O presente trabalho tem como objeto de estudo a educação online, apresentando os principais elementos do ensino online colaborativo, com intuito de problematizar as características de virtualização, interação, colaboração e mediação, que representam fatores essenciais para a compreensão teórica e empírica dessa modalidade de ensino. Nesse contexto, a tese contribui com o debate sobre o tema em seus aspectos teórico-metodológicos, buscando compreender como essa modalidade pode amparar o ensino de maneira adequada e significativa, por meio de discussões acerca das tecnologias utilizadas, bem como às competências necessárias do professor mediador. Para isso, foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica a respeito dos elementos essenciais à educação online colaborativa e das teorias de aprendizagem interacionistas associadas a essa modalidade. Em seguida, o trabalho apresenta um estudo de caso, desenvolvido a partir de uma análise estatística de correlação, extraída por meio de um questionário fechado aplicado em estudantes do ensino superior. Além disso, o estudo de caso traz também uma análise qualitativa, pautada nas respostas abertas dos estudantes. Dos resultados desta investigação, o que se pôde abstrair foi que existem algumas premissas fundamentais para o êxito dessa modalidade educacional. Dentre as principais, estão os recursos que o ambiente virtual do curso oferece, bem como a interação e colaboração entre os alunos e o papel desempenhado pelo professor nesse ambiente. Esses elementos constituem o alicerce da educação online, pois é por meio deles que ocorre a ação educativa. Dessa harmonia entre a tecnologia disponível e o papel do professor resulta o grande trunfo da educação online, que é a interação entre os agentes do ensino. Essa forma de organização possibilita a criação de uma comunidade virtual, que tem como base as teorias de aprendizagem interacionistas, fundamentando aspectos essenciais da educação online, como a presença social e a construção coletiva de conhecimento. / The present paper has as object of study online education, presenting the main elements of collaborative online education, aiming at questioning the characteristics of virtualization, interaction, collaboration and mediation, which represent key factors for theoretical and empirical understanding of this modality of teaching. In this context, this thesis contributes to the debate on the subject in its theoretical and methodological aspects, seeking to understand how this method can support the teaching in an appropriate and significant way, through the discussions on the technologies used, as well as the necessary skills of the teacher mediator. For this, we performed a literature search regarding the elements essential to collaborative online education and theories of interactional learning associated with this modality. Then, the paper presents a case study, developed based on a statistical analysis of correlation, extracted through a closed questionnaire applied to higher education students. Moreover, the case study also brings a qualitative analysis, based on the open-ended responses of the students. Based on the outcomes of this study, we could conclude that there are some basic requirements for the success of this educational modality. Among the main requirements are the resources the virtual education environment offers, as well as the interaction and collaboration between students and the role the teacher plays in this environment. These elements constitute the foundation of online education, because they represent the means for educational action to occur. From this harmony between the available technology and the role of the teacher comes the trump card of online education, which is the interaction between the agents of education. This form of organization allows the creation of a virtual community that is based on the theories of interactional learning, supporting key aspects of online education, such as social presence and collective construction of knowledge.

