Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T18:22:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Cristina Ataide Lobato.pdf: 1414701 bytes, checksum: 6c76e090ca9df70ec2c7e45c0ab1db12 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-11-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study was motivated by the demands of knowledge about the relationships of teaching and learning in interactive virtual spaces, in search of more adequate strategies and to promote, among students, the construction of knowledge. The research is an exemplar of Applied Linguistics and it focuses on teacher mediation in virtual education forums of the Federal University of Pará Letters Course Specialization in Portuguese with the purpose of advancing knowledge about challenges of teaching in distance education. The investigative work was developed in the light of Vygotsky (1934/2007, 1934/2008) socio-cultural-historical conception of the human development, particularly the concepts of mediation, and with the theoretical support of the research model developed by Garrison and Anderson (2003), in particular those pertaining to social presence and teaching presence. The theoretical tools for analyzing the teachers lexicogrammatical choices in the forum are the concepts of Systemic Functional Linguistics, particularly those relating to interpersonal metafunction. The study showed that the forums are privileged spaces for interactions between teachers and students in distance courses and that the learning, in these environments, can be motivated and directed by teachers interventions, with a particular focus on the motivation of learning, encouraging interaction and promotion of community practices. The results suggest that the appropriate action planning and teacher training for mediation in virtual forums are predictive of better results in student learning / Este estudo foi motivado pelas demandas de conhecimento sobre as relações de ensinoaprendizagem nos espaços interativos virtuais, em busca de estratégias e condutas mais adequadas para promover, junto aos alunos, a construção do conhecimento. A pesquisa é um exemplar da área da Linguística Aplicada e focaliza a mediação docente em fóruns educacionais virtuais, do Curso de Licenciatura em Letras Habilitação em Língua Portuguesa - modalidade a distância, da Universidade Federal do Pará, com o propósito de avançar sobre o conhecimento dos desafios pedagógicos na educação a distância. O trabalho investigativo foi desenvolvido à luz da concepção sócio-histórico-cultural do desenvolvimento humano de Vygotsky (1934/2007; 1934/2008), em especial os conceitos de mediação; e com o suporte teórico do modelo de investigação prática desenvolvido por Garrison e Anderson (2003), em especial os referentes à presença social e à presença de ensino. Os instrumentos teóricos para analisar as escolhas léxicogramaticais dos professores nos fóruns são os conceitos da Linguística Sistêmico- Funcional, particularmente os que se referem à metafunção interpessoal. O estudo permitiu observar que os fóruns são espaços privilegiados para interações entre professores e alunos em cursos na modalidade a distância e a aprendizagem, nesses ambientes, pode ser motivada e direcionada pelas intervenções do professor, com particular incidência na motivação da aprendizagem, no estímulo à interação e na dinamização das práticas da comunidade. Os resultados sugerem que o planejamento de ações adequadas e a formação docente para a mediação em fóruns virtuais são preditivos de melhores resultados na aprendizagem dos alunos

Because the e-government policy carries out, government departments in Taiwan built many Websites to show some government decree information in these years. Besides, for catching on public opinion they open some Online Public Discussion Forum on Website to create communication channel between people and government. In other words, we can say this function as ¡§Electronic Democracy¡¨ or ¡§Digital Democracy¡¨. In addition to this function, I think about whether Online Public Discussion Forum can provide an activity platform for Knowledge Management to promote further some government¡¦s administration policy. This research used ¡§Online Public Discussion Forum of Government Procurement Law¡¨ as case