Reflections
Supporting an Andean Community in Quest for UNESCO Recognition
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By Fabian Freire | January 31, 2023
PeerPraxis believes in the power of education to uplift individuals and communities. We were proud to offer pro bono translation and research documentation services in support of the nomination of the community of Anrabí Talchigacho for The UNESCO-Bangladesh International Prize for the Creative Economy. Following is a summary of the initiative that inspired this nomination:
The young leaders of Anrabí Talchigacho, an indigenous community in the Ecuadorian Andes, organized a non-governmental coalition to launch the first issue of the Sarun Raymikuna Muralism Festival during the 2022 Holy Week national festivities.
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Celebrating Learner Success in Our English for Young Scientists Online Summer Camp
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By Fabian Freire | September 9, 2022
Inspired by the success of our inaugural English for Young Scientists online summer camp, following are my reflections as a digital learning researcher-practitioner for PeerPraxis:
Instruction: The learning goals for our week-long English with STEM online summer camp called for identifying 5 science-inspired projects that would be fun and simple to be created by the lead instructor, Karina Lafuente, and our campers during the scheduled 45-minute period. In brief, the instructional process was designed around the completion of one STEM experiment per day, providing plenty of opportunities for our young English language learners to build new vocabulary while reading, rehearsing and applying items from their supply lists. Learners practiced their comprehension and communication skills in an all-English learning environment, with limited support and encouragement given in their first language: Spanish.
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Certification, Access, and Instruction Reflections Upon Completing My First MOOC on the Newly Redesigned EdX Site
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By Fabian Freire | December 21, 2021
Achieving an education credential always brings a rush of excitement, pride, and anticipation. So, as I hurried to verify my identity for certifying the successful completion of my first MOOC on the newly redesigned edX site—a course offered by the Inter-American Development Bank (BID) called “What Works in Education: Evidence-Based Education Policies”—, I couldn’t just sit down in front of the webcam in a Covid-19-work-from-home shirt without first rigging some decent lighting for the photo. Amid the excitement, however, I jotted the following comments seeking to reflect on my experience while taking stock of the maturation of MOOC technologies around these three interrelated areas: Certification, Access, and Instruction.
How Do Latin@s Fit in the U.S. Culture Wars? An Immigrant’s Ice-Tea-and-Hot-Dog-Induced Reflection
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By Fabian Freire | July 30, 2020
In the summer of COVID-19, as the U.S. celebrated her Independence amid failed quarantines and unresolved struggles against systemic racial discrimination, my day off from telework in suburbia took a reflective turn in response to the imminent Culture Wars of our time. While the general tendency is to describe cultural confrontation along liberal vs conservative ideological lines, as a working class immigrant from Latin America I can’t help but to view such discussions from a cultural identity perspective.