=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-2733/paper2
|storemode=property
|title=Reflections on Distance Education as an alternative for emergency situations that require Social Isolation at the Institute Federal of Espírito Santo
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2733/paper2.pdf
|volume=Vol-2733
|authors=Danielli Veiga Carneiro Sondermann,Renata Resstel,Aline Freitas da Silva Xavier,Mariella Berger Andrade,Solange Aparecida Bolsanelo Merlo
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/siie/SondermannRXAM20
}}
==Reflections on Distance Education as an alternative for emergency situations that require Social Isolation at the Institute Federal of Espírito Santo==
Reflections on Distance Education as an alternative for emergency situations that require Social Isolation at the Institute Federal of Espírito Santo Danielli Veiga Carneiro Sondermann Renata Resstel Aline Freitas da Silva Xavier Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo Centro de Referência em Formação e Centro de Referência em Formação e Centro de Referência em Formação e em Educação a Distância em Educação a Distância em Educação a Distância Rua Barão de Mauá, nº 30, Rua Barão de Mauá, nº 30, Rua Barão de Mauá, nº 30, Jucutuquara, Vitória, ES, Brasil Jucutuquara, Vitória, ES, Brasil Jucutuquara, Vitória, ES, Brasil danielli@ifes.edu.br reresstel@gmail.com alinegoval@gmail.com 0000-0003-2044-1543 0000-0001-8978-1875 0000-0001-9727-1840 Mariella Berger Andrade Solange Aparecida Bolsanelo Merlo Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo Centro de Referência em Formação e em Centro de Referência em Formação e em Educação a Distância Educação a Distância Rua Barão de Mauá, nº 30, Jucutuquara, Rua Barão de Mauá, nº 30, Jucutuquara, Vitória, ES, Brasil Vitória, ES, Brasil line 5: mariella.andrade@ifes.edu.br solangebolsanelo@gmail.com 0000-0002-3047-2864 0000-0002-7629-7125 Abstract—The discussions around the world caused by the law, on an exceptional basis. As far as higher education is COVID-19 pandemic moved several areas of knowledge, concerned, there is: including Education. In this scenario, the functioning of schools was much debated, especially in public institutions, which has a Art. 1st It is authorized, on an exceptional basis, the percentage of students in social vulnerability and issues replacement of the disciplines in progress in person by involving the distance modality. This quantitative research classes that use media and information technologies and presents a mapping carried out at the Institute Federal of communication, by higher education institution of the Espírito Santo intending to know the reality of students in terms federal education system, which art. Article 2 of Decree nº of digital inclusion for decision-making. The results point to 9,235 of December 15, 2017 solutions related to vulnerability issues, as well as regulation and training to ensure the quality of the courses offered, even in As for Professional Education, there is: exceptionality in times of pandemic Art. 1st The institutions that are part of the federal education system dealt with in article 16 of Law nº 9.394, Keywords— Distance Education, Pandemic, Hybrid of December 20, 1996, and article 20 of Law nº 12.513, of Education, Digital Inclusion. October 26, 2011, are authorized, on exceptional basis, with regard to the high school technical professional education courses in progress, to suspend the classes in I. INTRODUCTION person or replace them with non-attendance activities, for up to sixty days, extendable, depending on the guidance of Public education institutions in several countries, including the Ministry of Health and state, municipal and district Brazil, in their different levels of education, have faced an health agencies, in the form of this Ordinance. emergency situation caused by public health issues, due to the Pandemic caused by coronavirus (COVID-19). In Brazil the The ordinances also define that it is the responsibility of first decision in most public schools was the suspension of the Educational Institutions to define the subjects that can be face-to-face classes, followed by the maintenance of rights carried out online and their respective percentages of total related to social assistance and/or anticipation of school workload, as well as the tools to be used and forms of vacations. In this context, there is a growth in studies, debates, evaluation. and opinions about the admission of remote classes, non- In addition, there is the provisional measure 934 of 01 of presential activities, and/or distance education (EAD). April 2020 [4], which brings the possibility of reducing the As legal support for the implementation of distance school days provided for by law in the situation of education, there are three ordinances: 343 of 17 March 2020 exceptionality: [1], 345 of 19 March 2020 [2], 376 of 03 April 2020 [3]. Art. 1st The establishment of basic education is Ordinances 345 and 376 allow the substitution of in-class exempt, on exceptional basis, from the obligatory disciplines, in progress, by non in-class classes using observance of the minimum number