Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 12 Feb. (Europa Press) –
55 per cent of the Educational Centres in the Canary Islands utilized radio as an educational resource over the previous year, according to the report ‘Data on School Radios in the Canary Islands’, compiled by the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sports of the Canary Islands.
This document examined the activities of 818 non-university educational centres within the archipelago that responded to the survey created by the department led by Poli Suárez, out of a total of 868 (94 per cent).
The gathered data confirms the rise of radio as a pedagogical resource, given that 75 per cent of the surveyed centres possess some form of technical equipment for producing radio content, a trend underscored by the celebration of ‘World Radio Day’ this Thursday.
Among this equipment, the primary products available to Canarian centres include microphones (in 548 centres), computers (504), sound mixing boards (496), headphones (474), microphone stands (451), tablets (375), and recording devices (259).
54 per cent of the centres currently equipped with radio materials in their classrooms have procured these through various calls promoted by the Ministry of Education, while a further 19 per cent obtained the equipment independently (as part of their operational budget), and the remaining 23 per cent sourced it through alternative means, notes the Ministry.
Another aspect highlighted in the report pertains to the dissemination of the produced material, as this is one of the primary goals of school radio.
In this regard, 41 per cent of respondents broadcast their productions via their centres’ websites, whilst nine per cent have an exclusive digital space dedicated to showcasing their projects.
It is also noteworthy to observe the versatility of school radios as an educational tool, as their application is not confined solely to language subjects.
In 39 per cent of the centres, all subjects made use of this resource, whilst another 32 per cent did so across both language and non-language areas. These statistics reaffirm the potential of school radio as an educational instrument for communication, creativity, and collaborative learning.
School Radio Network
Last November, the proliferation of school radios in the Canary Islands took a significant leap forward with the establishment of the Canary Islands School Radios network, an initiative from the Ministry of Education, coordinated by David Pablos through the General Directorate of Planning for Teaching Management, Inclusion, and Innovation. This aims to strengthen and highlight radio experiences within the educational centres of the archipelago via a digital platform that facilitates the sharing of productions and encourages collaboration among the participating centres.
This initiative enables educational centres to access both technical and pedagogical resources for the creation and broadcasting of radio content.
Moreover, it allows for live broadcasts through a streaming service offered by the Ministry, enabling student productions to reach a wider audience.
By providing a shared platform and common resources, the Canary Islands School Radios network aims to enhance collaborative learning and creativity among students, establishing school radio as a crucial pedagogical asset within Canarian education.
School radio boasts an extensive history dating back to the end of the last century, with some centres in the islands being pioneers in utilising this resource as a learning method, acquiring their own equipment or participating in local radio programmes.
Nevertheless, the substantial progress of radio within classrooms occurred during the second decade of the 21st century, marked by a structured expansion of school radios, facilitated by equipment provision from the Ministry, the creation of pedagogical guides, and the organisation of specialised events.
The inaugural call for school radio projects took place in 2018, selecting the first two hundred centres of the islands for funding to acquire equipment, a significant boost for its expansion.
Two years later, with the integration of school radio into the Innovas Network, its role within the educational strategy of the archipelago was solidified.
During the 2024/2025 academic year, 610 Canarian centres will be participating in the thematic axis 1 of this network, focusing on linguistic communication, libraries, and school radios.
Furthermore, while it is not obligatory to possess radio equipment to engage in this initiative, nor is it necessary to be part of the axis to own radio materials, the vast majority of centres employ this pedagogical resource for their educational development.