study in view of Knowledge Management process activity about Government Procurement Law¡¦s administration. This research used three perspectives--- administration¡¦s process perspective, Virtual Community¡¦s management perspective, and on-line user¡¦s interaction perspective --- to observe this case study. Moreover, summarize these observation and reference feasibility of Government Procurement Law¡¦s administration in the future to recommend briefly the follow points: 1.Based on quick mobility about Government Procurement¡¦s staff in everywhere government entity, difficultly for expending organization of human resource in order to the government reform, and tendency of Government Procurement system development, I recommend to give priority for codification strategy and secondary for personalization strategy. Moreover, combine process-centred strategy with product-centred strategy to become internet strategy. 2.Integrate transaction-based strategy, systematic strategy and socialized strategy into Knowledge Management strategy for Government Procurement Law¡¦s administration¡G (1) Transaction-based strategy: Recommend to build ¡§Knowledge mapping¡¨. Currently responsible entity (Public Construction Commission, Executive Yuan) promoted ¡§seed teachers¡¨ and add undertaker¡¦s name in the official documents published on Website. Moreover, I suggest classifying and appraising the books, training, seminars and so on about Government Procurement¡¦s topic with the Knowledge Management concept. The way will make users to search information and knowledge conveniently. (2) Systematic strategy: Recommend to attach ¡§Knowledge layer¡¨ to ¡§Data layer¡¨ and ¡§Information layer¡¨ on Website. I suggest that responsible entity reorganize these data and information to present easy-touching knowledge for users. Moreover, cultivate user¡¦s problem-solving and innovation ability by themselves with strengthening invest in information technology and promoting users to use these knowledge, information, data. (3) Socialized strategy: Recommend to build ¡§Knowledge Community¡¨. Currently responsible entity built ¡§Virtual Community¡¨ to create a platform for everywhere users. Moreover, I suggest encouraging users to create and open a variety of ¡§Practice Community¡¨ in their organizations and endowed with Knowledge Worker function. The way can convert Tacit Knowledge among people into Explicit Knowledge and make up ¡§Best Practice¡¨. This reorganized knowledge can transfer and share conveniently. 3.In managing Virtual Community aspect, except for responsible entity playing the role of manager and maintainer, I recommend further to play the role of trigger for Knowledge Management. Moreover, combining performance with Knowledge Worker¡¦s function will encourage employees to do positively Knowledge actively in addition to official-documents everyday. 4.If Management of Procurement Professionals can build classify system in the future, I recommend to implement the appraisal system to understand staff¡¦s knowledge internalization and validate professional ability. Moreover, according to requirement for different users, responsible entity should open different sorts and levels¡¦ ¡§Knowledge Community¡¨. This way can add the depth and breadth of discussion on On-line Forum.

The thesis deals with manifestations of lexical dynamics in the language of Internet discussion forums. The chosen communication sphere is typical for its creativity and spontaneity, respectively active exchange of lexical means and the effort for fresh expressions. For these reasons, the language of discussion forums on the Internet is a suitable material basis for the confrontational description of lexical innovations in contemporary Bulgarian and contemporary Czech. The theoretical part of the thesis defines the notion of neologism and the terms connected with it, as well as the specific features of Internet communication. In the practical part, a structural and semantic analysis of Czech and Bulgarian neologisms is carried out, and considering that a large part of the new lexicon used in the discussion forums is borrowed mainly from English, more attention is paid to the interpretation of the meaning of these loanwords and the ways of their adaptation in Czech and in Bulgarian.

