Revealing the whiteboard to blind students: An inclusive approach to provide mediation in synchronous e-learning activities

Promoting the inclusion of students with disabilities in e-learning systems has brought many challenges for researchers and educators. The use of synchronous communication tools such as interactive whiteboards has been regarded as an obstacle for inclusive education. In this paper, we present the proposal of an inclusive approach to provide blind students with the possibility to participate in live learning sessions with whiteboard software. The approach is based on the provision of accessible textual descriptions by a live mediator. With the accessible descriptions, students are able to navigate through the elements and explore the content of the class using screen readers. The method used for this study consisted of the implementation of a software prototype within a virtual learning environment and a case study with the participation of a blind student in a live distance class. The results from the case study have shown that this approach can be very effective, and may be a starting point to provide blind students with resources they had previously been deprived from. The proof of concept implemented has shown that many further possibilities may be explored to enhance the interaction of blind users with educational content in whiteboards, and further pedagogical approaches can be investigated from this proposal. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design and use of mobile technology in distance language education : Matching learning practices with technologies-in-practice

This thesis focuses on the adaptation of formal education to people’s technology- use patterns, theirtechnology-in-practice, where the ubiquitous use of mobile technologies is central. The research question is: How can language learning practices occuring in informal learning environments be effectively integrated with formal education through the use of mobile technology? The study investigates the technical, pedagogical, social and cultural challenges involved in a design science approach. The thesis consists of four studies. The first study systematises MALL (mobile-assisted language learning) research. The second investigates Swedish and Chinese students’ attitudes towards the use of mobile technology in education. The third examines students’ use of technology in an online language course, with a specific focus on their learning practices in informal learning contexts and their understanding of how this use guides their learning. Based on the findings, a specifically designed MALL application was built and used in two courses. Study four analyses the app use in terms of students’ perceived level of self-regulation and structuration. The studies show that technology itself plays a very important role in reshaping peoples’ attitudes and that new learning methods are coconstructed in a sociotechnical system. Technology’s influence on student practices is equally strong across borders. Students’ established technologies-in-practice guide the ways they approach learning. Hence, designing effective online distance education involves three interrelated elements: technology, information, and social arrangements. This thesis contributes to mobile learning research by offering empirically and theoretically grounded insights that shift the focus from technology design to design of information systems.

Educação inclusiva e formação continuada: contribuições dos casos de ensino para os processos de aprendizagem e desenvolvimento profissional de professores

This study focuses on processes of learning and professional development experienced by elementary school teachers who have students with special educational needs in their classrooms. Cases and case methods can be used as methodological resource to articulate the continued training of teachers in an inclusive perspective. This research-intervention adopted a constructive-collaborative model for continued teachers formation. The main objective was to investigate the possible contributions of teaching cases, while investigative and formative strategies, for the processes of learning and professional development of teachers who work in the regular school. The data were collected by means of analytical activities, drafting collective discussion and teaching cases, having eight teachers as participants in a regular public school, located in the municipality of Natal/RN, Brasil. The theoretical reference covers the inclusive education, teaching learning, teachers professional development, the knowledge base for teaching and teaching cases as a resource for continued teachers formation in an inclusive perspective. The results indicated that teaching cases allowed description and analysis of educational practices developed by regular education teachers and adoption of reflective processes about situations reported and on their own pedagogical actuation, achieving indications of changes. It also indicates the contribution of cases for the clarification, systematization and extension of professional knowledge about inclusive education process as well as for involvement by the teachers of the study in a pedagogical thinking process. The lessons learned are related mainly to own role as teachers of regular education, to the role of professional support and specialized institutions faced to school inclusion. The analyses showed the methodological option was suitable to develop a schoolcentric training process, allowing teachers to seek in their actual environment alternatives for construction of a new logic of teaching that encloses diversity. The conclusion is that the cases, while bringing educational situations closer to the reality experienced by teachers in their daily professional role, causes relevant improvement on teachers education, because it offers training in conjunction with the experience and knowledge that teachers already have

Educação inclusiva e formação continuada: contribuições dos casos de ensino para os processos de aprendizagem e desenvolvimento profissional de professores

