Este trabalho teve como objetivo investigar como o uso de recursos da tecnologia digital pode contribuir tanto para o desenvolvimento da produção textual em aulas de Língua Portuguesa quanto para o multiletramento dos alunos. Visto que as tecnologias digitais de informação e comunicação estão cada vez mais inseridas no cotidiano dos alunos, espera-se que a escola acompanhe essa evolução e traga essas tecnologias para dentro da sala de aula, fazendo um elo entre as práticas escolares e a realidade que cerca o aluno fora dos muros da escola. Porém, aparelhos de tecnologia avançada são comprados, instalados e muitas vezes não deixam de ser meros adornos, já que os professores que poderiam deles fazer uso dos mesmos, não foram ensinados, preparados e treinados para tal. Por outro lado, desde a infância os alunos estão conectados, aprendendo a manusear todos esses acessórios práticos e versáteis, antes limitados pela impossibilidade de fácil mobilidade. Levando tal possibilidade em conta, tomou-se, como foco desta pesquisa, a proposta de modificação de um projeto anual da disciplina de Língua Portuguesa, cujo objetivo inicial era a produção de revistas impressas, mas que passou a ter como propósito a produção de revistas virtuais, que seriam publicadas em um blog criado, especialmente, para tal fim.Tais revistas foram desenvolvidas por alunos do 8 ano de uma escola particular, os quais foram divididos em grupos, e cada grupo ficou responsável pela produção de uma revista, para serem desenvolvida de acordo com critérios decididos pelo grupo. De todas as produções, três foram selecionadas para serem analisadas. Os itens analisados foram: as capas, a introdução da reportagem principal e as reportagens principais de cada uma delas. As análises foram feitas sobre o viés teórico do Letramento, Letramento Digital e Linguagem Virtual. Os resultados apontaram para o fato de que não basta mudar o meio em que a produção é publicada, é necessário que professores e alunos saibam fazer uso das ferramentas e dos recursos tecnológicos para que aconteça de fato o desenvolvimento de uma revista virtual. Contudo, percebeu-se que o uso das tecnologias foi feito apenas como ferramenta e não como recurso. / This study aimed to investigate how the use of digital technology can contribute to both the development of writing in Portuguese classes as for multiletramento students. Since digital technologies for information and communication are increasingly embedded in students everyday lives, it is expected that the school follow this trend and bring these technologies into the classroom, making a link between school practices and the reality that some the student outside the school walls. However, advanced technology gadgets are purchased, installed, and often do not cease to be mere ornaments, as teachers who could use them to do the same, have not been taught, trained and prepared for this. On the other hand, since childhood students are connected, learning to handle all these accessories practical and versatile, once limited by the impossibility of easy mobility. Taking into account this possibility, we took as the focus of this research, the proposed modification of an annual project of the discipline of Portuguese, whose initial goal was the production of printed magazines, but which now has as its purpose the production of magazines virtual, which would be published on a blog created especially for such finality. The magazines were developed by students of the 8th year in a private school, which were divided into groups, and each group was responsible for producing a magazine for be developed according to criteria determined by the group. Of all the productions, three were selected for review. The items analyzed were: the covers, the introduction of the main story and the stories of each key. Analyses were made on the theoretical bias of Literacy, Digital Literacy and Language Virtual. The results pointed to the fact that not just change the way in which production is published, it is necessary that teachers and students know how to use the tools and technology resources to make it happen in fact the development of a virtual magazine. However, it was noticed that the use of technology was done only as a tool and not as a resource.