02. Background of Digital Education at Tecnológico de Monterrey

To understand the current path defined by the institution, which considers Digital Education as a strategy to enrich the value offering of the teaching-learning process, it is important to recap the experiences lived over more than 30 years of history of this modality, as well as to assimilate the new learnings obtained from the implementation of digital models that ensured academic continuity, as in the case of the Mexico City earthquake in 2017, or the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Although Tecnológico de Monterrey began experimenting with Digital Education in the 1960s through various projects using video technology to teach distance classes, it wasn’t until 1989 that the infrastructure and the organizational structure to promote this modality were formally established.

The following timeline includes the key moments and projects of the incorporation of Digital Education at Tecnológico de Monterrey.

Taking education to new places through classes transmitted via television

Synchronic,100% Online education is offered, breaking through the time and space limits of access to education.

The Hybrid and Flexible Model was designed and implemented in a record time of two weeks to ensure educational continuity after a devastating earthquake in Mexico City

The Flexible Digital Model is designed and implemented to provide educational continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still operating, enriching students’ experience with the latest techno-pedagogical trends.

Universidad Virtual is created to take education to all of Mexico and beyond its frontiers.

Through MOOCs, education is offered to everyone, managing to impact a larger number of students.

The Hologram Professor is implemented to multiply local and distance teachers’ presence.

Thus, for over three decades, Tecnológico de Monterrey has deployed several strategies based on particular approaches and contexts, always seeking to ensure a quality and valuable digital modality for students.

Below are shown some of the circumstances that today allow us to identify 4 key stages of the evolution of this modality:

Focus

Meeting internal teacher training needs and graduate and undergraduate priorities

Organization

A central area is responsible for coordination strategy with Campuses and Schools.

Stage 2

Focus

Strengthening and diversifying the distance modality offering to achieve a greater impact and widen the coverage in external markets

Organization Rectory with autonomy on operation and offering.

Stage 3

Focus

Strengthening hybrid learning and digital experiences for all modalities.

Organization

Various operating and managerial areas, with a central strategy area.

Stage 4

Focus

Deploying digital education at undergraduate and graduate levels through programs, training units, and learning experiences characterized by their quality and innovation, as well as by ensuring added value for the students’ learning.

Education with digital learning experiences throughout student life.

These 4 digital education deployment stages brought forth projects and initiatives that highlighted the value of experiences based on the use of technology. To learn more about the history of Digital and Distance Education at Tecnológico de Monterrey, the eBook: “30 años de Educación a distancia y digital en el Tecnológico de Monterrey” is available.

One of the decisive moments in determining the course of the institution’s Digital Education strategy was the challenge of achieving academic continuity in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Historically, the institution has offered full graduate and continuing education programs in a digital modality, as well as undergraduate and high school courses. The following graph shows the impact of this offering up to the year 2021.

Cumulative number of student-person to 2021

Cumulative number of student-course to 2021

Tecnológico de Monterrey’s experience allowed migrating the complete educational offering to a digital modality, accelerating the use of technologies for learning, new educational spaces, and didactic strategies of hybrid modalities in all its course offerings. Several initiatives supported on digital modalities were also deployed to bring students enriching digital learning experiences replicable in a face-to-face modality.

The following website includes detailed reports about academic continuity at the Tecnológico de Monterrey: innovacioneducativa.tec.mx/publicaciones/ continuidad-academica