abstract: The overall purpose of this study was to explore the dynamics of teaching and learning in the context of an informal, online discussion forum. This investigation utilized the Community of Inquiry (CoI) elements of Teaching Presence and Social Presence along with the construct of Learning Presence to examine Adobe® Forums, Photoshop® for Beginners Forum (PfBF) an internet discussion forum designed to provide support for beginning users of Adobe Photoshop. The researcher collected four days of discussion post data comprising 62 discussion threads for a total of 202 discussion posts. During this initial pilot analysis, the discussion threads were divided into posts created by members who were deemed to be acting as teachers and posts written by members acting as learners. Three analyses were conducted. First, a pilot analysis was conducted where the researcher divided the data in half and coded 31 discussion threads and a total of 142 discussion posts with the Teaching Presence, Social Presence and Learning Presence coding schemes. Second, a reliability analysis was conducted to determine the interrater reliability of the coding schemes. For this analysis two additional coders were recruited, trained and coded a small subsample of data (4 discussion threads for a total of 29 discussion posts) using the same three coding schemes. Third, a final analysis was conducted where the researcher coded and analyzed 134 discussion posts created by 24 teachers using the Teaching Presence coding scheme. At the conclusion of the final analysis, it was determined that eighteen percent (18%) of the data could not be coded using the Teaching Presence coding scheme. However, this data were observed to contain behavioral indicators of Social Presence. Consequently, the Social Presence coding scheme was used to code and analyze the remaining data. The results of this study revealed that forum members who interact on PfBF do indeed exhibit Teaching Presence behaviors. Direct Instruction was the largest category of Teaching Presence behaviors exhibited, over and above Facilitating Discussion and Design and Organization. It was also observed that forum members serving in the role of teachers exhibit behaviors of Social Presence alongside Teaching Presence behaviors. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Technology 2014

abstract: Online programming communities are widely used by programmers for troubleshooting or various problem solving tasks. Large and ever increasing volume of posts on these communities demands more efforts to read and comprehend thus making it harder to find relevant information. In my thesis; I designed and studied an alternate approach by using interactive network visualization to represent relevant search results for online programming discussion forums. I conducted user study to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach. Results show that users were able to identify relevant information more precisely via visual interface as compared to traditional list based approach. Network visualization demonstrated effective search-result navigation support to facilitate user’s tasks and improved query quality for successive queries. Subjective evaluation also showed that visualizing search results conveys more semantic information in efficient manner and makes searching more effective. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Computer Science 2015

Submitted by Geandra Rodrigues (geandrar@gmail.com) on 2018-01-08T13:31:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 julianadecarvalhobarros.pdf: 2110133 bytes, checksum: 0c77032cada71dbb9e637403a017937f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2018-01-22T18:41:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 julianadecarvalhobarros.pdf: 2110133 bytes, checksum: 0c77032cada71dbb9e637403a017937f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-22T18:41:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 julianadecarvalhobarros.pdf: 2110133 bytes, checksum: 0c77032cada71dbb9e637403a017937f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-24 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A presente pesquisa se insere no cenário dos estudos linguísticos que consideram alinguagem em contextos empíricos de realização, mais especificamente, no contexto do ensino a distância (EAD). Dentre as potencialidades do EAD, destaca-se a ferramenta Fórum de Discussão, considerada a sala de aula por excelência no ambiente virtual (Souza, 2009), por oportunizar a interação entre seus participantes contribuindo para a construção do conhecimento a partir de uma linguagem argumentativa (OKADA, 2006; LOPES, 2007; LIBERALLI, 2009 ). A presentepesquisa é um estudo de caso que busca investigar o processo de construção do conhecimento no Fórum de Discussão por meio dos Movimentos Argumentativos (MAs) propostos por Gille (2001) e VIEIRA (2003;2007).Mais detalhadamente, busca-se identificar tais MAs nas interações realizadas nos Fóruns de Discussão e investigar em que medida eles contribuem para o