Technological mediation has been the alternative found for academic and professional qualification during the COVID-19 pandemic and the social isolation caused by it. Two distance events, carried out through the Virtual Learning Environment of the Dean of Extension of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), AVAProex, are proof of this.
Until May 12, discussions related to “Teaching History in Times of Pandemic” will be held. The initiative is a promotion of the Professional Master’s Course in History Teaching (ProfHistória / UFRN) and according to the event’s co-organizer and professor of the Master’s Course, Vanessa Spinosa, a virtual room was created within the platform and this was essential to ensure registration, communication, the sharing of nominations and texts, as well as the participation of interested parties.
Still according to her, the support of the UFRN Distance Education Secretariat was fundamental in this whole process. She adds that at the end of each programming day, positive feedbacks have exceeded expectations. To make the public even closer, ProfHistória / UFRN profiles were created on social networks, which helped to disseminate virtual activities to more than 100 subscribers.
The discovery of network qualification
Last April 22nd, 520 years of the discovery of Brazil were celebrated. And given the current scenario of changes in behavior and routines, following the recommendations of health agencies, new discoveries are being made every day. Dozens of people had access to network qualification for the first time. On that historic date, the “I Potiguares Diversities Workshop and its Applications in the Cosmetic Area” took place.
The event was also hosted in an AVAProex virtual room and brought together more than 200 participants in two shifts (morning and afternoon). The initiative, aimed at establishing possible partnerships with the cosmetic industry and productive sustainability, was carried out through web conferencing. Participated in the execution of the activity, the Augusto Severo Scientific and Technological Park Advisory, the Innovation Agency (AGIR) of UFRN and the Project Management Secretariat of UFRN.
AVAProex development
Artur Nobre, support analyst at SEDIS / UFRN, explains that the Virtual Learning Platform of the UFRN Dean of Extension, developed by the SEDIS team, used Moodle as the basis, which is the most popular learning management system in the world. world and that has open source. It was up to SEDIS professionals to customize the virtual environment for the needs of PROEX, which among other duties is the offer of free courses and events for society in general.
Also according to the support analyst, AVAProex works as a large virtual room that allows interaction between participants, access to cultural presentations, in addition to sharing initial guidelines and registering questions for courses and virtual events.
For UFRN’s Secretary of Distance Education, Carmem Rêgo, it is part of SEDIS’s mission to support the qualification of people through technological mediation. She recalls that, in addition to these activities, SEDIS participates in a partnership, with LAIS and with Proex / UFRN itself, which aims at offering free courses for teachers from public schools and with the elaboration of Environmental courses Virtual Learning System (AVASUS).
These courses have been essential in preparing health professionals to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and education professionals for a new reality of adapting to classes in the online format, emphasized Carmem Rêgo.
During this period of social distance, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, a partnership between the Laboratory of Technological Innovation in Health (LAIS) of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, the Secretariat of Distance Education (SEDIS / UFRN) and the Dean of Extension (PROEX / UFRN) will make it possible to offer five distance courses free of charge, with themes directed to teachers of public schools in the state and Brazil.
The courses will be offered in the format of MOOC, an acronym in English that means Open and Massive Online Course, and each of them will offer a total of 1,500 places. The themes are varied and were thought to collaborate with the qualification of teachers who are far from the classrooms due to the quarantine. The idea is that the initiative will continue after this period.
Technology courses
The courses were financed through a partnership between LAIS / UFRN and the Ministry of Health. Those interested in participating in the five courses, which combine education and technology, will have access to modules with hours varying between 15 and 30 hours. The subjects are considered, by the organizers, as relevant to the continuing education of teachers and fundamental to the understanding of new teaching and learning formats.
In the module “Education mediated by technologies in practice”, the participant will be prepared to act in the management and teaching of courses with technological mediation. In the module “Introduction to active methodologies”, the applicant will be led to the discussion of the so-called active methodologies. It also has the module “Modalities of educational offers with technologies” that will assist in the pedagogical production of distance courses.
In “Educational activities with technological mediation”, the student will learn more about the concepts of teaching and learning outside the classroom. To close these options, there is also the module “Teaching and preparation of teaching materials in courses mediated by technology”. In it, those who participate will learn some specific care in the elaboration of courses with technological mediation.
Virtual learning environment
The Virtual Learning Environment of the Pro-Rectory of Extension at UFRN, AVAProex, was developed by the team of the UFRN Secretariat for Distance Education and the courses are now available. Those interested in participating will have to access the Integrated Academic Activities Management System (SIGAA) at UFRN, available at <Sigaa.ufrn.br> and then will be directed to AVAProex which can be accessed at <avaproex.sedis .ufrn.br>.
It is important to highlight that from the registration, the candidate will already be able to take the course. Whoever meets the minimum workload defined in each module will have access to the certificate of completion. Registrations can be made starting this Wednesday (29).
The Secretariat of Distance Education of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (SEDIS / UFRN) will provide a series of training actions mediated by technology for teaching. The idea is that each teacher builds his “Formative Trail” based on his previous knowledge, interest and needs.
These actions correspond to online courses (MOOCs) and tutorial videos that will be available on AVAPROGESP <https://avaprogesp.sedis.ufrn.br/> for professors and UFRN servers, links published in SEDIS profiles on social networks and on the SEDIS Channel on YouTube for all those interested.
UFRN, through SEDIS, ratifies its commitment to the diffusion of technology-mediated education in the current context.
Did you know?
SEDIS produces teaching materials in digital support for undergraduate, graduate and extension courses at UFRN. These materials are essential to make the education process mediated by technology viable.
Speaking of massive, a recent initiative, of an AVASUS course that addresses the theme of COVID-19, has already reached more than 604 thousand people enrolled worldwide. SEDIS is a partnership in the preparation of materials published in the SUS Virtual Learning Environment, the largest health education platform in Brazil.
In addition, SEDIS collaborates with the creation of other AVA’s, as is the case with Mandacaru Academic <https://mdl.sedis.ufrn.br/>, used by students of UFRN Undergraduate Courses; Avaprogesp <https://avaprogesp.sedis.ufrn.br/>, a platform created to contribute to the training of technical-administrative servers, teachers and managers at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte; the virtual learning environment of the Escola Agrícola de Jundiaí <https://mandacaru.etec.eaj.ufrn.br/>; the virtual learning environment of the Professional Master’s course Quality Management in Health Services <https://avaqualisaude.sedis.ufrn.br/>, among others.
The Institutional Coordination of PIBID / UFRN makes it public to interested parties that registration will be open for the selection of scholarship holders from initiation to teaching to register the reserve in the area of Biological Sciences, in the distance modality. Students from this area enrolled in the On-campus Support Centers in Guamaré and Nova Cruz can apply. Among the criteria to participate in the selection is the need for the student to have less than 60% of the course completed. Registrations can be made until March 13, 2020. For more details, access here.
As for the students of Distance Education Chemistry at the On-Site Support Poles throughout Rio Grande do Norte, the tip is as follows: until March 11, 2020, anyone interested in participating in the selection process for a monitoring scholarship must register. on the page of the Coordination of the Chemistry Course. In the form, information such as: full name, registration, pole to which you are linked as a student, telephone number and e-mail will be requested. You will find all the details, such as the content of the selection test and the scholarship amount, on this page.
