This thesis aims to address why the adoption of CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) within the language classroom is so varied, and its success so unclear, despite fifty years of investment and research. The huge promise of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) driven results has created an imbalance in language teaching, where initiatives are brought about from outside the classroom, with teachers held accountable for their adoption. My reading of the literature is that lack of consideration of the teacher’s role in implementation of classroom technology has led to mismatched expectations and performance. If the nature of the teacher’s contribution is recognized, I believe that this can lead to more effective use of ICT, which I have set out to show. My study, based on a survey of 319 EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers across the international group of 31 schools in which I work, seeks to put the teacher back into the picture by examining where their enacted beliefs in social constructivist pedagogy best align with classroom use of digital technology. I coin this emerging praxis ‘microblending’, a pedagogy rooted in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory and contemporary methodology, and I seek to demonstrate its relevance in this study I test the viability of measuring teacher’s microblending readiness through application of Technology Acceptance Modelling (TAM) in an EFL setting to produce a model that explains the variation in classroom use of ICT. My model is based on a critical replication of the WST (‘Will, Skill, Tool’) model, a TAM model which has so far only been used in mainstream classroom teaching. I have updated, created and piloted new instruments within the scope of the study, which are now already in use within the institution where I carried out my investigations. Using both linear regression and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) techniques I explored how these measurements of the learning environment can explain a teacher’s application of technology. This first attempt appears to explain over 89% of the variation in classroom use of technology, which already exceeds the predictive power of several contemporary models in use in parallel fields of education. Given further work to refine and apply the model, a valuable improvement could be made in how teachers work with ICT in the language classroom for improved learning outcomes.

Este trabalho apresentará estudos referentes a uma proposta de arquitetura para ambientes computacionais de suporte à colaboração para auxiliar o ensino e o treinamento em áreas multidisciplinares de engenharia de controle e automação. A motivação provém de evoluções de tecnologias da Web, redes sociais, ambientes virtuais, e mundos virtuais 3D que proporcionam sucessivas possibilidades inovadoras de emprego de tecnologia no ensino. Estas tecnologias podem ser usadas no ensino à distância ou de forma complementar (ensino híbrido) ao ensino-aprendizagem tradicional. O emprego de ambientes computacionais virtuais como incubadores para o desenvolvimento e criação de uma infinidade de materiais educacionais e didáticos torna-se crescentemente frequente na comunidade científica ao passo que instituições de ensino percebem o potencial desta iniciativa. A colaboração virtual entre estudantes dispersos geograficamente e a cooperação entre instituições de ensino diversas são indicadores do avanço destas metodologias. À medida que ambientes virtuais evoluem, podem-se empregar cada vez mais funcionalidades e tecnologias a este complemento ou ferramenta de ensino. É sabido que a prática laboratorial é de suma importância para aprendizagem de áreas tecnológicas, como a engenharia elétrica. Maneiras de expandir esta prática aliada a outras técnicas altamente defendidas na comunidade científica serão abordadas neste estudo, que sucede a um trabalho anterior do autor, no qual é proposto a conjunção de componentes de automação simulados com reais de forma a expandir cenários didáticos. A automação destes ambientes voltados ao ensino passa a se tornar real através de técnicas computacionais relacionadas a gerenciamento, monitoração e adaptação de conteúdo. Dentre as tecnologias e características englobadas pela arquitetura proposta estão: ambientes sociais, ambientes imersivos com visualização tridimensional (metaversos), tutoriamento virtual autônomo baseado em coleta de informações de interação, auxílio à colaboração de usuários, experimentos com componentes intercambiáveis de realidade mista e outras funcionalidades afins. De forma a propor uma implementação viável para este nicho de pesquisa foram desenvolvidos vários estudos de caso e um protótipo, chamado de 3D AutoSysLab, um ambiente imersivo virtual otimizado com ligações a experimentos de realidade mista, visualização de materiais educacionais e mídias interativas, auxílio à colaboração, e suporte à tutoriamento autônomo. Tanto testes do protótipo quanto a utilização dos estudos de caso serviram de validação experimental do trabalho. A validação da utilização ainda não se encontra completa embora resultados preliminares apontem a queda do índice de reprovação de estudantes da Engenharia Elétrica na UFRGS em uma determinada unidade curricular. O emprego de técnicas de acesso remoto além de proporcionar que instituições de ensino cooperem compartilhando recursos materiais/equipamentos também abre horizontes para a colaboração de estudantes entre instituições. Isso alavanca uma melhoria na qualidade do conjunto ensino-aprendizagem e também no emprego de recursos tecnológicos, o que pode, inclusive, representar uma alternativa econômica viável para a prática laboratorial. / This