Este estudo tem por objetivo analisar as relações de construção e contribuição entre a Metodologia da Autoavaliação Institucional -- MAAI e a Gestão Pedagógica de Projetos em Educação a Distância -- EAD. A MAAI pode ser definida como um conjunto de procedimentos sistematizados, voltados à análise e desenvolvimento dos componentes, agentes e processos que constituem a gestão pedagógica de projetos na EAD. Para entendimento teórico, a presente pesquisa investiga conceitos, origem e história da Avaliação Institucional, com foco nas IES brasileiras e na regulação da modalidade EAD. Também revisa fundamentos que identifiquem a complexidade da gestão pedagógica da educação on-line e a importância de concebermos um instrumento com foco no aperfeiçoamento contínuo de elementos da didática da aprendizagem. A sequência da pesquisa descreve a MAAI como é proposta, relata sua origem e evolução, apresenta as suas etapas, os processos e enumera os resultados obtidos com o uso sistemático da MAAI nos cursos de graduação na UnisulVirtual, campus virtual da Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina. A análise toma como objeto de estudo, mais especificamente, a aplicação da MAAI no Curso de Graduação a Distância em Administração. A finalidade é criar oportunidade para observar o uso da MAAI, avaliar o seu potencial como instrumento de aperfeiçoamento contínuo e inovação da gestão pedagógica de projetos em EAD, reconhecer dificuldades e sucessos. A análise tem como proposta ampliar a compreensão sobre o uso dessa metodologia na gestão pedagógica de projetos em EAD e indicar caminhos para a evolução de instrumentos de avaliação e de gestão de cursos on-line. O referencial teórico-metodológico adotado é o da pesquisa qualitativa baseada nos pressupostos da análise de conteúdos e do método crítico-dialético. / This study aims to analyze the building and contribution relationships between the Institutional Self Evaluation Methodology (MAAI) and the Educational Management of Projects in Distance Education (DE). MAAI can be defined as a set of systematic procedures used to analyze and develop components, agents and processes that constitute the education management of projects in DE. The theoretical background comprises concepts, the origin and the history of Institutional Evaluation with an emphasis on Brazilian Higher Education Institutions (IES) and on the regulation of the DE modality. It also reviews fundaments, which identify the complexity of educational management of online education, as well as the importance in conceiving an instrument focused on the continuous enhancement of elements of didactics and learning. The sequence used in this research describes the MAAI as it has been proposed, reports its origin and evolution, presents its stages and processes and lists the results obtained through its systematic use in undergraduate courses of UnisulVirtual, virtual campus of the University of the South of Santa Catarina (UNISUL). The analysis takes into consideration, as its object of study, more specifically, the application of MAAI in the Distance Learning Undergraduate Management Course. The purpose of this research is the creation of an opportunity to observe the use of MAAI, as well as to evaluate its potential as a tool for continuous improvement and innovation in the education management of projects in DE, recognizing the difficulties and successes that can be found with the use of this methodology. The purpose of the analysis is to increase the comprehension related to the use of this methodology in education management in DE and indicate paths for the development of evaluation tools and management of online courses. The theoretical and methodological framework adopted in the study is the qualitative research based upon assumptions of content analysis and the criticaldialectic method.

Doctor of Philosophy / Secondary Education / Diane McGrath / Technological advances affect the very fabric of our world, from the way we do business to the way we educate children. The National Education Association (2005), predicted that by 2006, most school children would take at least one course online before graduating from high school. The Peak Group estimated that by 2006, one million K-12 students would enroll in online courses (Davis & Niederhauser, 2007). In March, 2006, Michigan passed legislation requiring high school students to have at least one online educational experience to graduate (eSchoolNews, 2006). Online classes open doors to educational opportunities students might not otherwise have due to lack of sufficient student interest in a subject, school budgets, or teacher expertise. The quality of programs, in terms of academic rigor and compliance to state educational standards, varies widely. Research examining and documenting online education explicitly in K-12 settings has only recently been conducted and published (Blomeyer, 2002) and there is very little of it. This dissertation is a case study of three virtual high school programs, two well established programs and one that is only two years old. Administrator and teachers were interviewed and an examination of program documents to define what attributes and characteristics indicate a high quality program, what commonalities are found among online high school programs, and what online teachers and programs do to assure a high quality learning experience for students. Findings include: Extensive descriptions of each program regarding course design, teacher training, program organization and funding, and administration. Common themes across participating programs included concerns related to collaboration, high quality courses – whether vendor provided or faculty written, professional development of online teachers, finding ways to control quality of courses from design to student learning and student satisfaction, and the importance of competent and enthusiastic teachers. Recommendations, based on the findings of this study, are that administrators considering joining an online high school program should look at course catalog, professional development, quality control, teachers, service and support, any additional benefits from joining the program, and ability to access administrators and teachers currently using the program or references.

