Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:42:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Roseli Aparecida Monaco.pdf: 2792510 bytes, checksum: f8490fc9271986f0604426ea161983bf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-25 / This work focuses on an interdisciplinary study about teacher s continuing education training in virtual learning environment, in this case, online distance learning. The purpose of the study was to investigate and to analyze the factors associated with the active participation of the students and a high achievement at a an online distance learning course, offered by the Program Pontão de Cultura located at Faculdade de Educação da USP. The course was developed through Moodle Learning Management System, which offers synchronous and asynchronous tools of communication by Internet. The research question of the study was: Which factors contributed to make some students participate actively and have success at a course offered by Pontão de Cultura? The methodology applied was a qualitative approach supported by a case study. The population of the research was eleven students that concluded the online course out of eighty enrolled ones. The results indicated that the principal factor that motivated students was the continuing training proposal associated with the students direct application at their work environment. Another important factors which influenced positively students to continue and have success at the course were: technological abilities in using the computer and the virtual learning, opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired at the practice, effective participation of the students in activities and forums, dialogues between teachers and tutors, relevance of the content and materials of the course / A presente pesquisa trata de um estudo interdisciplinar sobre a formação continuada de educadores em ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem, no caso, ensino a distância on-line. O objetivo foi investigar e analisar os fatores que levaram os alunos concluintes de um curso a distância na modalidade on-line, oferecido pelo Projeto Pontão de Cultura da Faculdade de Educação da USP, a participarem ativamente e concluí-lo. O curso foi desenvolvido na plataforma de ensino e aprendizagem Moodle, que disponibiliza, por meio da Internet, ferramentas de comunicação síncronas e assíncronas. A questão da investigação que orientou o estudo foi: quais os fatores que contribuíram para que alguns alunos participassem ativamente do curso oferecido pelo Pontão de Cultura e o concluíssem? A metodologia utilizada foi a abordagem qualitativa, apoiada por um estudo de caso. Os sujeitos da pesquisa foram onze alunos que concluíram o curso on-line, de um universo de oitenta inscritos. Os resultados demonstraram que o principal fator motivador foi a proposta de formação continuada associada à prática educacional dos alunos em seus locais de trabalho. Outros fatores tais como, habilidades tecnológicas no domínio do computador e no ambiente de aprendizagem virtual, oportunidade para aplicar o conhecimento adquirido na prática, participação efetiva dos sujeitos em atividades e fóruns, diálogo com docentes e tutores, conteúdo e materiais relevantes adotados influenciaram positivamente para que os alunos permanecessem no curso até concluí-lo

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the events of the first iteration of the Media Technology and Diversity course with an in-depth analysis of its electronic discourse. In conceptualizing the viable alternatives for delivering college-level distance education via on-line technologies, Harasim (1990) cautions that the mere introduction of computer mediated communication "does not in itself improve learning; design (or method) is crucial" (p. xx). The role of instructional design as the cornerstone of all effective instruction is relevant as new technologies are used in teaching and learning. The MTD distance education course content was delivered via the World Wide Web, where the course homepage was the on-line classroom and e-mail and Webchat communication supported participants' interaction. The participants of the study were the instructors and teaching assistants, as well as the undergraduate and graduate students who took the course. The electronic archive data, student assignments, and follow-up interviews with participants provided multiple data points for analysis. The Webchat archive data was analyzed using the NUD.DIST qualitative research software to sort and produce descriptive statistics. The analysis of e-mail and Webchat discourse revealed that participant interaction differed between media types and between asynchronous and scheduled the Webchat discussions. The differences were temporal, topical, and structural. Student initiated thought-provoking Webchat dialogue yet on-line content delivery, course structure, and reliability of computer systems reduced student participation in on-line discourse and course activities. Significantly, lessons learned from the design of the MTD experience indicate that on-line course development requires advance technical skill and accessible instructional technologies. Instructional designers should develop course materials with the end-users' lowest common denominator technologies to increase participation and learning opportunities. The lessons learned from the electronic discourse analysis indicate that the WWW is a very complex instructional environment that requires carefully designed pedagogical activities and interaction. Research results indicate that where as asynchronous Webchat discussions encourage students to initiate conversation topics, the overall participation in on-line discourse is low. On the other hand, scheduled Webchat discussions promote lengthy and more thought-provoking discussions, but students generally respond to instructor-posted questions or topics. / Ph. D.