work will present studies towards a proposal of architecture for computer supported collaborative environments applied to enhance learning and training of multidisciplinary areas linked to automation and control engineering. Recent evolutions of Web technologies, social networks, virtual environments, and 3D virtual worlds motivate the adoption of new technologies in education, opening successive innovative possibilities. These technologies or tools can be used in distance education scenarios and/or can also enhance traditional learning-teaching (blended or hybrid learning scenario). The use of virtual environments as breeding grounds for creation and display of learning and didactical materials is a trend among educational institutes since they realized the potential of this endeavor. Physically dispersed and geographically distant students can collaborate in virtual learning environments as well as educational institutions, proving the advance of learning methodologies involving technology. New functionalities to this teaching and learning complementary tool can be added as virtual environments continually evolve. It is known and a wide advocated issue that laboratorial practice is essential to technical education, foremost in engineering. Expanding and obtaining the optimal results from this practice allied to other tools can be seen as the natural continuation of previous work from the author, in which is described a strategy to use mixed reality interchangeable components applied in didactic experiments to broaden learning scenarios. The automation of virtual learning environments is beginning to mature through computational techniques related to management, monitoring and content adaptation. In order to develop a feasible implementation to this research area, several case studies and a prototype were elaborated, the last called 3D AutoSysLab, in which a metaverse is used as interface, experiments are linked to virtual objects representations, learning objects are displayed in a simple way with interactive medias and simple collaboration and feedback is given through an autonomous tutoring system. The experimental validation was based on the use and evaluation of the prototype and his separated modules (case studies). Preliminary results showed that the failure rate, in a determined curriculum unit from the Electrical Engineering of UFRGS, has dropped and the student’s acceptance was very high in a blended learning scenario. The remote experimentation brings up the possibility to narrow different learning institutions in cooperation, this way sharing material resources (equipments) and closing up students. From cooperation and collaboration is expected a leveling and optimization of quality of the pair teaching-learning, as well as a better employment of economical resources.

The current increasingly changing world shows the influence and effects of technology in all aspects of learning. In developed Western countries, the Higher Education institutions believe that these developments offer valuable opportunities for improved learning as a result of technological advancements and innovations in the learning environment. This has in turn placed the responsibility on developing countries, in order to strive better competitively in international markets, even under tremendous pressure, to similarly embed suitable blends of technologies within their own learning and curriculum approaches, and consequently enhance and improve new learning opportunities. The positive increasing growth in access to and use of technology has caused more approaches to be developed in e-learning and is manifested in different forms. This has supplemented or replaced the traditional methods in learning, enabling engagement of learners with their learning through various web technologies alongside face-to-face delivery, and sometimes completely replacing direct face-to-face contact. However, the success of use of technology in learning depends, to a significant extent, on how the students actually use them for learning purposes. The purpose of this study isto examine the extent that technology is accepted, adopted and used to enhance learning and teaching in a distance education context.The study employed an extended version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in its investigation of the underlying factors that affect students’ use of technological systems in learning. It explored students’ perception and experiences of using technology for learning and teaching to guide theInstitute for Open Distance Learning (IODL) in Africa Nazarene University (ANU) to develop strategies for implementation of technology-enhanced learning.This study revealed that students’ attitudes and perceptions on the use of technology in learning and teaching were diverse and were both positive and negative. While positive attitudes and perceptions of users to adopt Technology in learning and teaching can simplify their understanding and use of the technology in learning and teaching, negative attitudes would instead complicate this making adoption difficult. A deeper focus on the factors that affect adoption and technology use in e-learning as well as their associations is a pre-cursor to a better knowledge and understanding of student acceptance of e-learning technological systems. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

