Sociocritical epistemological foundation for the contextualized integration of artificial intelligence tools in rural multigrade classrooms

This essay stems from a research project on the implementation of artificial intelligence in multi-grade rural classrooms and seeks to establish, from a socio-critical perspective, the contextualized integration of AI tools to strengthen reading comprehension in rural Colombian schools. The reflection acknowledges the structural gaps affecting rural education in connectivity, pedagogical resources, and differentiated student support. Through a thematic review supported by critical pedagogy, sociocultural theory, and participatory action research, the contributions and limitations of the literature on personalized learning with digital technologies are examined. The analysis reveals a gap in the epistemological foundation of these tools in low-connectivity settings, where approaches focused on technical efficiency rather than educational equity predominate. As its main contribution, the study proposes a socio-critical epistemological framework to guide the design and implementation of educational technologies in rural contexts. To this end, it uses Google Read Along, an AI tool with voice recognition and offline functionality, and Kolibri, an offline content distribution platform, as references. It is concluded that these technologies should be considered as pedagogical mediations articulated to reflective teaching practice, oriented towards equity and culturally contextualized.