Maria Paulina de Assis - Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (original) (raw)

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Papers by Maria Paulina de Assis

This work is a report of an experience in a project that tried to combine research and teacher tr... more This work is a report of an experience in a project that tried to combine research and teacher training, in an effort to integrate technology and curriculum. It is a project that is part of a Brazilian education policy named Um Computador por Aluno – UCA (One computer per student), inspired in the OLPC project.

With the reduction in the cost of digital devices, people from the poorer social classes in Bra... more With the reduction in the cost of digital devices, people from the poorer social classes in Brazil now have access to mobile phones and the Internet, thus allowing a degree of ‘digital inclusion’. There are a number of educational policies aimed at bringing technology to Brazilian public schools. These policies also seek to provide training programmes to enable teachers to use technology in their pedagogical practices. There are also some initiatives that have been influenced by the ongoing OLPC project which in Brazil is called “One Computer per Student” (rather than ‘One Laptop per child’). However, a number of problems have arisen, as the result of an inadequate infrastructure and Internet connection, and also concerning management and pedagogical issues.
The purpose of this paper is to address these problems by analysing the results of a few examples of pedagogical practices where laptops are used in children’s education. It also examines two projects in their initial phases – one regarding the introduction of laptops in public schools in a key metropolitan area in Brazil, and the other which is an experiment conducted by PUC (Pontifical Catholic University) to combine in-service teacher training in the use of technology for learning purposes, with academic research.

Este trabalho propõe uma reflexão sobre a problemática do uso das tecnologias na educação brasile... more Este trabalho propõe uma reflexão sobre a problemática do uso das tecnologias na educação brasileira, enfatizando o uso de computadores portáteis e acesso à Internet por professores e alunos de escolas públicas. Resultados de pesquisas realizadas em todo o território nacional indicam o aumento do acesso às tecnologias digitais por uma parcela maior da população, mostrando que há um crescimento do acesso à Internet por meio de tecnologias digitais móveis, inclusive por crianças. As pesquisas também referem ganhos no campo metodológico e desafios encontrados por professores para o uso pedagógico dessas tecnologias. Apresenta-se uma breve retrospectiva sobre o uso das tecnologias na educação desde o início do século XX até os dias de hoje, enfatizando-se projetos de politicas públicas que privilegiaram o computador para ensino, aprendizagem e pesquisa. Duas experiências sobre o uso do computador portátil são relatadas, focando a integração das tecnologias ao currículo. Considerando-se a história do uso das tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC) no ensino brasileiro e as experiências recentes com os computadores portáteis, propõe-se uma reflexão sobre as mudanças sociais influenciadas pelo acesso às novas tecnologias e o papel destas na inclusão digital e social e os impactos na educação.

This paper explores some aspects of the introduction of Information and Communication Technologie... more This paper explores some aspects of the introduction of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education that offer a challenge to teachers in their practices. ICT can be adopted in education for many purposes, and at all levels of formal education. The most important is its application in the classroom where it can serve as an instrument to teach and interact with students, and this raises some key issues regarding the way that technology can intervene in the processes of teaching and learning. ICT can be helpful in enhancing learning and teaching, as they can act as a vehicle for a co-construction of knowledge (Selwyn, 2008), although, owing to their specific features, they present challenges in the way they are implemented in educational contexts. These challenges are addressed in this paper.

This paper brings some results of the tracking of a project held in the training teacher course o... more This paper brings some results of the tracking of a project held in the training teacher course of Ethics, Values and Citizenship at School sponsored by USP, in which PBL is used as teaching and learning collaborative approach. The project concerned the exploration of the use of school assemblies as an approach for conflict resolution in a public basic school in São Paulo, performed by a group of students, as a research activity in 2011. The aim of this article is to explore common elements among PBL, collaborative work, and school assembly as learning approaches and as strategies of support to the research in education. The group of students was asked to respond a reflective memorial (written record) about four school assemblies they accompanied and analyzed. The results were positive and also indicate possibilities of integration of teaching practice, teaching instruction and academic research in teacher education.

This study is concerned with analysing the pedagogical theories and practices on the basis of whi... more This study is concerned with analysing the pedagogical theories and practices on the basis of which Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are employed, together with the influence they have had in changing the syllabus with regard to the subject-areas included in the Post-Graduate Programme in Education and Curriculum in Brazil. The examination of the curriculum sets out with the aim of defining a conception of emancipatory education and exploring how this can be incorporated in a wider context of public educational policies. It also seeks to show how the planning and structuring of the I Web Curriculum Seminar took place – an event that occurred in Brazil in 2008 and is unique of its kind (it is expected to be repeated in 2010). The main concerns of this study are the concept of the Web Curriculum, the importance of scientific research as underlined by the seminar and the prospects for future activities. Integrating the technologies in education and the curriculum is an issue that poses a challenge both to the researchers and the practice of teachers.

This thesis raises the question of the challenges faced by university lecturers in integrating in... more This thesis raises the question of the challenges faced by university lecturers in integrating information and communications technology (ICT) with their pedagogical practice. It is argued that these challenges can be addressed if they are aided by other educators and it is suggested that this can be achieved by means of collaborative work in which the lecturers share their pedagogical practices with their colleagues and analyse, refine and recontextualise them so that they can be used again in different teaching and learning environments. The general aim of the thesis is to seek a theoretical-practical rationale to support the argument and this is undertaken through a bibliographical review and research in the field. It is also argued that the collaborative work involved in the process of formulating a learning design can lead to innovations in pedagogical practice.

This paper examines an experiment in which digital technologies were incorporated into the curric... more This paper examines an experiment in which digital technologies were incorporated into the curriculum, by means of collaborative learning, and supported by a virtual learning environment - VLE - in a course called Digital Technologies and the Curriculum, that formed part of a Post-graduate Program. The course, which was classroom-based, was followed by a range of on-line activities, and supported by LabSpace (http://labspace.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3310). The research involved a group of Master´s and Doctorate students, who were attending the course. There is a description of the context, together with an account of the educational approach adopted, the students’ role, and the technologies used. The evidence obtained suggested that the outcome of the experiment was successful insofar, as collaborative learning occurred and the new technology was both appropriated by the group and exerted an influence on the curriculum and course activities.

This essay examines an experiment carried out in the Information and Communication Technologies (... more This essay examines an experiment carried out in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Education module of a post-graduate programme of Education and Curriculum, in one academic term, for a group of student-researchers, using a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) environment. The study is based on questionnaires completed by the student-researchers. The aim of this essay is to examine the use of ICT in teaching and learning processes in the light of the student-researchers’ practices, by applying a constructivist perspective to the use of ICT in Education.