Human development and distance education: how are interactivity and interaction articulated?

Currently the achievements of technology have not been enough to overcome the misery, in which are numerous human groups. Relegated to its background, the human being sees those scenarios, which brings out discussions about its formation, in which values are regarded as the scientific and technological aspects. The educational research inspired by this framework involving the theme of human development, update and re-frame concepts related to the linkage between interactivity and interaction, two important features presented in the process of Distance Education (DE). The research inquired about how these features have been articulated. It conducted a field study in which two professors were interviewed. The results showed that the integration between interactivity and interaction, involving aspects such as autonomy, critical awareness, relationships among students, the sharing of values and worldviews, is at the base of the educational processes of the DE. They also showed that, on these processes, there are shortcomings regarding the development of values and having to be thought the tutor training strategies from an interdisciplinary view.

The wood for the civil engineering: A proposal of distance education

The majority of the Brazilian schools of Civil Engineering have taught the subject works with wood in the traditional only by disciplines of Metallic Structures and Wood at a topic in the content of the program on disciplines at the Materials of Civil Construction. To extend of the wood studies is being made possible that all the pupils have a wider understanding of this material and its adapted use is the goal of the proposal, that by the means of the education modality e-learning, disclosing the first one: Module I - Introduction to the Study of the Wood. This methodology tries to use the theoretical beddings in projects that are related to the pupil daily tasks and its practical professional. The article presents the theoretical bases of the conception proposal and its structure, and at the conclusions, the problems found during its application are displayed. Basically, the methodology considers that the professor and the pupil must share the learning, and adopt it as main in the interdisciplinary.

Online distance mathematics education in Brazil: research, practice and policy

In this article, we address online distance mathematics education research and practice in Brazil, which are relative newcomers to the educational scene. We present the national context of education in Brazil, highlighting the organization of the educational system, and also a summary of national legislation on distance education and an overview of digital inclusion in the country. We outline the potential and relevance of distance education for the Brazilian educational system and show how it could intervene in the system. With respect to research and practice in online mathematics education, we present support for research, examples of studies and highlight different aspects being addressed, including its essential components. In addition, we discuss the synergy between distance education and teacher education, and mathematics distance education and modeling, as well as other initiatives in the national scenario.

Using remote lab networks to provide support to public secondary school education level

The advantages of networking are widely known in many areas (from business to personal ones). One particular area where networks have also proved their benefits is education. Taking the secondary school education level into account, some successful cases can be found in literature. In this paper we describe a particular remote lab network supporting physical experiments accessible to students of institutions geographically separated. The network architecture and application examples of using some of the available remote experiments are illustrated in detail. ©2008 IEEE.

O ensino de procedimentos de política de indexação na perspectiva do conhecimento organizacional: uma proposta de programa para a educação à distância do bibliotecário

A política de indexação deve ser constituída de estratégias que permitam o alcance dos objetivos de recuperação do sistema de informação. O indexador tem a função primordial de compreender o documento ao realizar uma análise conceitual que represente adequadamente seu conteúdo. Utilizando a leitura como evento social/protocolo verbal em grupo, nosso objetivo é contribuir com a literatura sobre política de indexação e apresentar propostas de ensino de política de indexação direcionadas a alunos de graduação e pós-graduação, além de uma experiência de educação à distância com vistas à formação do bibliotecário em serviço. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que a metodologia pode ser utilizada por sistemas de informação para que se tenha acesso ao conhecimento do indexador. Conclui que o indexador deve ser o alvo de investimento dos sistemas de informação e sugere aos sistemas de informação que a experiência do indexador também seja utilizada como parâmetro para política de indexação.

A university extension course in leprosy: telemedicine in the Amazon for primary healthcare

There is a high prevalence of leprosy in the Amazon region of Brazil. We have developed a distance education course in leprosy for training staff of the Family Health Teams (FHTs). The course was made available through a web portal. Tele-educational resources were mediated by professors and coordinators, and included the use of theoretical content available through the web, discussion lists, Internet chat, activity diaries, 3-D video animations (Virtual Human on Leprosy), classes in video streaming and case simulation. Sixty-five FHT staff members were enrolled. All of them completed the course and 47 participants received a certificate at the end of the course. At the end of the course, 48 course-evaluation questionnaires were answered. A total of 47 participants (98%) considered the course as excellent. The results demonstrate the feasibility of an interactive, tele-education model as an educational resource for staff in isolated regions. Improvements in diagnostic skills should increase diagnostic suspicion of leprosy and may contribute to early detection.

Os professores de química e o uso do computador em sala de aula: discussão de um processo de formação continuada

O presente artigo discute estratégias utilizadas em um processo de formação continuada que se destina a promover a inserção da informática nas aulas de Química, organizado com base na racionalidade prática e na reflexão crítica sobre o trabalho docente. Esse processo envolveu professores de escolas estaduais localizadas na região de Jaú (SP) e utilizou a educação a distância como recurso para mediar os períodos entre os encontros presenciais. As estratégias selecionadas para discussão neste artigo, dentre as utilizadas no processo de formação, são: a elaboração de material didático e o desenvolvimento de aulas nas Salas Ambiente de Informática das escolas. Tais propostas se revelaram importantes por considerarem o professor como autor dos recursos didáticos para trabalho em sala de aula, e o contexto escolar como subsídio à própria ação de formação.