processo de construção do conhecimento nesse ambiente.Além disso, busca-se analisar a atuação da mediadora do Fórum de Discussão no contexto de realização desses MAs. Para cumprir os objetivos propostos, o estudo se ampara, principalmente, nos pressupostos teóricos da Argumentação (PERELMAN & OLBRECHTS-TYTECA ([1958] 2005), SCHIFFRIN,1990; OKADA, 2006; BICALHO, 2010; DAMIANOVIC, 2009;LIBERALLI, 2009;2013), em estudos sobre a construção do conhecimento (LIBERALLI, 2011;2013; LEITÃO,2011) e em modelos linguísticos potenciais de análise do discurso argumentativo (VIEIRA,2003;2007). O corpus da presente pesquisa constitui-se das interações dos alunos no Fórum de Discussão de uma disciplinado curso de Pós Graduação Profissional em Gestão e Avaliação da Educação Pública (PPGP), modalidade semipresencial, da Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora(UFJF). Os resultados da pesquisa revelam a relevância do usodos modelos linguísticos potenciais de análise do discurso argumentativo de VIEIRA (2003; 2007), inicialmente pensado para a interação face a face, para a compreensão do processo de construção do conhecimento no Fórum de Discussão no contexto de ensino a distância. Por meio deles foram identificadassequências argumentativas que podem orientar e fomentar o processo de construção do conhecimento no Fórum de Discussão. Dentre elas, destacam-se sequências argumentativas que se constituem exclusivamente de MAs de Posição (VIEIRA,2003;2007), revelando a construção do conhecimento por meio da criação e manutenção dos acordos. Além de sequências argumentativas demarcadas pela presença da Disputa (VIEIRA, 2003), caracterizada pelo MA de refutação, nas quais observa-se a construção do conhecimento por meio dos ataques e defesas às opiniões expressas.Em ambas as sequências observou-se a presença de MAs de Sustentação às opiniões expressas, com destaque para oCompartilhamento de Experiências. Esse MA de Sustentação, não observado em análises anteriores dos modelos potenciais utilizados, pode ser considerado um MA típico das interações em Fóruns de Discussão. / The present research applies to language studies that consider language in empirical contexts of realization, more specifically, in the context of Distance Education (Elearning). Among the potentialities of e-learning, the Discussion Forum tool is considered the classroom for excellence in the virtual environment (Souza, 2009) since it allows the interaction among its participantscontributingto knowledge construction through the use of an argumentative language (OKADA, 2006;LOPES, 2007; LIBERALLI, 2009).The present research is a case study that aims at investigating the process of knowledge construction in the Discussion Forum through Argumentative Moves (AMs) proposed by Gille (2001) and VIEIRA (2003; 2007). In detail, it aims at identifying such Argumentative Moves in the interactions carried out in the Discussion Forums, and investigatingto what extent they contribute to the process of knowledge construction in this environment. In addition, the actions of the mediator in the Discussion Forum will be analyzed considering these Argumentative Moves. In order to achieve the proposed objectives, the study is mainly based on Argumentation Theory (PERELMAN & TYTECA, 2005, SCHIFFRIN, 1990, OKADA, 2006, BICALHO, 2010, DAMIANOVIC, 2009, LIBERALLI, 2009; on knowledge construction (LIBERALLI, 2011; 2013; LEITÃO, 2011) and on potential linguistic models of argumentative discourse analysis (VIEIRA, 2003;2007). The corpus of the present research is based on the students' interactions in the Discussion Forum of a Postgraduate Professional course in Management and Evaluation of Public Education (PPGP), semipresential modality, at Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF).The results of the research reveal the relevance of the use of the potential linguistic models proposed by VIEIRA (2003; 2007) in the analysis of the argumentative discourse. This model was initially designed for face-to-face interactionsto understand the process of knowledge construction in the Discussion Forum, in the context of distance education. The results point out argumentative sequences that can guide and foster the process of knowledge construction in the Discussion Forum. Among them Argumentative sequences that are exclusively composed of Argumentative Moves of Position are highlighted (VIEIRA, 2003; 2007), revealing knowledge construction through the creation and maintenance of agreements. Besides that, Argumentative sequences are surrounded by the presence of Dispute (VIEIRA, 2003). It is characterized by the Argumentative Moves of refutation in which knowledge construction is observed through the attacks and defenses present in the expressed opinions. In both sequences Argumentative Moves of Support was observed in the expressed opinions, with emphasis on the Sharing of Experiences. This Argumentative Move of Sustainability, not observed in previous analyzes of the potential models used, can be considered a typical Argumentative Move for Discussion Forums.

