responsibilities, talk to them not only about the particular subject we have with them but also about broader issues, give them a sense of confidence, and trust them and make them see how much we believe in their capacity. Many students think they are not good enough at what they are doing, and sometimes teachers do not realize how important a word from the teacher is to them.

What fundamental beliefs have guided your work?

We have to share what we've learned; the information is useless if we don't share it. Whatever we do can be improved, and if we share the knowledge, there's a big chance others will take it further and do something better. I believe teachers can really make a difference; we have a privilege that sometimes we don't see because we are too busy trying to comply with requirements, paperwork, deadlines, and so on. Students need to know what's out there, and it's our responsibility to do our best to make things available to them.

What is your mantra in the face of adversity?

There's always something positive, even in the biggest adversity. I try to remember what I have to be thankful for, and I always remind myself that this will also come to an end, be it good or bad.

Though currently a champion of Internet use in teaching and learning, Rosy Aguila began her ventures into cyberspace with much trepidation. She was teaching English at Escuela de la Costa, in Puerto Madryn, Argentina, in 1989 when her school joined a project of the Copen Family Foundation in which students could exchange letters electronically with peers in other countries.

Aguila jumped at the chance to connect her students with English-speaking children in a way that would make the language more relevant to them. She saw them become engrossed in the new Web world, and her own relationship with them deepened as they shared their culture with others. Yet for the first year or two, she steered clear of the computer, and asked the technology teacher to print out all the messages. Even after she overcame her fears, Aguila didn't know the word Internet until she heard it at a conference in 1994 and realized that's what she had been using all along.

Aguila became a believer. After she moved to a town where the schools had no Internet access, she returned weekly with her two young children to Escuela de la Costa to work with Principal Daniel Reyes and fellow teachers to spread the gospel of Internet-based learning. Their efforts evolved into a national school network, Todos en la Red [7] (TELAR, translated as "Everyone in the Network"), through which teachers learn from each other how to use connective technologies for collaborative projects.

When she regained an Internet connection in 1994 at a college of education where she taught, Aguila created collaborative online projects for the teacher candidates. She now serves as president of the board of directors of Fundación Evolución [9], the nonprofit that runs the network. "We still struggle to connect more schools to the network," Aguila writes in an email. "Things are not easy here, but we're moving forward, even with little steps."

What drives Aguila forward is the change that technology wrought in her own life -- a heightened awareness and sense of connection to events and people in far-away places. She wants to put that powerful tool in the hands of every Argentine student and teacher.

Next article in "The Global Six 2007" > Tommie Hamaluba [10]

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Source URL: http://www.edutopia.org/rosy-aguila