of days of effective information and communication means and technologies, school work, pursuant to the provisions in item I of the without the need to meet the percentage limits provided by caput and in § 1st of art. 24 and in item II of the caput of Copyright © 2020 for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). art. 31 of Law nº 9.394, of December 20, 1996, provided FIGURE 01 - TECHNOLOGICAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS AT THE HEADQUARTERS OR POLE, IN PERCENTAGE, BY ADMINISTRATIVE that the minimum annual workload established in the CATEGORY. aforementioned provisions is complied with, in compliance with the norms to be edited by the respective education systems. In view of the facts presented, the educational institutions were obliged to make decisions in a short period of time. And it is known that any decision making implies in identifying the situation as a whole, being that this can be an opportunity or a problem, that to be solved it needs a diagnostic analysis of the situation to then evaluate a set of alternatives, which will be duly evaluated as well as the impact of each one, in order to then select and begin its effective implementation. Regardless Source: CensusEAD.BR (2017) of the decision to be made, will be responsible for monitoring However, despite being something that is already common and feedbacks to new and / or maintenance of the chosen in most people's daily lives, it is noticeable that in some alternatives. educational environments there is still a large portion of the During this period, the National Council of Education population that has limited access to technological resources, (CNE) prepared an opinion giving guidelines on educational such as smartphones, computers and the Internet, and still possibilities in times of pandemic COVID-19 and approved have those who have no access at all. by the Ministry of Education (MEC) on May 29, 2020. According to Litto [7] for "students without their In view of the above, EAD has been debated and own digital equipment, schools must have a system of questioned in different spaces, for example: unions, councils, manual distribution, or via mail, of educational material", associations, student representations, the academic that is, this option is something to be considered, respecting community, etc. The objective of this article is to analyze the all public health issues at a time of pandemic. main questions from the perspective of researchers in distance education and the unexpected situation that arises in school Despite several challenges, on the other hand, EAD has contexts, and thus evaluate pros and cons of the already contributed to a large portion of the population, among implementation of this modality in a situation of them 14% of the Brazilian population with reduced mobility exceptionality. enabling access to education [7], flexibility in studies allows the choice for a given subject according to its personal II. FUNDAMENTALS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION moment in daily life (examples: more prone to reading, The definition of EAD presented in the decree of nº 9,057 watching video lessons, producing text, performing of May 25, 2017 [5], affirms us: calculations and/or schemes, etc.), this same flexibility also allows students with more difficulty to return and review their [...] Distance education is considered the educational studies as many times as necessary, and also allows students modality in which didactic-pedagogical mediation in to easily advance in their studies and/or complementary teaching and learning processes occurs with the use of challenges. means and information and communication technologies, with qualified personnel, with access In a scenario of so much uncertainty regarding the duration policies, with compatible monitoring and evaluation, of a pandemic, the "EAD can be considered a way to extend among others, and develops educational activities by the school hours of basic education in person (predominantly students and educational professionals who are in of only 4 hours), involving the apprentices in more contact different places and times. with new knowledge" [7]. From the definition of EAD, bringing to context in an Another issue reported is the quality of the EAD course, emergency situation already imposes many challenges: how according to Litto [7] "[... the EAD practiced in Brazil today to ensure that everyone has access to information and is satisfactory in relation to face-to-face: the results of communication technologies? How to guarantee the teaching ENADE [MEC] in the period 2007-2012 revealed that those qualification in a short period of time? How will pedagogical who studied distance obtained higher marks than those who mediation take place? How will evaluations be carried out studied face-to-face; now the averages are similar". without face-to-face support? How to develop an autonomous Passos, Sondermann e Costa [8], defend that the modality study in the student? of EAD should be an option and not something that puts it as More and more technological resources are present in our a second option. However, it