IJIET 2026 Vol.16(5): 1365-1377
doi: 10.18178/ijiet.2026.16.5.2603
doi: 10.18178/ijiet.2026.16.5.2603
Digital Technology Use in an Ecuadorian Public School: Insights to Inform a User-Centred Virtual Environment for English Language Teaching
Myriam T. Velarde Orozco1,* and Bárbara L. de Benito Crosetti2
1. Doctoral Programme in Educational Technology, Doctoral School, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain
2. Department of Applied Pedagogy and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain
Email: myriam-tatiana.velarde@uib.cat (M.T.V.O.); barbara.debenito@uib.es (B.L.dB.C.)
*Corresponding author
2. Department of Applied Pedagogy and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain
Email: myriam-tatiana.velarde@uib.cat (M.T.V.O.); barbara.debenito@uib.es (B.L.dB.C.)
*Corresponding author
Manuscript received October 31, 2025; revised November 19, 2025; accepted December 22, 2025; published May 19, 2026
Abstract—In numerous Global South contexts, including Ecuador, wherein English proficiency remains low while schools encounter persistent infrastructural constraints, the promise of digital learning frequently collides with everyday challenges. This mixed-methods study examines how educational technology is experienced in a public secondary school and utilises the resulting insights to inform the design of a user-centred Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for English Language Teaching (ELT). Data were collected from 155 participants—specifically, 133 students, 18 teachers, and 4 school leaders—using the SELFIE survey, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations. The findings reveal a pronounced gap between stakeholders’ willingness to innovate and the persistent barriers that they face, with technology use remaining largely basic and teacher-centred. Triangulation of the three data sources highlights recurring constraints related to connectivity, device availability, wayfinding, and workload, alongside clear indications of motivation and openness to improving practice. On this basis, we derive design requirements that prioritise low-bandwidth delivery, device-agnostic access, minimal-click navigation, and concise feedback loops suitable for classroom orchestration. These requirements are grounded in converging evidence and presented as actionable guidance for comparable low-resource settings. This study concludes that effective solutions must be genuinely user-centred, supporting the co-design of a VLE for ELT that responds to on-the-ground realities and fosters more equitable learning pathways.
Keywords—digital technology, English Language Teaching (ELT), low-bandwidth design, low-resource schools, stakeholder perspectives, user-centred design, Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
Keywords—digital technology, English Language Teaching (ELT), low-bandwidth design, low-resource schools, stakeholder perspectives, user-centred design, Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
Cite: Myriam T. Velarde Orozco and Bárbara L. de Benito Crosetti, "Digital Technology Use in an Ecuadorian Public School: Insights to Inform a User-Centred Virtual Environment for English Language Teaching," International Journal of Information and Education Technology, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 1365-1377, 2026.
Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).