Este trabalho apresentará estudos referentes a uma proposta de arquitetura para ambientes computacionais de suporte à colaboração para auxiliar o ensino e o treinamento em áreas multidisciplinares de engenharia de controle e automação. A motivação provém de evoluções de tecnologias da Web, redes sociais, ambientes virtuais, e mundos virtuais 3D que proporcionam sucessivas possibilidades inovadoras de emprego de tecnologia no ensino. Estas tecnologias podem ser usadas no ensino à distância ou de forma complementar (ensino híbrido) ao ensino-aprendizagem tradicional. O emprego de ambientes computacionais virtuais como incubadores para o desenvolvimento e criação de uma infinidade de materiais educacionais e didáticos torna-se crescentemente frequente na comunidade científica ao passo que instituições de ensino percebem o potencial desta iniciativa. A colaboração virtual entre estudantes dispersos geograficamente e a cooperação entre instituições de ensino diversas são indicadores do avanço destas metodologias. À medida que ambientes virtuais evoluem, podem-se empregar cada vez mais funcionalidades e tecnologias a este complemento ou ferramenta de ensino. É sabido que a prática laboratorial é de suma importância para aprendizagem de áreas tecnológicas, como a engenharia elétrica. Maneiras de expandir esta prática aliada a outras técnicas altamente defendidas na comunidade científica serão abordadas neste estudo, que sucede a um trabalho anterior do autor, no qual é proposto a conjunção de componentes de automação simulados com reais de forma a expandir cenários didáticos. A automação destes ambientes voltados ao ensino passa a se tornar real através de técnicas computacionais relacionadas a gerenciamento, monitoração e adaptação de conteúdo. Dentre as tecnologias e características englobadas pela arquitetura proposta estão: ambientes sociais, ambientes imersivos com visualização tridimensional (metaversos), tutoriamento virtual autônomo baseado em coleta de informações de interação, auxílio à colaboração de usuários, experimentos com componentes intercambiáveis de realidade mista e outras funcionalidades afins. De forma a propor uma implementação viável para este nicho de pesquisa foram desenvolvidos vários estudos de caso e um protótipo, chamado de 3D AutoSysLab, um ambiente imersivo virtual otimizado com ligações a experimentos de realidade mista, visualização de materiais educacionais e mídias interativas, auxílio à colaboração, e suporte à tutoriamento autônomo. Tanto testes do protótipo quanto a utilização dos estudos de caso serviram de validação experimental do trabalho. A validação da utilização ainda não se encontra completa embora resultados preliminares apontem a queda do índice de reprovação de estudantes da Engenharia Elétrica na UFRGS em uma determinada unidade curricular. O emprego de técnicas de acesso remoto além de proporcionar que instituições de ensino cooperem compartilhando recursos materiais/equipamentos também abre horizontes para a colaboração de estudantes entre instituições. Isso alavanca uma melhoria na qualidade do conjunto ensino-aprendizagem e também no emprego de recursos tecnológicos, o que pode, inclusive, representar uma alternativa econômica viável para a prática laboratorial. / This work will present studies towards a proposal of architecture for computer supported collaborative environments applied to enhance learning and training of multidisciplinary areas linked to automation and control engineering. Recent evolutions of Web technologies, social networks, virtual environments, and 3D virtual worlds motivate the adoption of new technologies in education, opening successive innovative possibilities. These technologies or tools can be used in distance education scenarios and/or can also enhance traditional learning-teaching (blended or hybrid learning scenario). The use of virtual environments as breeding grounds for creation and display of learning and didactical materials is a trend among educational institutes since they realized the potential of this endeavor. Physically dispersed and geographically distant students can collaborate in virtual learning environments as well as educational institutions, proving the advance of learning methodologies involving technology. New functionalities to this teaching and learning complementary tool can be added as virtual environments continually evolve. It is known and a wide advocated issue that laboratorial practice is essential to technical education, foremost in engineering. Expanding and obtaining the optimal results from this practice allied to other tools can be seen as the natural continuation of previous work from the author, in which is described a strategy to use mixed reality interchangeable components applied in didactic experiments to broaden learning scenarios. The automation of virtual learning environments is beginning to mature through computational techniques related to management, monitoring and content adaptation. In order to develop a feasible implementation to this research area, several case studies and a prototype were elaborated, the last called 3D AutoSysLab, in which a metaverse is used as interface, experiments are linked to virtual objects representations, learning objects are displayed in a simple way with interactive medias and simple collaboration and feedback is given through an autonomous tutoring system. The experimental validation was based on the use and evaluation of the prototype and his separated modules (case studies). Preliminary results showed that the failure rate, in a determined curriculum unit from the Electrical Engineering of UFRGS, has dropped and the student’s acceptance was very high in a blended learning scenario. The remote experimentation brings up the possibility to narrow different learning institutions in cooperation, this way sharing material resources (equipments) and closing up students. From cooperation and collaboration is expected a leveling and optimization of quality of the pair teaching-learning, as well as a better employment of economical resources.

