Based on the study carried out by UNESCO, which shows that most of the national policies in LAC countries are basically aimed at strengthening connectivity, stimulating the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) market, and generating a critical mass users in the region. Therefore, the sets of macroeconomic and technological indicators and statistics, intended to measure the penetration of Internet services in populations, are considered "sufficient".
This is not the case in the educational sector where in no case are indicators recorded on inter-school networks, school websites, content or other variables that allow the evaluation of the social aspects of education in the Information Society.
In addition, the studies that have been carried out so far still appear as partial and limited, either due to lack of financing or due to lack of interest from the Ministries.
In no case does it refer to whether these schools are interconnected, nor does it refer to the content and different uses that students make of these technologies.
In several countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the education sector is not involved in the production of indicators, they respond more to the general level of the population.
On the other hand, the patterns of science and technology indicators respond to a classic model and do not find specific adjustments or references to the information society.
These indicators are fundamentally based on investment costs, expenses, researchers and number of publications.
This work points out these shortcomings, aims to fill the existing gaps, proposing as an objective the projection of a set of indicators that allow evaluating the Information Society in Education, particularly in the Universalization of Higher Education in Cuba.
To create the indicators, the ones proposed by UNESCO were first taken into account. To validate which indicators to choose, surveys were applied to executives, ICT specialists. With the aim of taking into account the criteria of the people involved or not in education.
Also to take into account the degree of objectivity of the same, that is, achieve indicators that reflect reality as accurately as possible.
Also in the group work, it was highlighted that the set of indicators must characterize the technical-organizational level of development that each education center has and the general results of the educational activity with high quality, the resources it has and the efficiency of its job.
The location and mobilization of the internal reserve depends on the correct application of these indicators.
Development:
After analyzing the proposal of each respondent and through group work with the experts, it is proposed that the indicators to validate the use of ICT are those that appear in Table No. 1
Table No. 1 Proposed Indicators
| Dimension | Indicator |
| Programs of state educational bodies (national, provincial and municipal) to facilitate the use of ICT in Education. | Financing plans for connectivity |
| Productivity of students related to the use of the Internet and ICT | Degree of student satisfaction in relation to the use of ICT |
| Number of tasks searching for information on the Intranet. | |
| Success rate | |
| Progress Index | |
| Portals and websites dedicated to Universalization | Number of websites dedicated to Universalization |
| Interactivity of these sites and portals (possibility for students to ask questions, participate in forums, etc.) | |
| Connectivity of public and private research centers | Number and type of ICT equipment in university centers. |
| Interactivity, through electronic networks. | |
| Interaction between the Science and Technology (S&T) system and the educational system | Number and type of products and / or services produced by teachers, which are used in teaching. |
| Network Society
Organizations and individuals must take advantage of the articulation and arrival facilities provided by ICT in terms of cost savings, time and effort, as well as communication |
Daily use of the Intranet |
| Network Speed and Quality | Modems transfer speed. |
| Information packets sent and lost. |
Explanatory notes: The column "Dimension" groups indicators that respond to the same cluster of measurable elements. These indicators are detailed in the column "Indicator".
Calculation of each Proposed Indicator
The indicator will be described below, as well as its calculation method. To give a coherent structure to each of them, the following elements will be taken into account in order to make it understandable by the different users and analysts.
- Name Glossary
Name: Financing plans for connectivity
It is defined as plans that are in place during the month to improve the connectivity of the centers.
By guaranteeing adequate connectivity, benefits are triggered both for each education center and for the governing body since communication is facilitated, the sending and receiving of information is improved, the speed of data transmission increases, the number of dedicated websites As universalization can increase, students will then be able to carry out their work using this new technology and in turn feel more satisfied with its use.
It is worth noting that teachers will also feel the need to create new products and / or services to use in their classes, both they and the students themselves will use the intranet of each center more frequently.
This information must be collected annually, the techniques used to collect the information can be through face-to-face or electronic surveys in the MONTH itself.
Name: Degree of satisfaction of the students in relation to the use of ICT.