Submitted by Celso Magalhaes (celsomagalhaes@ufrrj.br) on 2017-05-22T12:01:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Gisele Pereira de Oliveira Xavier.pdf: 2559868 bytes, checksum: 19df920b595a9e736937b2f72ddb7bf5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-22T12:01:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Gisele Pereira de Oliveira Xavier.pdf: 2559868 bytes, checksum: 19df920b595a9e736937b2f72ddb7bf5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-01-28 / One of the difficulties of teachers to work in adult education is the result of shortage of teaching materials, content and teaching practices suitable to this type. Considering this reality comes from the adult education program EJA. A program of the Secretariat of State of Rio de Janeiro Education in partnership with CECIERJ Foundation, which offers a Continuing Education course implemented in a virtual environment to network teachers who teach in adult education. The objective of this research is to analyze interactions teachers who teach Mathematics in EJA. It is taken as reference the professional interactions established in the forums first half of 2014. The analysis is guided in the discursive typologies proposed by Bairral (2007) for analysis of discussion forums. The thematic forum 3, two groups were considered a unit of analysis. The results indicate that the forum can become a fruitful space, if well planned, can contribute to the collective and individual development. The analysis of messages using typologies help you understand the intentionality of speech as well as realize elements such as the presence of reflection on practice, strategies and evidence demonstrating that rethought teachers on the subject which is common (polynomial of the 1st degree Function), which they took into account the context for the public EJA. Thus, it was possible to see, from the interactions, there was a maturation of the professionals involved. Another interesting observation was the realization that argumentative nature messages tend to boost the continuity of the discussion. Therefore, proposals based on experience and daily life tend to be more relevant for in service continuing education / Uma das dificuldades encontradas por docentes para atuar na EJA ? fruto da escassez de materiais did?ticos, abordagem diferenciado para conte?dos e de pr?ticas pedag?gicas adequadas ? essa modalidade. Pensando nessa realidade, surge a o Programa EJA, da Secretaria de Estado de Educa??o do Rio de Janeiro em parceria com a Funda??o CECIERJ, que ofereceu um curso de Forma??o Continuada implementado em um ambiente virtual para os professores da rede que lecionam na EJA. O objetivo desta pesquisa ? analisar intera??es dos professores cursistas que lecionam Matem?tica nessa modalidade. Tomam-se como refer?ncia as intera??es profissionais estabelecidas em f?runs do primeiro semestre de 2014. A an?lise est? pautada nas tipologias discursivas propostas por Bairral (2007) para an?lise de f?runs de discuss?o. O f?rum tem?tico 3, de dois grupos, foi considerado uma unidade de an?lise. Os resultados indicam que o f?rum pode se tornar um espa?o frut?fero, quando bem planejado, pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento coletivo e individual. A an?lise das mensagens utilizando as tipologias ajuda a entender a intencionalidade do discurso, bem como perceber elementos como a presen?a da reflex?o sobre a pr?tica, estrat?gias e ind?cios que demonstram que os professores repensaram sobre o assunto (Fun??o Polinomial do 1? grau), na qual levaram em considera??o a contextualiza??o para o p?blico de EJA. Dessa forma, foi poss?vel perceber, a partir das intera??es, que houve um amadurecimento dos profissionais envolvidos. Outra observa??o interessante foi perceber que mensagens de cunho argumentativo tendem a impulsionar a continuidade da discuss?o. Sendo assim, propostas baseadas na experi?ncia e no cotidiano docente tendem a ter mais relev?ncia para a forma??o continuada

Esta tese aborda o desenvolvimento, uso e experimentação do MineraFórum. Trata-se de um recurso para auxiliar o professor na análise qualitativa das contribuições textuais registradas por alunos em fóruns de discussão. A abordagem desta pesquisa envolveu técnicas de mineração de textos utilizando grafos. As interações proporcionadas pelas trocas de mensagens em um fórum de discussão representam uma importante fonte de investigação para o professor. A partir da análise das postagens, o docente pode identificar quais alunos redigiram contribuições textuais que contemplam conceitos relativos ao tema da discussão, e quais discentes não o fizeram. Desta forma, é possível ter subsídios para motivar a discussão dos conceitos importantes que fazem parte do tema em debate. Para atingir o objetivo do presente estudo, foi necessário realizar uma revisão da literatura onde foram abordados temas como: a Educação a Distância (EAD); Ambientes Virtuais de Aprendizagem; os principais conceitos da área de Mineração de Textos e, por último, trabalhos correlacionados a esta tese. A estratégia metodológica utilizada no processo de desenvolvimento do MineraFórum envolveu uma série de etapas: 1) a escolha de uma técnica de mineração de textos adequada às necessidades da pesquisa; 2) verificação da existência de algum