O uso de tecnologias digitais de informação e comunicação tem alterado a sociedade e seu emprego tem estimulado o debate na esfera pedagógica. A incorporação de tecnologias na educação pode ser considerada uma ferramenta facilitadora para transmissão de conhecimento ao aluno. O objetivo deste estudo de caso é identificar os desafios encontrados e as propostas de superação apresentadas. Buscou-se ainda analisar a satisfação e a usabilidade do ambiente virtual de aprendizagem (AVA) e dos materiais didáticos nele disponíveis, experimentados pelos alunos da graduação na Disciplina Odontologia Forense, na Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade de São Paulo (FOUSP), dos cursos integral e noturno, no primeiro semestre de 2016. A tecnologia utilizada foi o software Moodle (\"Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment\"), onde foram depositados os objetos de aprendizagem: apostilas, vídeos, questionários e jogos. Participaram da pesquisa 113 estudantes. Como fonte de dados foram utilizados o grupo-focal, o questionário online semi-estruturado e os relatórios de logs do Moodle. Os dados foram analisados quantitativamente (análise descritiva) e qualitativamente (análise de conteúdo) e os resultados foram triangulados. Os desafios encontrados pelos alunos foram: dificuldade em acessar o AVA pelo celular; sobrecarga da estrutura curricular; não haver cobrança e lembretes para realizar as atividades online; desconexão entre a aula presencial e o ambiente virtual; haver mais de um site utilizado pelas disciplinas da faculdade. Em relação ao material didático, as atividades foram as mais visualizadas, com 1309 visualizações em média, seguida das apostilas (n=230), e dos vídeos (n=122). Os alunos sugeriram que tivesse mais atividades práticas no ambiente virtual. Para eles a realização de atividades no AVA foi importante para a fixação do conteúdo e para identificar eventuais dificuldades na aprendizagem (n=98%). As melhorias propostas, e concretizadas, foram no sentido de superar os desafios citados, ou seja, utilização da versão mobile do Moodle, diminuição da carga horária presencial e notificação de prazos e de atividades via redes sociais e correio eletrônico. Esta pesquisa demonstra a importância de ouvir os alunos durante o processo de ensinoaprendizagem para ajuda-los nas dificuldades encontradas e para que sejam estimulados a buscar o conhecimento. Demonstra também que o uso da tecnologia na educação é uma ferramenta facilitadora da aprendizagem, com alto nível de satisfação dos alunos. / The use of digital information and communication technologies has changed society and its employment has stimulated the debate in the pedagogical area. The incorporation of technologies in education can be considered a facilitating tool for transmitting knowledge to the student. The aim of this case study is to identify the challenges founded and the overcoming proposals presented, and to analyze the satisfaction and usability of the virtual learning environment (VLE) and of the teaching materials available there, in the University of São Paulo, School of Dentistry, of the integral and nocturnal courses, in the first semester of 2016. The technology used was Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment), where the learning objects, such as workbooks, videos, questionnaires and games. 113 students participated in the study. The focus group, the online semi-estructured questionnaire, and the Moodle\'s log reports were used as data sources. Data were analyzed quantitatively (descriptive analysis) and qualitatively (content analysis), and the results were triangulated. The challenges encountered by the students were: difficulty in accessing the VLE through the cell phone; overload of the curricular structure; there are no charges and reminders for online activities; disconnection between the classroom and the virtual environment; more than one site used by college subjects. Regarding teaching material, activities were the most visualized, with 1309 views on average, followed by workbook (n = 230), and videos (n = 122). The students suggested that they had more practical activities in the virtual environment. For them, the VLE activities were important for determining the content and for identifying difficulties in learning (n = 98%). The proposed and implemented improvements were aimed at overcoming the aforementioned challenges, namely, the use of the mobile version of Moodle, the reduction of classroom hours and the notification of deadlines and activities via social networks and electronic mail. This research demonstrates the importance of listening to students during the teachinglearning process to help them in the difficulties encountered and to be stimulated to seek knowledge. It also demonstrates that the use of technology in education is a facilitating tool for learning, with a high level of student satisfaction.