This indicator reflects how students feel about the use of ICT, or with the possibility they currently have of exploiting ICT at the school level (intranet, search engines, possibility of having updated information, in itself of fully exploiting ICT). This indicator works as a subsystem and responds to the fundamental objective which is the efficient use of ICT.
Relating this subsystem with the rest, it is observed that as students feel more satisfied they will be able to interact more actively with new technologies. They will do intranet searches for their freelance jobs.
The success rate and rate of progress will improve as they progress in their independent studies. They will feel motivated to interact with other sites, in order to address doubts, participate in forums.
Name: Number of tasks searching for information on the Intranet.
In this indicator, its name clearly reflects what is being measured, the number of tasks that are oriented with the requirement that it contain updated intranet information.
This subsystem is also closely related to the other indicators that are listed, as well as those already mentioned. This is evidenced as follows.
To the extent that this indicator is more favorable, students will feel motivated to use the new tools. It also leads to an increase in the interactivity of sites dedicated to the universalization of knowledge, as well as the creation of new sites.
When conducting independent study, students have the option of searching and searching with quality, they will consult more number of sites, participate in forums within which they will obtain the most information and will host their doubts on the sites themselves.
The use of the Intranet will also increase, which will become an essential tool in the teaching process.
Name: Progress Index
The Progress Index is defined as the proportion between the total of approved subjects among those examined by the students of a given year and in a given career.
Here, too, the systemic nature of these indicators is revealed. Better results are obtained to the extent that new ICTs can be exploited more, in turn ICTs are used more when connectivity is more efficient.
Better results can also be obtained when the student interacts more with the intranet, interacts in a more dynamic way with the websites of each headquarters, and they can also be interrelated through the sites, portals that exist in this regard. The use of the intranet by students is becoming more common.
To the extent that the connectivity is more efficient, the transfer speed of the modems will also be higher, which makes the sending and receiving of information easier. In turn, the number of packages sent and lost will be the minimum.
The collection of the information will be the responsibility of each headquarters, and the source to collect the data will be in the qualification records of each subject. Its frequency will be biannual.
Name: Success Rate
It is the Percentage between the number of subjects approved by the students of a Headquarters, with respect to the total corresponding enrollment of an evaluation period. This indicator is the complement of the progress index, since it quantifies the percentage of the number of students who passed the subjects in an evaluated period. Indicates how well students prepare to sit for exams.
To the extent that the value of the indicator approaches one hundred, it will express a greater degree of effectiveness.
This indicator is the complement of the progress index. Their interrelation with the system is similar to the same. The student will pass the exams in the first round of presentation to the extent that he is able to prepare, to use ICT.
Name: Number of websites dedicated to the Universalization of Higher Education
It quantifies how many websites students can access and that are related to the Universalization of Higher Education.
This indicator also affects the rest. As students increase the exploitation of websites, the interaction between different centers will also increase.
This leads to a greater exchange of information, increases the flow of information through the network, use of email, students and teachers will be able to address their doubts, to clarify themselves.
This encourages both students and teachers, for students there is a new tool at their disposal ready to exploit, for teachers there is also a new challenge, a new incentive to improve their teaching process.
They will feel the need to create products and / or services so that the students themselves need them in teaching.
Name: Interactivity of these sites
This indicator measures the possibility for students to ask questions and participate in forums.
In the sites destined to the Universalization of Higher Education, it is necessary to take into account the possibility that the students interact with it, that is why this indicator will give the possibility that at least in the website that is believe this aspect is taken into account, thus guaranteeing the feedback of both the student and the creator of the site in question, in addition the students will have the possibility that the students harbor their doubts without pressure.
Through this site, students will be able to interact with other students and teachers who are connected, in turn its use makes students feel more incentivized, which makes the use of the intranet more frequent, thereby achieving that learners prepare, search, independent jobs with higher quality.
This helps increase student performance in the teaching process. The flow of information also increases as they are interrelated.
Name: Number and type of ICT equipment in university centers
In an analysis made by Cariacedo (2002: 57-60), 6 categories of analysis are proposed, within it is the equipment in which it is obvious that depending on the type of computers, speed and accessory equipment, there will be different possibilities of profitability the resources offered by the computer itself.
That is why this point is taken into account within the set of indicators.