software de mineração de textos que auxiliasse o professor a analisar qualitativamente as contribuições em um fórum de discussão; 3) realização de estudos preliminares para avaliar a técnica de mineração escolhida; 4) definição dos indicadores de relevância das mensagens; elaboração de fórmulas para calcular a relevância das postagens; 5) construção do sistema; 6) integração do MineraFórum a três Ambientes Virtuais de Aprendizagem e, por último, 7) a realização de experimentos com a ferramenta. / This thesis presents the development, use and experimentation of the MineraFórum software. It is a resource that can help teachers in doing qualitative analyses of text contributions in discussion forums. This research included the use of text mining techniques with graphs. Message exchange in discussion forums are an important source of investigation for teachers. By analyzing students’ posts, teachers can identify which learners wrote contributions that have concepts related to the debate theme, and which students did not succeed to do so. This strategy may also give teachers the necessary elements to motivate discussion of concepts relevant to the topic being debated. To accomplish the objectives of this study, a review of the literature was carried on topics such as: Distance Learning; Virtual Learning Environments; main concepts in Text Mining; and studies related to this thesis. The methodological strategy used in the development of MineraFórum followed these steps: 1) choosing a text mining technique suitable to the needs of the research; 2) checking whether there was software available to help teachers to do qualitative analysis of contributions in discussion forums; 3) doing preliminary studies to evaluate the selected mining technique; 4) defining indicators of relevance in the messages; elaborating formulas to calculate relevance in posts; 5) building the system; 6) integrating MineraFórum to three Virtual Learning Environments, and 7) carrying experiments with the tool.

Esta tese aborda o desenvolvimento, uso e experimentação do MineraFórum. Trata-se de um recurso para auxiliar o professor na análise qualitativa das contribuições textuais registradas por alunos em fóruns de discussão. A abordagem desta pesquisa envolveu técnicas de mineração de textos utilizando grafos. As interações proporcionadas pelas trocas de mensagens em um fórum de discussão representam uma importante fonte de investigação para o professor. A partir da análise das postagens, o docente pode identificar quais alunos redigiram contribuições textuais que contemplam conceitos relativos ao tema da discussão, e quais discentes não o fizeram. Desta forma, é possível ter subsídios para motivar a discussão dos conceitos importantes que fazem parte do tema em debate. Para atingir o objetivo do presente estudo, foi necessário realizar uma revisão da literatura onde foram abordados temas como: a Educação a Distância (EAD); Ambientes Virtuais de Aprendizagem; os principais conceitos da área de Mineração de Textos e, por último, trabalhos correlacionados a esta tese. A estratégia metodológica utilizada no processo de desenvolvimento do MineraFórum envolveu uma série de etapas: 1) a escolha de uma técnica de mineração de textos adequada às necessidades da pesquisa; 2) verificação da existência de algum software de mineração de textos que auxiliasse o professor a analisar qualitativamente as contribuições em um fórum de discussão; 3) realização de estudos preliminares para avaliar a técnica de mineração escolhida; 4) definição dos indicadores de relevância das mensagens; elaboração de fórmulas para calcular a relevância das postagens; 5) construção do sistema; 6) integração do MineraFórum a três Ambientes Virtuais de Aprendizagem e, por último, 7) a realização de experimentos com a ferramenta. / This thesis presents the development, use and experimentation of the MineraFórum software. It is a resource that can help teachers in doing qualitative analyses of text contributions in discussion forums. This research included the use of text mining techniques with graphs. Message exchange in discussion forums are an important source of investigation for teachers. By analyzing students’ posts, teachers can identify which learners wrote contributions that have concepts related to the debate theme, and which students did not succeed to do so. This strategy may also give teachers the necessary elements to motivate discussion of concepts relevant to the topic being debated. To accomplish the objectives of this study, a review of the literature was carried on topics such as: Distance Learning; Virtual Learning Environments; main concepts in Text Mining; and studies related to this thesis. The methodological strategy used in the development of MineraFórum followed these steps: 1) choosing a text mining technique suitable to the needs of the research; 2) checking whether there was software available to help teachers to do qualitative analysis of contributions in discussion forums; 3) doing preliminary studies to evaluate the selected mining technique; 4) defining indicators of relevance in the messages; elaborating formulas to calculate relevance in posts; 5) building the system; 6) integrating MineraFórum to three Virtual Learning Environments, and 7) carrying experiments with the tool.