L’intégration des multimédias (aspects pédagogiques, méthodologiques et technologiques) dans la didactique du FLE comme facteur de motivation chez les apprenants plurilingues de FLE au Nigeria. Dans notre recherche, nous nous proposons d’étudier l’usage du multimédia comme facteur de motivation chez des apprenants plurilingues et dans l’enseignement du Français Langue Etrangère (FLE) au Nigeria, un pays en voie de développement.L'un des défis auxquels est confronté l’enseignement des langues étrangères au Nigeria est la situation linguistique générale des apprenants. Avec plus de 400 langues, Le Nigeria est connu pour son "extrême diversité linguistique" (Elugbe 1994:62). Dans l'enseignement et l'apprentissage du français, les enseignants et les étudiants sont confrontés à cette réalité multilingue mais aussi à d'autres facteurs négatifs tels que le nombre d’élèves par classe, leur hétérogénéité et souvent leur manque de motivation. Nous constatons que certaines technologies ont déjà été mises en place dans presque toutes les universités nigérianes. Dans tous les ministères, les gouvernements obligent les fonctionnaires à acquérir une connaissance de base en informatique. Dans toutes les villes, il existe des cybercafés et maintenant on peut même surfer chez soi.L’enseignement hybride est un dispositif qui associe l’apprentissage traditionnel en classe avec un apprentissage médiatisé par ordinateur (Graham, 2006:5). L’apprentissage d’une langue est une pratique sociale et culturelle totale, d'autant plus quand il intègre de nouvelles technologies qui favorisent une grande variété d'interactions sociales (Kern & Warschauer, 2000). Si une approche communicative est souhaitable alors il convient de s’intéresser aux possibilités qu’offre l’apprentissage hybride pour améliorer l'enseignement et l'apprentissage des langues au Nigeria.Pour la méthodologie de recherche et la collecte de données, nous avons utilisé un questionnaire qui a été envoyé aux enseignants et aux étudiants du FLE au Nigéria pour déterminer les différentes approches et méthodes dans l’enseignement et l'apprentissage du français langue étrangère au Nigeria.En conclusion, cette recherche présente les résultats d'une étude sur les motivations des enseignants et des apprenants nigérians pour l’apprentissage du français, avec ou sans recours à des dispositifs hybrides. Cependant, nous ne pouvons pas prétendre que les résultats que nous avons obtenus seront valables pour l'ensemble du pays (Nigéria). Mais il reste cependant important de noter que ces résultats faciliteront l'application de l'apprentissage hybride (blended learning) dans le système général d'enseignement et d'apprentissage du français langue étrangère dans le pays. / The integration of multimedia (pedagogical, methodological and technological aspects) in the teaching of French language as a motivating factor for multilingual learners of French in Nigeria. In our research, we propose to study the use of multimedia as a motivating factor for multilingual learners and in the teaching of the French as a foreign language (FLE) in Nigeria, a developing country.One of the challenges of foreign language teaching and learning in Nigeria is the general language situation of learners. Nigeria is home to over 400 languages and it is known for its “extreme linguistic diversity” (Elugbe 1994:62). In teaching and learning French, both teachers and students are confronted with this multilingual reality and other factors such as the predominance of large mixed-level classes and learners’ lack of motivation.Presently, new technologies are already in place in almost all the Nigerian universities. In almost all Nigerian institutions, governments now compel teachers to acquire at least some basic knowledge in multimedia tools. Also, in most major towns and cities, there are cybercafés and access to online services. With the increase in mobile internet access, many more people can now go internet surfing from home and on the go, thus ensuring ready access to educational instructional materials.Blended Learning systems combine face-to-face instruction with computer-mediated instruction (Graham, 2006:5). Language learning is a comprehensive social and cultural experience, even more so when it involves new technologies that promote a variety of social interactions (Kern & Warschauer, 2000). If a communicative approach is desirable then blended learning should at least be examined as one potential means of improving language teaching & learning in Nigeria.For the research methodology and collection of data, we used a survey through a questionnaire which was sent to teachers