The use of information technology for the delivery for educational programs is growing rapidly worldwide. In the United States of America and Australia the number of higher education institutions which are making use of online education to teach Public Administration is constantly increasing. Surveys done by the National Association of Schools for Public Administration and Affairs (NASPAA) in the United States of America found heightened interest in distance education. In 1995 it was found by NASPAA that Public Administration was offered by 12% of higher educational institutions to students online. One year later the number had increased to 24%. The last NASPAA survey in 2000 showed an increase of 39%. It is possible for students in the United States of America and Australia to complete a Public Administration degree online. However, in South Africa the use of web-based training for the delivery of Public Administration as a science discipline is still under utilised. It was found that only six, or 20% of the higher educational institutions offering Public Administration to students in South Africa, made use of web-based training in 2002. This compares poorly with the United States of America and Australia. Due to distance, time and financial constraints it therefore becomes difficult for officials or students interested in government related studies, to travel to a university or even to take the necessary three years to study for a Public Administration degree. Web-based training programmes should provide the opportunity to address these problems. By redesigning the content of Public Administration courses to be completed on the World Wide Web, higher educational institutions in South Africa should be able to reach more students, than would normally be the case. Although South Africa is the best developed of all the African countries with regard to the use of information and communication technology (ICT), South Africa still experience some limitations. These limitations include access to computers, infrastructural development, telephone line connectivity, and in may cases access to electricity. / Dissertation (MA (Public Administration))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / Unrestricted

Communication with the customer plays a crucial role in today's internet marketing. In case we do not communicate with the customer or we let his attention towards our product or service fade away, than the investment into gaining him has not been well used. Email marketing itself is a very good instrument for maintaining and building the relationship with the customer. However, a great number of entrepreneurs and companies does not know how to work with email marketing and they send email just the same way as they would invite their colleagues for a meeting or simply just scan a discount flier. The first part of the master thesis therefore focuses on the definition of email marketing itself and of the features by which emails affect the customers. It than presents the ways how to maintain the customer, how to pamper them by e.g. content marketing and it shows the current trends and possibilities of automatization. The second part of the master thesis than presents and uses email marketing not only as one of the very strong instruments of direct marketing but also as one of the ways to support online education, which has been gaining a lot of popularity both in the Czech Republic and abroad. The thesis shows the possibilities how to use email marketing to promote an education website that is being created concurrently with this thesis and how to teach its visitors. The practical part shows how to set up the path of the customer and the email marketing strategy in order to change the visitors of the website into loyal customers. All that with the highest possible automatization of the process.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2015-12-10T11:40:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 mariadarcilenedearagao.pdf: 1989715 bytes, checksum: 0fe9ab194619054f17a796b55a427b2d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2015-12-10T14:10:17Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 mariadarcilenedearagao.pdf: 1989715 bytes, checksum: 0fe9ab194619054f17a796b55a427b2d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-10T14:10:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 mariadarcilenedearagao.pdf: 1989715 bytes, checksum: 0fe9ab194619054f17a796b55a427b2d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-04-24 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A presente pesquisa tem por objetivo investigar que possibilidades a Educação online, numa perspectiva crítica em contexto de colaboração, oferece para a formação continuada dos professores da Educação Infantil. Para tanto, desenvolveu-se o curso de extensão “Docência na Educação Infantil”, que teve como participantes docentes deste segmento, das redes pública e privada, da cidade de Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais. Nesse sentido, buscou-se: 1) explicitar as especificidades e diferenciais da Educação online e da perspectiva crítica em contexto de colaboração; 2) compreender em que medida o curso desenvolvido atende aos pressupostos da Educação online e da perspectiva crítica em contexto de colaboração, e quais elementos evidenciam tais aspectos, e; 3) buscar pistas, no diálogo e na atuação dos sujeitos de pesquisa, que indicassem as características específicas dos pressupostos da Educação online e da perspectiva crítico colaborativa. Os sujeitos da pesquisa foram: treze cursistas e seis formadores. Foram trabalhados dados advindos de três fóruns online, seis encontros presenciais e duas entrevistas coletivas (realizadas com cursistas e formadores). Os fundamentos teóricos articularam os estudos relacionados à educação online, formação de professores na para educação infantil e formação de professores na perspectiva crítico colaborativa. Santos, Silva, Bruno, Santaella, Levy, Torres e Siqueira, Palloff e Pratt, Castells, Gomes, Valente e Borba nos auxiliam na compreensão da Educação online e seus pressupostos. Vasconcellos, Aquino, Oliveira, Silva, Kramer, Kuhlmann e Kishimoto Farias, Reis e Lobo esclarecem sobre a trajetória da educação infantil no Brasil. Novoa, Saviani, Giroux, Schon e Silva explanam sobre a formação de professores na para educação infantil no Brasil. Vygostski, Bakhtin, Liberalli, Magalhães, Schapper e Silva elucidam sobre a formação de professores numa perspectiva crítico colaborativa. Marx, Engels, Konder, Freitas, Magalhães, Aguiar e Ozella, Freire e Silva e Schapper descortinam sobre a lente com a qual foi realizada a presente investigação. Ao finalizar a análise e a interpretação dos dados, pode-se avaliar: 1) a presença da construção coletiva do conhecimento e da aprendizagem colaborativa no entrelaçamento de ideias, experiências, reflexões, dúvidas e questionamentos; 2) a interatividade na influência recíproca das ações e falas dos cursistas e formadores; 3) a preocupação dos formadores em buscar mediar, de forma a estimular um processo reflexivo e colaborativo entre os cursistas; 4) a conectividade nos elos entre temas, informações e experiências; 5) o hibridismo na integração de espaços físicos e virtuais, recursos, estratégias e ideias; 6) a existência de conflitos e negociações de sentidos e significados por meio das ações de descrever, informar, confrontar e reconstruir práticas docentes a partir da apropriação de conceitos científicos; 7) as limitações e dificuldades encontradas durante a realização do curso, por parte de alguns cursistas e formadores. Podemos perceber, portanto, que, tanto cursistas como formadores e pesquisadores, necessitam de espaços virtuais que potencializem a comunicação e a formação continuada. Isso confirma a possibilidade de realizar a formação continuada de professores por meio da educação online numa perspectiva crítico colaborativa, e também as implicações e limitações de tal proposta. / The present research aims to investigate which possibilities an online Education, in line with a critical perspective in a collaborative context, provide for the permanent education of Early Childhood Education teachers. In order to achieve this objective, the “Teaching in Early Childhood Education” extension course was developed and implemented with public and private professors of this area. In this implication, the research had those objectives: 1) explaining the specific characteristics and advantages of the online education and of the collaborative critical perspective; 2) understanding in what extent the developed course supports the assumptions of an online Education and a collaborative critical perspective, and which elements show such aspects, and; 3) searching for signs in the dialogue and performance of researchers which indicate the specific characteristics of the assumptions of online Education and collaborative critical perspective. Thirteen teacher students and six teachers were the subjects of the research. Data of three online forums and six attendance meetings was applied in the research. The theoretical fundamentals articulated the studies related to online Education, preparation of early childhood education teachers, and teaching of collaborative critical perspective professors. The understanding of the online Education and its assumptions was assisted by Santos, Silva, Bruno, Santaella, Levy, Torres e Siqueira, Palloff e Pratt, Castells, Gomes, Valente, and Borba. The history of early childhood education in Brazil was clarified by Vasconcellos, Aquino, Oliveira, Silva, Kramer, Kuhlmann e Kishimoto Farias, Reis, and Lobo. The development of early childhood education teachers in Brazil was explained by Novoa, Saviani, Giroux, Schon, and Silva. The preparation of teachers in a collaborative critical perspective was elucidated by Vygostski, Bakhtin, Liberalli, Magalhães, Schapper, and Silva. The lens which conducted this research were revealed by Marx, Engels, Konder, Freitas, Magalhães, Aguiar e Ozella, Freire e Silva, and Schapper. At the end of the analysis and interpretation of the data, several factors can be evaluated: 1) the presence of a knowledge collective construction, and a collaborative learning in the intertwining of ideas, experiences, thoughts, doubts and questions; 2) the interactivity in the reciprocal influence of actions and dialogue of the course participants and trainers; 3) the leaders‟ concern about seeking to mediate in order to stimulate reflective and collaborative process between course participants; 4) the connectivity of themes, information and experience; 5) the hybridity in the integration of physical and virtual spaces, resources, strategies and ideas; 6) the existence of conflicts and negotiations of senses and meanings throughout describing, informing, confronting and reconstructing teaching practices from scientific concepts appropriation; 7) the limitations and difficulties faced during the course, by some course participants and trainers. Therefore, it was perceived that both course participants as trainers and researchers require virtual spaces which enhance communication and continuing education. Furthermore, the reflection of the possibility of applying a continuing education of teachers through online education in a collaborative critical perspective and also the implications and limitations of such proposal were reiterated and confirmed.