O uso de softwares na prática profissional do professor de matemática

Este artigo apresenta uma pesquisa que é resultado de cursos online de formação continuada de professores, concebidos a partir de uma parceria entre a UNESP e uma rede nacional de escolas de Ensino Básico. Os cursos buscavam familiarizar os professores de Matemática com os recursos da tecnologia informática, especificamente dois softwares, o Geometricks e o Winplot, no que diz respeito à utilização destes na sala de aula. Após alguns anos da realização dos mesmos, na pesquisa aqui descrita, objetivamos identificar se e como os softwares foram incorporados à prática profissional, em um cenário em que os professores podem contar com laboratórios, formação continuada e suporte técnico. A partir de entrevistas online, pudemos mapear as diferentes escolhas dos professores: não-uso; uso de forma semelhante (ou não) à vivenciada no curso online, e o uso interdisciplinar, mostrando variadas formas pelas quais os professores retraduziram o curso para sua prática.

A avaliação vista sob o aspecto da educação a distância

Este artigo trata da avaliação como um aspecto bastante relevante para a educação em geral, que também deve ser pensado e discutido frente à Educação a Distância (EAD). Assim, a partir de nossa experiência como professores e tendo por contexto um curso realizado totalmente à distância, analisamos algumas interações ocorridas ao longo do curso, que foi desenvolvido tendo como norte a teoria educacional construcionista. Valemo-nos também desta teoria para elaborar nossas idéias a respeito do caráter da avaliação frente a uma concepção formativa, em um ambiente de EAD, o qual valorizou todos os tipos de interação. Então, aliamos o Construcionismo1 à Avaliação Formativa que visa ao aperfeiçoamento do processo de aprendizagem do aluno em vez de buscar medir o que este aprendeu.

Support on the remote interaction for augmented reality system

This article presents a support on the remote interaction for utilization in augmented reality systems based on ARToolkit. It utilizes the multicast communication in order to improve the scalability of distributed environment. This support may be utilized in production of specific applications pointed to distance education, training and entertainment. The validity of support happened with the implementation of a prototype and realization of tests for communication latency analysis and frames per second rate. © 2007 IEEE.

Telefonoaudiologia: Ciência e tecnologia em saúde

Background: distance learning (DL) is becoming a higher education modality with a meaningful impact. It offers students flexibility, mobility and choices. Also it can reach a greater number of professionals and students in a more effective way, when compared to other learning modalities, without losing quality. Brazil needs to develop direct actions to DL in the fields of Speech-Language Pathology and Hearing, due to its great continental territory (8,514,215.3Km 2) and irregular distribution of professionals who work in these specific fields (i.e. this situation emphasizes the differences in quality and availability of services offered throughout the country). Heterogeneity in the quality and availability of services is also aggravated by the absence of a national strategy for continued education in order to recycle health professionals. This situation causes important differences in the knowledge and abilities of specialists from one region to the next. Aim: to present Telehealth studies in the field of Speech-Language Pathology and Hearing that were developed in the last five years. Conclusion: the analyzed data indicate that more studies are needed in this specific field. These studies should aim at improving the quality and access to services which in turn would improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders.

Dermatúnel: Modelo de ambiente interativo de aprendizagem em dermatologia

The Interactive Learning Environment (ILE) is an educational model that integrates features of 3D computer graphics and contextualization, in order to transmit a quantum of knowledge (islands of knowledge), in a precise and agile way, to people who do not know the subject. It is a model that uses multimedia resources supported by a contextualized environment to motivate the participants in the retention of knowledge. In this first release, eight relevant subjects in dermatology were addressed and implemented in the 62nd Brazilian Congress of Dermatology. The model was called Dermatúnel. In a period of four days, 3295 people visited it. The results showed that the participants were highly satisfied. The model has a great potential as an educational tool for medical training and guidance to the general public with the purpose of disease prevention.

Calculadoras, Computadores e Internet em Educação Matemática: dezoito anos de pesquisa

In this paper, we present GPIMEM, a group that has been developing research in Mathematics Education related to computers and other media since 1993 to understand how mathematical knowledge can be produced with these technological resources, in face-to-face as well as online distance education. Members of the group dialogue with different fields of knowledge such as philosophy, history, psychology, anthropology, sociology, arts and technology, among others, to inform their research. The research addresses various topics relevant to Mathematics Education, including methodological and epistemological aspects of teaching and learning, of mathematical modeling and teacher education, always within a qualitative research perspective. We begin with the historical presentation of the group, revealing its dynamics and organization of work, followed by reflections on qualitative research methodology and description of research conducted over the past five years. Finally, we present a synthesis of the theories developed by the group and expectations for the future.

A visual tool for building synchronous generator capability curves

Synchronous generators are essential components of electric power systems. They are present both in hydro and thermal power plants, performing the function of converting mechanical into electrical energy. This paper presents a visual approach to manipulate parameters that affect operation limits of synchronous generators, using a specifically designed software. The operating characteristics of synchronous generators, for all possible modes of operation, are revised in order to link the concepts to the graphic objects. The approach matches the distance learning tool requirements and also enriches the learning process by developing student trust and understanding of the concepts involved in building synchronous machine capability curves. © 2012 IEEE.

Educação a distância e formação continuada do professor

Distance Education has had a significant role in further teacher development. The aim of this study was to collect and analyze data related to distance education for the further teacher development related to the inclusion process of people with disability. One hundred and eighty two students from the Distance Training course from Unesp - Bauru / SP participated in the research, constructing and applying a semi-structured questionnaire. The results indicate that scheduling flexibility and attendance of a great number of students in different geographical areas stand out as positive points of this modality, however, for it to be a success, tutors must be adequately prepared to use new tools in the teaching-learning process. It is essential that the students feel they are being assisted in every moment, contributing to the construction of a virtual community and effecting quality development in distance education.