This study focuses on processes of learning and professional development experienced by elementary school teachers who have students with special educational needs in their classrooms. Cases and case methods can be used as methodological resource to articulate the continued training of teachers in an inclusive perspective. This research-intervention adopted a constructive-collaborative model for continued teachers formation. The main objective was to investigate the possible contributions of teaching cases, while investigative and formative strategies, for the processes of learning and professional development of teachers who work in the regular school. The data were collected by means of analytical activities, drafting collective discussion and teaching cases, having eight teachers as participants in a regular public school, located in the municipality of Natal/RN, Brasil. The theoretical reference covers the inclusive education, teaching learning, teachers professional development, the knowledge base for teaching and teaching cases as a resource for continued teachers formation in an inclusive perspective. The results indicated that teaching cases allowed description and analysis of educational practices developed by regular education teachers and adoption of reflective processes about situations reported and on their own pedagogical actuation, achieving indications of changes. It also indicates the contribution of cases for the clarification, systematization and extension of professional knowledge about inclusive education process as well as for involvement by the teachers of the study in a pedagogical thinking process. The lessons learned are related mainly to own role as teachers of regular education, to the role of professional support and specialized institutions faced to school inclusion. The analyses showed the methodological option was suitable to develop a schoolcentric training process, allowing teachers to seek in their actual environment alternatives for construction of a new logic of teaching that encloses diversity. The conclusion is that the cases, while bringing educational situations closer to the reality experienced by teachers in their daily professional role, causes relevant improvement on teachers education, because it offers training in conjunction with the experience and knowledge that teachers already have

Acesso e permanência na universidade federal do rio grande do Norte sob o ponto de vista do docente e do estudante com deficiência Natal-RN

Inclusion of students with disabilities is a recent case that has been discussed in school contexts, but the current policy of inclusion for access and retention of students in higher education is still a problem face there is much to do, therefore, are incipient studies in which this student body is involved. Accordingly, what is happening is that the most studies deal with on these students and little is said about them. For inclusive education thus the institution should prepare to receive students, having as one of its premises their point of views about what actually experience aiming at promoting education for all. Therefore, this study deals with the process of inclusion of students with disabilities regularly enrolled in undergraduate courses at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte - UFRN.They were used the assumptions of qualitative research enabled by the case study method and semi-structured interviews. It has been analyzed by guiding actions and teaching practices, under the views of disabled students and teachers, the conditions of access and permanence offered by UFRN. Twelve students with physical, visual, hearing disabilities participated and five teachers from the acedemic centers that in academic year 2008 taught to these students. For data analysis it was used the technique of content analysis. It was extracted two themes: access and retention of students with disabilities in UFRN, in which emerged the categories described and analyzed in the course of this work. The results show the difficulties of access and retention of students with disabilities within the UFRN, such as attitudinal, pedagogical and architectural barriers. However, as it has also turned out, initial advances in the quest for achieving more effective actions to guarantee access and permanence of these students in UFRN. It has concluded that the scope for the exercise of citizenship in the pupils with disabilities who need this Higher Education Institution has an inclusive education Project, wide and consolidated, for the actions undertaken by the Ministry of Education - MEC, by itself, are not guaranteed to all students due to mobility, autonomy and security. It has hoped this work will bring benefits for new studies to develop features that were located, but were not our focus, because then the UFRN may advance the inclusive process of disabled students

Trilhas da inclusão escolar percorridas por uma aluna com paralisia cerebral na EJA: concepções e práticas

On this qualitative study, it has been discussed the school inclusion paths done by a student with cerebral palsy, who we call Liz, and who was also the reference and indirect subject for this study. For the representation of landscapes found, it follows throughout historical, political and pedagogical paths, getting through the case study method references on the current Brazilian educational context, analyzing, which concepts are attributed to the inclusion and which practices are developed by educational managers and teachers in a regular school of the City of Natal/RN. The theory which based this research is supported on Vygotsky's central ideas (1991, 1997, 2004) and his followers. Furthermore, it was essential to bring to this investigative journey a literature which could dialogue with the most relevant aspects of the cultural-historical approach, emphasizing the assumptions of a progressive education tendency, which promotes the subject involvement of his/her work in the world and for the world. This way, it was necessary to seek for theoretical support on assistive technology and on alternative communication, in order to show the importance of establishing other communications, which is, to break away from the conventional pattern established by the school. On this journey it was used procedures for the data construction, such as: observation, conducting semistructured interviews and questionnaires; and document analysis that supported and legitimized the inclusion, besides the permanent field diaries record. On the access paths to this landscape it entered in the Youth and Adults Education (Educação de Jovens e Adultos - EJA), seeking to establish a dialogue among Youth and Adult Education and Special Education. It was verified that, still, there are large gaps in these policies articulation. Among the results obtained it was raised discussions on new scenery, in which Youth and Adults Education (EJA) emerges as prominent mode of the established relationships throughout the school inclusion process. There were target reflections on: the planning and evaluation systematic, the pedagogical articulation among the Youth and Adults Education (EJA) teachers and the multifunctional resource room teacher's actions and the continuous training importance of the educators involved. It was considered, therefore, that the necessary mediations for school inclusion may be sustained if the walkers are involved in a permanent contact with the nature of a proposal from the Special Education inclusive perspective