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Library and Information Science in the Department of Information Studies at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2017 / The need to manage tacit indigenous knowledge (TIK) through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools is imperative because it is at risk of becoming extinct without proper recordable and management systems. Indigenous Knowledge (IK) is largely tacit in nature and is mainly preserved in the memories of elders which is a risk to its documentation and preservation. We argue that ICT can be used effectively for enabling documentation, access and use of IK in the modern society. The study mainly focused on the types of ICT tools used for capturing, storing and disseminating IK in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province. Specifically, the study investigated the use and types of ICT tools, in the management of indigenous knowledge, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. For the purpose of the study, five research objectives were used that guided the research questions. These research objectives included: discussing the nature of indigenous knowledge; evaluating the types of indigenous knowledge practices in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province; discussing the types of ICT tools currently used in the management of indigenous knowledge; discussing problems encountered in the availability and use of ICT tools in managing IK; and discussing strategies for improving the use of ICT tools in the management of indigenous knowledge. The theoretical basis of the study was informed by the Knowledge Creation theory (KC) by Nonaka as discussed in detail in chapter two. The study adopted a post-positivist research paradigm to enable multiple perspectives from participants/target population rather than a single reality. Both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were simultaneously used during a single phase of data collection. Quantitative data was gathered by survey method involving self-administered questionnaires with ICT users/beneficiaries. The qualitative data was gathered by both survey and qualitative content analysis largely through open-ended questions, which were embedded in the semi-structured interviews with owners or custodians of IK. In depth literature review and document analysis formed part of qualitative content analysis. The sample for the study was drawn from ICT users/beneficiaries and owners or custodians of indigenous knowledge in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Notably, the ICT users/beneficiaries consisted of researchers, information specialists and/or librarians, academic staff, students and/or trainees on IK, cultural officers, IK recorders, IK documentation centre managers, and journalists and artisans. Furthermore, respondents who were owners or custodians of IK consisted of traditional healers, diviners and herbalists, traditional farmers, traditional musicians, rural artisans, community elders, traditional midwifery, rainmakers, chiefs, and traditional food specialists and storytellers. The study employed probability and non-probability sampling where cluster, snowball and purposive sampling techniques were used at different stages to select the respondents. A total of 96 questionnaires were administered to ICT users/beneficiaries and 57 (59%) were returned. Additionally, interviews were conducted with the owners or custodians of IK. 224 owners or custodians of IK were sampled, however, 196 (88%) were interviewed. The quantitative data from the ICT users/beneficiaries was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). The qualitative data from owners or custodians of IK was analyzed through the use of qualitative contents analysis. The study acknowledged the wealth, access and use of indigenous knowledge in the province and showed that indigenous knowledge is not only used by indigenous people, as it is also being used by professional people for their own benefit. Many categories of traditional roles of custodians of IK have brought about the sustainability of indigenous knowledge practices in KwaZulu-Natal as it is still vital in these modern times and highly relevant in the areas of medicine and agriculture. Although KwaZulu-Natal has proven to possess rich indigenous knowledge practices, the knowledge is not sufficiently recorded with relevant ICTs for future use. There is a growing use of multiple ICT tools by institutions, IK centres and individuals to record or capture, store and disseminate indigenous knowledge which is quite positive. It is observed that ICT users/beneficiaries and owners or custodians of IK require ICT literacy to improve access and use. The challenges facing IK access are not uniform between ICT users/beneficiaries and owners or custodians of IK. The most crucial challenges among ICT users/beneficiaries and owners or custodians of IK was related to access to relevant ICT infrastructure and resources and lack of digital skills. The existing IK policy should be revised to accommodate rapidly changing ICT requirements of the sector. This study contributes to current literature and discourses on IKS; interrogates the applicability of knowledge creation theory and models to IK research; adds fresh data, information, and knowledge on IK research, particularly in South Africa; and proposes practical solutions to ICT application for IK development. The full thesis is available in the University of Zululand Institutional Repository and other publications from the thesis.