For students to feel motivated to use the new ICT, there must be at least the real possibility that they can access a computer. The more machines there are, the greater the student's interest in using this tool for their development.
This increases their motivation to explore the sites for this purpose, to interact with them, and thus contributes to increasing their teaching performance, in turn, and then it is possible to use the intranet, the mail, on a daily basis.
On the other hand, as the number of computers increases, teachers will be able to use them directly in teaching, they will need to use them and for this they will create new products and / or services to support the teaching process.
Name: Interactivity, through electronic networks of university centers
The network offers the opportunity to exchange ideas and promote scientific, cultural and economic progress.
Now it is possible to establish communicative practices that break down borders. This qualitative change brings with it new opportunities for citizen participation.
The network thus appears as one of the scenarios where one of the most decisive battles for freedom of expression and therefore human rights is resolved.
Taking into account the above, it is of vital importance that between each center there is interactivity through electronic networks, so both students and teachers exchange experiences, ideas and also establish communication.
Name: Number and type of products and / or services produced by teachers that are used in higher education.
With the aim of encouraging the motivation of teachers in the application of new technologies, this indicator is proposed, allowing them to increase their creativity and improvement in this regard.
It is necessary for teachers to feel the need to use these tools in teaching, and thus improve the teaching process, making students feel motivated in the classroom.
Once the students are motivated and get into the habit of using intranet, mail, either within the classroom or in independent work, their performance will increase, they will feel more satisfied using these tools.
They will exploit to the maximum the products and / or services that their teachers create for them.
Name: Daily Use of Intranet.
As its name indicates, this indicator means that the greatest number of students and teachers use the intranet. This will quantify how often students and teachers browse your intranet, either for independent work or specifically in a class.
By getting more students and teachers to use the intranet, they will feel the need to use it more frequently. They will use it as an essential tool both in teaching and in independent study.
It will be a way to acquire more knowledge.
By using this tool more frequently, students will increase their satisfaction in relation to the possibility of exploiting this technique, achieving a greater increase in their performance.
In turn, teachers should increase the production of interactive materials for the development of teaching.
The interactivity between the people who visit these sites will increase, the exchange of information will be higher, the transfer of data will increase and the mail will be used as a means of communication between students and professors from different university centers.
Name: Modem Transfer Speed.
Data transmissions by telephone are based on a series of international standards that must be met by the devices involved in the communication. Each standard defines a series of parameters such that they allow correct communication at a certain speed.
The speed can (and should) be higher than that at which our modem and the remote modem are communicating.
The greater the flow of information between our computer and our modem, the freer it will be to give the information it receives from abroad and the better the performance, without bottlenecks that slow it down.
The higher the transfer speed of the modems, the faster the connection, the information flows will improve their quality, since less information will be lost.
Websites can be accessed more easily, bringing with them all the advantages already mentioned above.
Name: Information packets sent and lost.
In their daily work, each person uses the Internet, both for their preparation, teaching and for the exchange of information.
This indicator will quantify the quality of information transfer, that is, it will measure the reliability of the network.
It will be calculated: Number of packages received / Number of packages sent.
As mentioned, it will validate the reliability of the network in this regard and will measure whether it is recommended or not to be used in the transfer of information between the centers.
To the extent that the quality is better, the more can be used, breaking old communication schemes such as the telephone, the traditional mail.
To the extent that I exchange information through the network, I increase the possibility that students will have their doubts more quickly. They interact with students from other centers and exchange criteria.
This contributes to the increase in teaching performance, in the satisfaction of being able to use ICT on a daily basis.
Conclusions:
- The proposed indicators have been developed in such a way that each one of them functions as a subsystem and they all act oriented towards a common objective, and in turn form a great system. In which there will be a systematic feedback with which it will allow to know how the use of ICT is behaving at all times, in turn will allow to take measures if necessary.Having funded Plans for connectivity will allow to facilitate the use of ICT for both students Like teachers, they will be able to interact between their own centers and with others. At the same time, student satisfaction with ICT increases. It allows an increase in the success rate, as well as in the rate of progress. By improving connectivity, the number of websites dedicated to the Universalization of education increases.
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