Mariela Alexandra Tapia León

Mariela Alexandra Tapia León is a full-time Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters, and Educational Sciences at the University of Guayaquil, Ecuador. She earned her degree in Systems and Computer Engineering from the Polytechnic School of the Army - Ecuador, holds a Master's degree in Information and Communication Technology Management from the State University of Milagro - Ecuador, and has a Master's in Educational Technology and Digital Competencies from the International University of La Rioja (UNIR) in Spain. She recently completed her PhD in Education in the Knowledge Society at the University of Salamanca, Spain, with an Outstanding Cum Laude qualification.

Dr. Tapia León's research focuses on the intersection of technology and education, with particular emphasis on making education more inclusive. Her work spans several key areas:

• Educational Technology and e-Learning systems
• Web Accessibility for people with disabilities
• Semantic Web applications in education
• Human-Computer Interaction in educational contexts
• Disability awareness through audiovisual narratives
• Instructional Design for inclusive education

Her recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on using films and Open Educational Resources (OERs) to promote disability awareness and inclusive education. Through her research, she has developed and evaluated training programs that use audiovisual narratives to raise awareness about disabilities. Her work bridges technical expertise in computer systems with educational theory to create practical solutions for more inclusive learning environments.

Dr. Tapia León has presented her research at international conferences including INCLUDES 2021 in Salamanca, Spain and IETIC 2022 in Bragança, Portugal. She has also participated in an international stay at the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mexico through the UNESCO/ICDE Open Educational Movement for Latin America chair.

Her scientific contributions have been recognized with an Outstanding Cum Laude qualification for her doctoral thesis on "Audiovisual narratives to raise awareness about disabilities: Design, implementation, and evaluation of a training program" which was defended on September 6, 2024.

Dr. Tapia León has completed professional development courses including a Research Culture Course (2023-2024), Thesis and Dissertation Writing Course (2023), and Fundamentals of Instructional Design (2022). She is an active researcher in the Research Group on Digital Innovation and Education (eduDIG) focusing on Research-Innovation in Educational Technology.