The significance of students being able to express and demonstrate their knowledge and understanding in all content areas has always been important especially in the sciences. Students under the Next Generation Science Standards will be required to participate in science discourse through a variety of approaches. This study examined student engagement and student demonstration of content knowledge in inclusive science classrooms through a quasiexperimental research design which included four case study participants with a learning disability. The researcher also evaluated student content knowledge through the implementation of Universal Design for Learning-Expression (UDL-E) through a non-replicated control group design. Data were collected through a variety of sources including: researcher observations, review of student academic records, interviews, surveys, UDL-E products, and pre-test and posttest scores. Researcher observations spanned over a 10 week period and were coded and analyzed quantitatively. Findings from a Repeated ANOVA demonstrated no statistical significance, however based on interviews with students; findings show that the students did enjoy exploring the opportunity to express their knowledge using the Expression principle of Universal Design for Learning. Student time-on-task did remain equally as high during UDL-E and students’ inattentive behaviors decreased.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) nowadays is constantly evolving and drastically impacting different fields of human activity, such as higher education. University education, due to ICT, was able to move from the traditional teaching and learning practices to e-Learning. That is, delivering education to the learner regardless of place and time via leveraging technology, such as computer-mediated platforms, based on synchronous video conferencing. The next generation of computer-mediated communication tools is ready to facilitate synchronous holographic communication among users. However, such tools have not been designed specifically for the field of university education and have not been taken into consideration the design requirements and needs of users to be successfully integrated to the e-Learning model.     Hence, this master’s thesis study explores the perceptions of higher education teachers and students about the potential use of holographic ICT tools in the context of e-Learning, as well as their desired characteristics in regard to the design of such tools. For this, an interpretive qualitative ethnographic research was conducted. Data was collected through passive observations and focus group discussions with purposively selected university teachers and students, and by leveraging the method of Thinking Aloud. The collected data was subjected to thematic analysis to conclude to seven themes, which represent the findings of this study. These research findings were discussed in relation to the research aim, research questions and the theoretical framework including the approach of User-Centered Design.     The research findings showed that university teachers and students acknowledge the potential of the holographic ICT tools and have an interest to try them out in the context of e-Learning activities. The potential use of holographic ICT tools was described as improving the quality of communication between teachers and students when on distance; delivering education globally and making it more accessible; lifting the current technological limitations and enriching the e-Learning practices. Some concerns, though, in regard to the use of such tools were expressed in terms of complexity and disturbances. The research findings also showed the university teachers’ and students’ desired characteristics in regard to the design of such tools, which include interoperability with the other systems used in e-Learning activities; high quality of human and non-human holographic representations; and indicators in holographs of the participants’ status, along with additional interactive features. In addition, the university teachers and students suggested the holographic ICT tools to be designed as a pair of comfortable augmented reality (AR) glasses, which can be easy to control and can be connected to personal devices. Finally, it was suggested to include main tools of teaching and learning activities -such as whiteboard, screensharing, slides presentation-; and multiple modes that can be used depending on the users’ teaching and learning needs.  Thus, the research outcome contributes theoretically to the research field of informatics by providing insights and new knowledge about the potential use of novel holographic ICT tools for e-Learning. The research outcome also contributes practically to designers, developers, technology companies, and other interested stakeholders as it shortens the knowledge gap regarding the design principles of holographic ICT tools and their use cases within the context of education, and provides suggestions regarding their design from a user-centered approach.