This qualitative study centered on perceptions of the quality and effectiveness of online-educated principal interns from the viewpoint of principal mentors. Six current principals who have served as mentors to both online and traditionally educated principal interns were asked to name characteristics of successful interns, to discuss to what degree those characteristics have been observed in online-educated principal interns and to share their perceptions of the quality and effectiveness of online-educated interns. The individual interview responses were analyzed and interpreted using thematic analysis. Three overarching themes emerged through data analysis: (1) the importance of certain characteristics in predicting internship success; (2) the impact of program delivery method on principal intern effectiveness; and (3) the influence of perception and bias in hiring decisions. This study may provide a better understanding of the characteristics of successful interns to universities and colleges offering principal preparation programs, which may result in a better understanding of the elements of successful interns and productive internship experiences.

This study is based on an abductive approach and a case study where the purpose is to investigate how students experience online education. The questions to answer in the study are based on the students' experiences of expected digital prior knowledge, their need for digital literacy, what advantages and disadvantages they saw with the digital environments and tools they used and what improvements could be identified. The empirical process was done through semi-structured interviews with thematic analysis as an analysis method, where it emerged that the students felt that there is an expectation from universities that the students should have a digital knowledge prior to attending the university and that they had to be able to work independently. There were shortcomings in the knowledge about the digital tools with the teachers and that meant inadequate support for the students. Despite this, the students were satisfied with their choices to study online, but they had many suggestions for improvement measures, which leaves room for future research linked to the issues. / Denna studie bygger på en abduktiv ansats och är en fallstudie där syftet är att undersöka hur studenter upplever distansutbildning. Frågeställningarna i studien bygger på studenternas upplevelser kring förväntade digital kompetens, vilka för-och nackdelar de såg med de digitala miljöer och verktyg som de använde sig av samt vilka förbättringsförslag som går att identifiera. Empiriinsamlingen skedde genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med tematisk analys som analysmetod, där det framgick att studenterna upplevde att det finns en förväntan från universitet där studenterna ska ha digitala förkunskaper och kunna arbeta självständigt. Det fanns brister i kunskapen kring de digitala verktygen hos lärarna och bristfälligt med stöd till studenterna. Trots detta var studenterna nöjda med sina val att studera på distans men de hade många förslag på förbättringsåtgärder vilket lämnar utrymme för framtida forskning kopplat till frågeställningarna.

