Use of tablets in Early Childhood Education: a case study

El uso de las tecnologías en el aula suponen un valor añadido al proceso educativo. No obstante, el acto de enseñar y aprender en la etapa de Educación Infantil requiere no solo de la introducción de los recursos novedosos en las aulas educativas, sino que es fundamental comenzar todo el proceso a partir de una fundamentación pedagógica que justifique su implementación didáctica en el contexto donde aprenden, desaprenden y re-aprenden el alumnado de Educación Infantil. Este es el trabajo que se está llevando a cabo en el CEIP Maruja Mallo y que presentamos en este artículo, ya que el profesorado cree que el cambio metodológico y de paradigma debe iniciarse en edades tempranas, donde se haga visible el uso de metodologías activas. El propósito de esta experiencia recae en el buen uso de diferentes recursos tecnológicos, por parte del alumnado de Educación Infantil, como la pizarra digital y la tablet, que redunden no sólo en el logro de las competencias generales y básicas de las diferentes áreas de conocimiento (Matemáticas, Lengua, …) sino también en el empleo de aquellas competencias transversales (comunicación, interacción social, educación en igualdad de oportunidades, corresponsabilidad con los otros, afectividad, …) que van a favorecer el desarrollo integral de su personalidad, y les va a habilitar para un aprendizaje permanente a lo largo de su vida.The technologies in classroom are value added in learning. However, the introduction of new technologies in classrooms is not enough to educate in the stage of preschool, but it’s necessary start with the pedagogical argument that justifies their didactic implementation in the context where they learn, unlearn, relearn the preschool children. This project which has been done in CEIP Maruja Mallo, and we present in this article that the teachers believe in the methodological change, and the paradigm should start in the early ages, where the use of active methodologies becomes visible. The purpose of this research, it is good use of different technological resources in preschool children, for example Interactive whiteboard and tablet. This purpose will help improve general and basic competences (Mathematics, Language …) also in the use of transversal competences (Communication, social interaction, equal education, co-responsibility with others, affectivity... ) these will favor the integral development of their personality, and will enable them for lifelong learning throughout their lives Keywords: Preschool, TIC, Tablet, App, Interactive whiteboard.peerReviewe

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century