Nowadays, the hybrid working model has prevailed as the new working model for many organizations, which combines working remotely and onsite. Although the hybrid working model is not new, the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition from traditional working model to hybrid one, which results in greater use of technology, especially for the employees’ collaboration. Collaboration is at the core of agile development team members’ daily hybrid work, and it is achieved through the support of technology tools, such as Microsoft Teams. The hybrid working model, due to its complexity, creates opportunities and challenges to the way agile development team members’ work and collaborate. Therefore, it is important to examine the collaboration of agile development team members that follow the hybrid working model, as well as benefits and challenges that may arise. Thus, this master thesis examines, the technology-supported collaboration of agile development team members, that follow the hybrid working model, taking as an example Microsoft Teams (MS Teams). For this, an interpretive qualitative ethnographic research was conducted. The data was collected through participant observations, focus groups discussions, and semi-structured interviews from purposively selected team members of three agile development teams. The collected data was analyzed thematically and generated six themes. These six themes represent the findings of the master’s thesis research and are interpreted and discussed with the help of the theoretical framework, which includes the concepts of agile project management, computer-supported cooperative work, collaboration, cooperation, coordination, information sharing, communication and hybrid working model.   The research findings show that it is vital for the members of the agile development teams to use a collaboration tool in their daily hybrid work to assure close and frequent collaboration, which in the traditional working model was mainly achieved face-to-face on-site. Their collaboration includes communication, information sharing, and coordination activities, which are supported and facilitated by the technological tool of MS Teams. However, the hybrid working model has given rise to challenges in the collaboration among the agile development team members, which can be overcome if the technological tool of MS Teams is used properly by everyone. This research contributes to the existing knowledge of the informatics research field and the body of research of computer-supported cooperative work by providing a better understanding of how technological tools are used to support collaborating team members that follow the hybrid working model, including benefits and challenges experienced. It also contributes to agile development team members and other practitioners that use MS Teams through improved understanding of aspects that can be taken into consideration for the use of a collaboration technological tool, and the generation of guidelines for such technology in order to make the use of it most efficient.

No description available.

The use of technology in assisting educators to use student data in well-devised ways to enhance the instruction received by students is gaining headway and the support of federal dollars across the nation. Since research has not provided insight as to whether or not reading coaches are using data technology tools with teachers, this mixed methods study sought to examine what behavioral intentions reading coaches have in using data technology tools with teachers, what variables may influence their behavioral intentions, and what trends may emerge in their views about using technology data tools with teachers. A mixed methods approach was deployed via a survey embedded in an email, and data from 61 Florida reading coaches from elementary, middle, and high schools in a large urban school district were examined using an adaptation of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The results showed that collectively all reading coaches have a high level of behavioral intentions towards using a data technology tool with teachers. The study also showed that elementary, middle, and high school reading coaches vary in their degree of behavioral intentions in using a data technology tool based on different variables. Trends in data showed that reading coaches think data technology tools are helpful, but that trainings are needed and that technology tools should be user-friendly. Discussion is provided regarding the implications of the study results for all stakeholders.

Requirements Engineering (RE) plays a vital role in Information Systems (IS) development. The collaboration of requirements engineers is at the core of RE activities and is typically supported by technology tools, with Jira being an example of such a tool. Since these technology tools, like Jira, are focused on the execution of traditional duties, the collaboration functionalities of these technology tools are unseen. Moreover, little research has been carried out to explore how requirements engineers’ collaboration is supported and the challenges are created by the technology tools. Interpretive qualitative research was conducted to understand the nature of requirements engineers’ collaboration in three IS development organisations in Sweden to better support it with technology tools. The empirical material was collected through semi-structured interviews and observations and was analysed thematically to generate seven themes.  The findings revealed that the technology tools facilitate requirements engineers’ cooperation, communication among multiple collaborating parties in one platform, coordination of work activities and information sharing among other collaborating parties. Additionally, it discovered that the inability to support real-time communication, high configurability, limited sharing possibilities, compatibility, technicality and complexity challenge and interrupt the requirement engineers’ collaboration.  Moreover, the theoretical frame findings are discussed with the help of the theoretical framework, including the activity theory. Requirements engineers’ collaboration is presented as a purposeful interaction among them and other people with the support of technology tools to complete the process of RE in information systems development. Their interactions and the importance of the technology tools are underlined. Hence, the outcome of the master’s thesis research shows that the collaborative technology tools enable the requirement engineers’ collaboration through supporting and facilitating their effective communication, cooperation, coordination, information sharing, and through facilitating their awareness, allowing them in this way to drive the information systems projects and/or products development into successful completion. The extended collaboration model presented in this research in combination with activity theory is used to understand the transformation of the enabling collaboration of requirements engineers.