and students of FLE in Nigeria to determine the various teaching methodology and approaches to learning.In conclusion, this research presents the results of a study into teachers’ and learners’ motivations for learning French and for using (or not) blended learning. However, we cannot claim that the results that were obtained will resolve the whole issues discussed in this study in relation to French language acquisition in the Nigerian context and we cannot pretend that the recommendations will be valid for the whole country (Nigeria). But it remains, however, important to note that these results/recommendations will facilitate the application of Blended learning in the general system of teaching and learning of French in the country.

Este trabalho apresentará estudos referentes a uma proposta de arquitetura para ambientes computacionais de suporte à colaboração para auxiliar o ensino e o treinamento em áreas multidisciplinares de engenharia de controle e automação. A motivação provém de evoluções de tecnologias da Web, redes sociais, ambientes virtuais, e mundos virtuais 3D que proporcionam sucessivas possibilidades inovadoras de emprego de tecnologia no ensino. Estas tecnologias podem ser usadas no ensino à distância ou de forma complementar (ensino híbrido) ao ensino-aprendizagem tradicional. O emprego de ambientes computacionais virtuais como incubadores para o desenvolvimento e criação de uma infinidade de materiais educacionais e didáticos torna-se crescentemente frequente na comunidade científica ao passo que instituições de ensino percebem o potencial desta iniciativa. A colaboração virtual entre estudantes dispersos geograficamente e a cooperação entre instituições de ensino diversas são indicadores do avanço destas metodologias. À medida que ambientes virtuais evoluem, podem-se empregar cada vez mais funcionalidades e tecnologias a este complemento ou ferramenta de ensino. É sabido que a prática laboratorial é de suma importância para aprendizagem de áreas tecnológicas, como a engenharia elétrica. Maneiras de expandir esta prática aliada a outras técnicas altamente defendidas na comunidade científica serão abordadas neste estudo, que sucede a um trabalho anterior do autor, no qual é proposto a conjunção de componentes de automação simulados com reais de forma a expandir cenários didáticos. A automação destes ambientes voltados ao ensino passa a se tornar real através de técnicas computacionais relacionadas a gerenciamento, monitoração e adaptação de conteúdo. Dentre as tecnologias e características englobadas pela arquitetura proposta estão: ambientes sociais, ambientes imersivos com visualização tridimensional (metaversos), tutoriamento virtual autônomo baseado em coleta de informações de interação, auxílio à colaboração de usuários, experimentos com componentes intercambiáveis de realidade mista e outras funcionalidades afins. De forma a propor uma implementação viável para este nicho de pesquisa foram desenvolvidos vários estudos de caso e um protótipo, chamado de 3D AutoSysLab, um ambiente imersivo virtual otimizado com ligações a experimentos de realidade mista, visualização de materiais educacionais e mídias interativas, auxílio à colaboração, e suporte à tutoriamento autônomo. Tanto testes do protótipo quanto a utilização dos estudos de caso serviram de validação experimental do trabalho. A validação da utilização ainda não se encontra completa embora resultados preliminares apontem a queda do índice de reprovação de estudantes da Engenharia Elétrica na UFRGS em uma determinada unidade curricular. O emprego de técnicas de acesso remoto além de proporcionar que instituições de ensino cooperem compartilhando recursos materiais/equipamentos também abre horizontes para a colaboração de estudantes entre instituições. Isso alavanca uma melhoria na qualidade do conjunto ensino-aprendizagem e também no emprego de recursos tecnológicos, o que pode, inclusive, representar uma alternativa econômica viável para a prática laboratorial. / This work will present studies towards a proposal of architecture for computer supported collaborative environments applied to enhance learning and training of multidisciplinary areas linked to automation and control engineering. Recent evolutions of Web technologies, social networks, virtual environments, and 3D virtual worlds motivate the adoption of new technologies in education, opening successive innovative possibilities. These technologies or tools can be used in distance education scenarios and/or can also enhance traditional learning-teaching (blended or hybrid learning scenario). The use of virtual environments as breeding grounds