Onlineutbildning har blivit alltmer populär studieform dels då den är billigare att bedriva och utgör större flexibilitet och tillgänglighet för studenter. Däremot har onlineutbildningar visat sig vara problematiska när det gäller studenters avsaknad av sociala interaktioner, vilket i sin tur leder till ett lägre engagemang och färre som fullföljer sin utbildning. För att tillförse sociala interaktioner och ett ökat engagemang behöver studenter ges möjlighet att kommunicera informellt med varandra. Studien avser därför att undersöka hur lärplattformar i onlineutbildningar kan designas för att stötta informell kommunikation mellan studenter. Inledningsvis har en litteraturstudie genomförts för att identifiera designmål som sedan adresserats i en prototyp med designade funktioner. Prototypen utvärderades av testdeltagare genom kvalitativ metod, och genom analys baserat på kriterier framtagna ur litteraturstudien kunde fem designförslag presenteras, som stöttar informell kommunikation på lärplattform. Resultatet visade emellertid att det finns yttre faktorer som påverkar användandet av de föreslagna funktionerna och därför lyfts också frågan om enbart tekniska lösningar är tillräckliga för att lösa ett socialt beteende. Eftersom yttre faktorer som påverkar upplevelsen förändras utifrån individen. Detta leder till förslaget för vidare forskning att fokusera på att utforska en digital motsvarighet för campusförlagd “nollning”. Det är en samling av sociala event anordnade av svenska universitet som äger rum under de första veckorna av ett program, utformat för att introducera studenter till institutionen och för varandra. / Online education has become increasingly popular because it is cheaper to conduct and it gives a certain degree of flexibility to students, which does not exist in a standard on-campus curriculum. Despite this, online education has proven to be problematic regarding students’ lack of social interactions, which leads to reduced commitment and an increase in student dropouts. To provide opportunities for social interactions and increased commitment, students must be given opportunities to communicate informally with eachother. The study, therefore, intends to examine how Learning Management Systems in online education can be designed to support informal communication. Initially, a literature study has been performed to identify design goals. These design goals have been addressed in a prototype by designing features that have been evaluated with the help of participants using a qualitative method. The results of the evaluation were analyzed using criterias produced from the literature, which resulted in five design proposals that support informal communication within LMS. However, the results showed that there are external factors that affect the use of the design proposals and should be considered, as this study has not been able to explore them. This study raises the question on whether technical solutions can be used to solve social behavior issues in an online environment. This is because external factors that affect the experience differ between individuals, which makes the challenge more complex. There is a need for further research into a digital equivalent for, as an example, “Nollning”, a collection of social events organized by Swedish universities that takes place during the first few weeks of a program, designed to introduce students to each other.

Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva 19-24 åringars uppfattning kring munhygienvanor och kostvanor vid distansundervisningen under covid-19-pandemin. Metod: Totalt intervjuades sex högskolestudenter i åldrarna 19-24 år. Studenterna valdes ut genom strategiskt och bekvämlighetsurval från olika fakulteter och högskolor i Sverige. Material bearbetades och analyserades genom fenomenografisk ansats. Resultat: Fenomenet som framkom var att distansundervisningen till följd av covid-19-pandemin medförde social distansering. Detta hade inverkan på  informanternas psykiska hälsa, vilken påverkade deras kostvanor i en mer ohälsosam riktning medan förändringar gällande munhygienvanor inte uppfattades vara överlag betydande. Studiens huvudresultat beskrevs i fyra beskrivningskategorier. Kategorin uppfattning av skapad social distansering omfattade uppfattningar av social distansering till följd av distansundervisning under covid-19-pandemin. Kategorin uppfattning av skapad psykisk ohälsa innefattade uppfattningar av den psykiska hälsan och hur den påverkades av social distansering. Kategorin uppfattning av social distansering och kostvanorna berörde uppfattningar av kostvanor och hur dessa påverkades av informanternas psykiska mående till följd av social distansering. Kategorin uppfattning av social distansering och munhygienvanor innehöll uppfattningar av munhygienvanor och hur dessa påverkades av informanternas psykiska mående till följd av social distansering. / Aim: To describe 19-24 year old young adults’ perception of oral hygiene and dietary habits during distance education in the course of the covid-19 pandemic. Method: A total of six university students aged between 19-24 years old selected through strategic and convenience selection from various faculties and universities in Sweden were interviewed. The acquired material was processed and analyzed using a phenomenographic approach. Results: The phenomenon that emerged was that distance education due to the covid-19-pandemic led to social distancing. This had an impact on the informants' mental health, which affected their dietary habits in an unhealthy direction, while changes in oral hygiene habits were not perceived to be generally important. The results were described in four categories; perception of created social distancing included perceptions of social distancing due to distance education during the covid-19 pandemic; perceptions of created mental di-sease included perceptions of how mental health was affected by social distancing; perception of social distancing and dietary habits contained perceptions of how dietary habits were affected by mental state due to social distancing; perception of social distancing and oral hygiene habits encompassed perceptions of how oral hygiene habit were influenced by mental state because of social distancing.