Las plataformas digitales y la atención a la diversidad

Abstract

This paper deals with the possibilities that digital platforms offer to attend to the students' diversity and personalise learning, exploring its implications. For this purpose, qualitative research based on the proposal of “thinking by cases” is conducted, where the development of a field study in four schools in the Valencian Community stands out. The information is collected by analysing the official documentation of the schools and the digital platforms used, participant observation sessions, in-depth interviews with management teams, ICT Coordination and teachers (tutor and specialist), and compiling a field diary. This information is analysed following the postulates of discourse analysis, using conversational analysis for the interviews and documentary analysis for the other instruments. Digital platforms are considered to be tools that facilitate learning, especially for students with specific educational support needs, due to their motivational potential. As a main advantage, teachers highlight the possibility of offering visual and auditive support and assistance with motor deficits. For this reason, they are highly valued for assisting students with severe disorders (autism spectrum disorder, motor and visual problems) and students who have recently joined the educational system. Some shadows are also pointed out, but positive perceptions prevail, as they are considered elements that facilitate the personalisation of learning. The personalisation of the learning approach implies a substantive change in the organisational logic of the teaching and learning process. Thus, it constitutes an ambivalent phenomenon, as although it contributes to attending to diversity, it breaks with the traditional organisation of the classroom to advocate deregulated models, not exempt from mechanisms of devolution of responsibilities to the students and indebted to cognitive capitalism. This shows the importance of further research.