for creation and display of learning and didactical materials is a trend among educational institutes since they realized the potential of this endeavor. Physically dispersed and geographically distant students can collaborate in virtual learning environments as well as educational institutions, proving the advance of learning methodologies involving technology. New functionalities to this teaching and learning complementary tool can be added as virtual environments continually evolve. It is known and a wide advocated issue that laboratorial practice is essential to technical education, foremost in engineering. Expanding and obtaining the optimal results from this practice allied to other tools can be seen as the natural continuation of previous work from the author, in which is described a strategy to use mixed reality interchangeable components applied in didactic experiments to broaden learning scenarios. The automation of virtual learning environments is beginning to mature through computational techniques related to management, monitoring and content adaptation. In order to develop a feasible implementation to this research area, several case studies and a prototype were elaborated, the last called 3D AutoSysLab, in which a metaverse is used as interface, experiments are linked to virtual objects representations, learning objects are displayed in a simple way with interactive medias and simple collaboration and feedback is given through an autonomous tutoring system. The experimental validation was based on the use and evaluation of the prototype and his separated modules (case studies). Preliminary results showed that the failure rate, in a determined curriculum unit from the Electrical Engineering of UFRGS, has dropped and the student’s acceptance was very high in a blended learning scenario. The remote experimentation brings up the possibility to narrow different learning institutions in cooperation, this way sharing material resources (equipments) and closing up students. From cooperation and collaboration is expected a leveling and optimization of quality of the pair teaching-learning, as well as a better employment of economical resources.

Learning Management Systems (LMSs), in a blended learning educational environment, support face to face education and enable enhanced communication and interaction among instructors and students as well as among students. However, Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL), which improves the learning process, does not come without challenges. The aim of this research is double fold. Firstly, it aims to explore users’ –instructors and students- perceptions on how the LMS Open eClass, in TEI of Athens Greece, supports and facilitates their communication and interaction. Secondly, based on users’ needs and desires, the study aims to formulate suggestions for improving communication and interaction through the platform. The study adopts an interpretivist stance and is built upon an inductive qualitative approach. Firstly, users’ perceptions are solicited through semi-structured interviews and the collected data are analyzed through the thematic analysis method. Subsequently, the study adopts Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to capture the complexity of the situation, derived from the different worldviews of instructors and students in their association with Open eClass and emerge suggestions for improvements. The results indicate that Open eClass is used to facilitate instructors convey material and information to students, while neither meaningful communication and interaction nor collaboration is performed adequately through the platform. However, the users have expressed a positive disposition towards utilizing these capabilities of the platform, as they recognize their fundamental importance to learning, especially during an economic crisis which constraints the physical presence of many students in classes. Therefore, the study proposes three, accommodating to all, systemically desirable and culturally feasible changes that could improve the situation, mainly based on pedagogy. Overall, this research contributes to existing knowledge about the usage of LMS regarding interaction and communication in a blended learning environment by providing a holistic view on users’ perceptions and identifying changes capable to bring about improvements.

No description available.

The thesis presents a model, suitable for the design of any type of qualification in integrative eGovernment education. The integrative approach combines education of adult learners and students and promotes international cooperation.