The 2020.1 academic semester, at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), will start next Monday, February 17, 2020. For students of Distance Education, it is time to return to exercise contact with a inseparable companion: the Academic Mandacaru.

Mandacaru Acadêmico is an adapted version of Moodle, a free software to support distance learning that can be downloaded for free on the internet. To clarify more about the functioning of this virtual learning environment, we spoke with Artur Nobre, network administrator at the Secretariat of Distance Education (SEDIS) at UFRN.

Specific features of the Academic Mandacaru

Artur Nobre explained that, “basically, the Mandacaru Acadêmico has as its main characteristic its customization. We changed the visual identity of Moodle to meet the reality of students, tutors and teachers, without adding random images, which are meaningless to the daily life of the academic community ”.

He also highlighted that one of the main differentials of the Academic Mandacaru is the incorporation of data from the Integrated System for the Management of Academic Activities (SIGAA) at UFRN. At the beginning of the academic semester, for example, there is a compilation of information regarding students, subjects and grades, which was previously done manually, and which is now automated, thus making the total integration between SIGAA and the learning platform. learning.

Support for EaD students

According to Artur Nobre, SEDIS has a Support Team to meet the demands raised by students, tutors, teachers and course coordinators, whether they are doubts when using the Mandacaru Academic or even suggestions for improvements or implementation of new tools for the environment. virtual. For any clarification, the user should contact sedis.suporte@localhost.

Source: SEDIS / UFRN Media Sector.