Esta tese aborda o desenvolvimento, uso e experimentação do MineraFórum. Trata-se de um recurso para auxiliar o professor na análise qualitativa das contribuições textuais registradas por alunos em fóruns de discussão. A abordagem desta pesquisa envolveu técnicas de mineração de textos utilizando grafos. As interações proporcionadas pelas trocas de mensagens em um fórum de discussão representam uma importante fonte de investigação para o professor. A partir da análise das postagens, o docente pode identificar quais alunos redigiram contribuições textuais que contemplam conceitos relativos ao tema da discussão, e quais discentes não o fizeram. Desta forma, é possível ter subsídios para motivar a discussão dos conceitos importantes que fazem parte do tema em debate. Para atingir o objetivo do presente estudo, foi necessário realizar uma revisão da literatura onde foram abordados temas como: a Educação a Distância (EAD); Ambientes Virtuais de Aprendizagem; os principais conceitos da área de Mineração de Textos e, por último, trabalhos correlacionados a esta tese. A estratégia metodológica utilizada no processo de desenvolvimento do MineraFórum envolveu uma série de etapas: 1) a escolha de uma técnica de mineração de textos adequada às necessidades da pesquisa; 2) verificação da existência de algum software de mineração de textos que auxiliasse o professor a analisar qualitativamente as contribuições em um fórum de discussão; 3) realização de estudos preliminares para avaliar a técnica de mineração escolhida; 4) definição dos indicadores de relevância das mensagens; elaboração de fórmulas para calcular a relevância das postagens; 5) construção do sistema; 6) integração do MineraFórum a três Ambientes Virtuais de Aprendizagem e, por último, 7) a realização de experimentos com a ferramenta. / This thesis presents the development, use and experimentation of the MineraFórum software. It is a resource that can help teachers in doing qualitative analyses of text contributions in discussion forums. This research included the use of text mining techniques with graphs. Message exchange in discussion forums are an important source of investigation for teachers. By analyzing students’ posts, teachers can identify which learners wrote contributions that have concepts related to the debate theme, and which students did not succeed to do so. This strategy may also give teachers the necessary elements to motivate discussion of concepts relevant to the topic being debated. To accomplish the objectives of this study, a review of the literature was carried on topics such as: Distance Learning; Virtual Learning Environments; main concepts in Text Mining; and studies related to this thesis. The methodological strategy used in the development of MineraFórum followed these steps: 1) choosing a text mining technique suitable to the needs of the research; 2) checking whether there was software available to help teachers to do qualitative analysis of contributions in discussion forums; 3) doing preliminary studies to evaluate the selected mining technique; 4) defining indicators of relevance in the messages; elaborating formulas to calculate relevance in posts; 5) building the system; 6) integrating MineraFórum to three Virtual Learning Environments, and 7) carrying experiments with the tool.