Technological narratives in times of pandemic

Abstract

This article reflects on the teaching narratives produced by a heterogeneous group of teachers from different educational levels (primary, secondary, and tertiary) who attended a postgraduate seminar in Communication/Education at the National University of La Plata (UNLP), Argentina, during the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021). The seminar, organized on the AulasWeb platform, aimed to link conceptual knowledge with the participants' teaching experience, which they recorded in autobiographical narratives.

The text highlights that the pandemic, with its chaos and uncertainty, paused routines and magnified pre-existing inequalities, especially regarding connectivity access. Education was forced to quickly reinvent itself, but it was human connections and teacher commitment (ranging from technological adaptation to the distribution of supplies) that ensured pedagogical continuity.

Pedagogical narratives, a field promoted in Argentina by authors like Daniel Suárez, proved to be a space for liberation and empowerment for teachers, allowing them to critically review their practices, challenge educational bureaucracy, and name the unknown in an unprecedented context. The Communication/Education perspective (articulating, liberating, situated) is confirmed as essential for addressing complex educational problems.

Finally, the work concludes that, despite technological difficulties, the great lesson learned during this period was the centrality of the bond/connection over content in the educational process, and the need for a regional and collective reflection to achieve a liberatory education that prioritizes inclusion and social justice