Revelações e contradições entre concepção e gestão do currículo em um curso técnico no IFRN, na modalidade de educação de jovens e adultos

This dissertation reports the results of a research which has aimed to analyze the senses attributed to the curriculum by the students of the Technical Course of Computation Maintenance and Support, organized through the Programme of Integration of the the Professional Education with the Basic Education in the Youngster and Adult Education Modality (PROEJA), at Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN), Campus Santa Cruz. It has been sought to know who the students are and to investigate their curriculum conceptions, on which the this investigation has been based on. Thus, those senses attributed by the students on their narratives have been compared to the official proposed curriculum for the Programme and to the curriculum implemented by IFRN. The current research follows the qualitative approach being led by a study case and life stories methods. In order to effective that approach, two data collecting instruments have been developed: questionnaires and semi structured interviews. The collected data has been complemented by the legal and institutional documents analysis. This study is derived from the presupposition that PROEJA s students, although are able to access school after the educational system restructuration, are still facing difficulties during their courses because of the excluding and traditional curriculum, decontextualized with their personal and work life, that is, without curriculum integration. This study has accomplished PROEJA s students characterization presenting important data for the integrated curriculum construction at IFRN and revealing that the students consider the Programme as inclusive. Nevertheless, the practices concerned to the democratic construction of the curriculum and its dialogical action indicate partial inclusion, considering that, in order to include those students indeed, it would be necessary to include them to the institutional and academic context. Contradictory situations have been detected on the course pedagogical project, considered traditional and decontextualized, especially regarding to methodological aspects. The research also allowed to increase PROEJA s investigation field as well as to contribute with a better implementation of the Programme as curricular proposal bonded to Basic and Professional Education in the Youngster and Adult Modality Education Modality

Propostas e discussões para o ensino de astronomia nos 1º e 2º ciclos do nível fundamental e na educação de jovens e adultos

This work aims to propose and to discuss methodologies and practical activities for Astronomy teaching in the 1st and 2nd cycles of the primary education and in the adult education. The proposals presented here were applied to students from the metropolitan region of Natal (RN), including students of the called normal education (formerly magisterial education) and of the undergraduate formation in pedagogy at the Instituto de Formação Superior Presidente Kennedy , and also, in particular, to teachers and students of public municipal school Escola Municipal Djalma Maranhão at the district of Felipe Maranhão II, also analyzing some didactic books used by these institutions. Several elements which we confronted with during this didactic-pedagogical experience were systematized, indicating principles, contents, reflections and procedures related to Astronomy teaching to students of those levels of education. Doing this we aim to make such an experience accessible to those interested in developing a similar approach involving the themes treated here as well as other ones related to Astronomy for those levels of education. The resources and practices implemented here aim to contribute to the effective realization of an interdisciplinary and contextualized education according to orientations proposed by the Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (Brazilian National Curricular Guidelines). In order to guarantee a broad accessibility to what we propose in this work, we intend to make available in printed form and also in an Internet page the procedures, instruction materials and texts we developed

O psicólogo e os serviços de acolhimento institucional para crianças e adolescentes

