My name is Rosa Manuela Cuc Cornejo, I teach sixth grade (students between the ages of 11 and 12); I participate in the advanced level of the TINFA project. I currently work at the Official Rural Mixed School (E.O.R.M.) Avenida Francisco García Rodas, Pasac in the municipality of Cantel, in the department of Quetzaltenango.

I started participating in the TINFA project in 2022.

I started working at the school in 2004 at the age of 18 and I currently have 19 years and 3 months of service at the same educational center.

1. How is the beginning of the school year 2023?

This school year has had many challenges. It has allowed students to use technology more frequently, so the orientation and training that TINFA has shared with me have been very helpful, to respond to the needs of the students. The strategies are adapted to our day to day work, and the directives from the ministry of education.

2. What makes you happiest/satisfied about your students today?

I feel excited and happy about the relationship of trust between teacher and student. This year, I can greet my students in person. They tell me about their family, how school is going and they share much more. This way we learn from each other.

3. What are the biggest challenges for teachers/students today?

There are several challenges, however, the most significant is the constant updating of technology. Despite the fact that students have a better approach in the use of the computer, projector, television and cell phone, many of the families do not have these tools at home.

As for the challenge that I have as a teacher, it is to continue updating myself through teacher self-training so that I can share with my students and that they are at the forefront of the changes that occur in our environment.

4. The school is in its 2nd year with the TINFA program. What do you like most about the project? Do you see a difference in teaching and its effect in the classroom in this 2nd year?

What I like the most about the project are all the new strategies that are shared with us in the trainings to be able to practice with the students. They are new programs for me and they have been very useful in my teaching. Students also notice the change in the way of communicating the topics in the classroom.

There is more interactivity in the learning of the topics thanks to technology. The children pay more attention and it really helps in their learning.

5. What difference does this project make for the children?

Boys and girls remember the content of a subject more easily when they can observe, participate and capture their ideas. These are ways that the TINFA project has allowed us to share with our children within the School.

6. This is the second (and last year) for your school and TINFA to do this project together. What does the teacher need to continue with technology in the classroom afterwards?

As a teacher, I have the commitment that at the end of the project I can continue sharing with my students the changes that I have made in the classroom. I can continue the legacy that TINFA has made in my training as a teacher and continue facilitating the teaching-learning process with the students. When my students move on to middle school, they will have acquired new knowledges and have better competencies to move forward in any area of their life.