The Shelters are responsible for caring for children and adolescents whose families or guardians are temporarily unable to fulfill his role as care and protection. The activities to be developed by psychologists in these services are greatly important for the elaboration and development of political- pedagogical project of the same, and for reasons pertaining to the present and future of children and adolescents received judgments. The psychologist puts up the challenge of contributing to a better care of children, also cooperating with the implementation of the new care standards of childcare. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the professional psychologist in assistance to children and adolescents in 13 Shelters in the Metropolitan Region of Natal/RN. For both set out to make visits to the institutions to know how it is organized the field work of the psychologist, his routine work and activities developed. Nine psychologists interviewed according to a semi-structured interview script. The data analysis is supported by the theoretical aspects of dialectical materialism historical and theme content analysis was used. Results were presented from three angles: psychologists and institutional framework; activities, resources and methods of work; psychologists and legal frameworks of the Institutional Hospitality. The study points out the recent entry of the psychologist in Shelters, combined with considerable turnover of these professionals. This work has been organized through the Individualized Service Plan, prioritizing the return to family of origin. Moreover, in general, perform joints with the service network, reporting, individual consultations and follow-adoption processes . Staff members, however, feel a lack of specific and continuing training on special protection, including due to the distance between the proposed theory and practice. It was thus observed a movement of psychologists distance themselves from welfare or repressive practices, however the structural difficulties of services and lack of continuing education appear to limit the development of a performance focused on the transformation of the reality of children and adolescents treated and their families

Um olhar para a Sala de Recursos Multifuncionais e Objetos de Aprendizagem: apontamentos de uma pesquisa e intervenção

Pós-graduação em Educação - FCT

O sujeito pedagógico na configuração social da atualidade: análise de discursos sobre educação a partir da pátio – Revista Pedagógica e da noção de discursos ondas

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Desenvolvimento moral e preconceito: um estudo sobre os juízos de crianças do ensino fundamental de uma escola inclusiva

Pós-graduação em Educação - FFC

Formação continuada do professor: um estudo das contribuições do Programa Conhecer para Acolher para a prática pedagógica inclusiva

Este estudo está vinculado à linha de pesquisa Currículo e Formação de Professores, do Programa de Pós Graduação do Instituto de Ciências da Educação da Universidade Federal do Pará. Defini como objetivo geral analisar se a formação continuada de professores, desenvolvida no Programa “Conhecer para Acolher: capacitação de educadores para atuar junto a alunos com necessidades educacionais especiais no contexto da escola regular da Rede Pública Estadual do Pará”, trouxe contribuições para a prática pedagógica docente no processo de inclusão dos alunos com necessidades educacionais especiais em escolas públicas da rede estadual do Pará e como objetivos específicos identificar como os professores articulam o vivenciado no processo da formação com sua ação docente; avaliar que aspectos da formação podem ter favorecido (ou não) sua ação docente na perspectiva da inclusão e investigar se processo formativo gerou mudanças atitudinais nos professores. A investigação configurou-se como pesquisa qualitativa de abordagem descritiva, apoiada nos teóricos que discutem a formação de professores e inclusão, para compreensão dos fenômenos educacionais e do papel da formação continuada para a ressignificação das ações do professor no processo de construção da educação inclusiva. Foram sujeitos participantes quatro professoras que participaram da referida formação, selecionadas a partir dos critérios: participação na primeira formação do Programa, ocorrida em 2002; participação em módulo de aprofundamento; não ter participado de outras formações sobre educação especial/inclusão; ter no momento da pesquisa aluno com necessidades educacionais especiais em suas turmas. Elegi como instrumentos de coleta de dados a pesquisa documental e entrevista semi-estruturada. Considerando a importância da pesquisa como possível auxiliar em formações continuadas para o processo de inclusão educacional de alunos com necessidades especiais, para análise dos dados me apoiei nos constructos teóricos que são veiculados sobre a educação inclusiva e busquei pontos de interface entre esses constructos para a compreensão dos aspectos da complexidade que envolvem o processo de formação continuada de professores e seus reflexos na atuação profissional dos mesmos. A análise dos dados permitiu perceber que a formação proporcionou às professoras o repensar de suas práticas pela assimilação e uso dos conceitos teórico-práticos como recurso para sua ação, ao afirmarem que ativaram postura mais reflexiva, mais participativa em seu contexto profissional; ao se perceberem como mais sensíveis às diferenças que se manifestam em suas salas de aula; ao recorrerem a estratégias diferenciadas para efetivar o processo de ensino e se perceberem como co-responsáveis pela organização da inclusão educacional.

Trabalho infanto-juvenil: as representações da pedagogia do trabalho

Pós-graduação em Psicologia - FCLAS