is known that at a time of daily activities, in Education is not different. EAD already has pandemic it is the only option to the alternative of indefinite an expertise with the use of technologies, this can be proven suspension of classes in person. by data from the CensusEAD.BR [6] which presents the It is believed in EAD as a teaching modality that should be technological resources available for students at the used regardless of the issue of the impossible scope of headquarters of the poles. (Figure 01) classroom teaching, because it places EAD as a second option. Although EAD students have proven to be older, this tends to change in the future, when society realizes the real values of the modality and the choice for a modality will depend exclusively on the student's motivation and not on the credit or discredit it promotes. Institutions should work in this direction, so, effectively we will have the insertion, IV. METHODOLOGICAL PATHS consolidation and institutionalization of the EAD (p. 10). This quantitative survey took place at the Federal Institute In addition to the issues presented, EAD needs to ensure of Espírito Santo (Ifes), in order to evaluate possible scenarios quality in the teaching materials used, whether digital and/or and contribute with Ifes to identify the situation of the student printed. In addition, be accessible, especially for deaf students body and thus assist in the taking of preliminary decisions, on and / or visually impaired. As atividades pedagógicas também what to do and how to do it with the classes of the students of devem fomentar práticas que tragam o aluno para o the in-person courses during the period of distance due to the protagonismo de seu processo de aprendizagem. pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19), so, a survey was Collaborative learning and effective planning, preferably conducted on Information and Communication Technology at accompanied by an experienced EAD professional, are also the institute from March 27, 2020, with the intention of to key factors for quality EAD. identify the profile of students regarding internet access and other Communication and Information Technologies. The Given the context presented, it is verified the complexity survey link can be viewed at : of implementing the effective EAD, however, in a state of https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxTlmX8U63 emergency, other actions are possible to minimize the impacts of having students outside the school, especially those with xBZh80ZaxusMqVFRqx0CHh31rV-vNv5_HmUzKg/viewf greater social inequality. orm. The survey took place in the 22 Ifes campuses and counted III. REMOTE LESSON AND THE USE OF EDUCATIONAL with the participation of 10,974 students. Figure 2 shows the TECHNOLOGIES quantity per campus and also the municipalities in the state In the urgency of making decisions, some private where Ifes is present, bringing public education at various educational institutions immediately opted for remote classes, levels and to all the capixabas microregions. keeping the pre-established class schedules so that students FIGURE 2: RESPONDENTS PER CAMPUS can follow the classes through web conference resources, which allow synchronous meetings, that is, all should be connected at the same time. Others have chosen to make recordings of these meetings to attend them later. However, some problems have arisen: dispute for the only personal computer in the house, slow internet connections, adaptation to work in home office conciliated with studies, etc. In addition, the emotional state in times of pandemic. In the absence of a Virtual Learning Environment (AVA) properly configured in schools, some institutions have resorted to networks and social media, for example, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp etc. According to Song [9] "Learning in the digital age no longer depends on the Source: Ifes (2020) acquisition, storage and retrieval of individual knowledge; Ifes is concerned with offering quality education and this instead, it depends on connected learning that occurs through concern is not only restricted to face-to-face education, but interaction with various knowledge sources (including the also includes distance learning. However, during the Internet and learning management systems) and participation pandemic period, the need of emergency adequacy to the in communities of common interest, social networks and functioning of the classes in person was followed, due to the group tasks. social withdrawal. The teaching that was foreseen for the model only in person, due to the health crisis in public health, Technological innovations and their use for scientific, made the teaching institutions, which have pedagogical technological, cultural, social and educational purposes were autonomy, think about actions and strategies, and this required instrumental in bringing the benefits of technology closer to planning to adapt to the possibilities of the EAD modality in the needs of qualification [10]. order to guarantee quality education for all. According to Silva and Gomes [10], "The teachers Education is one of the affected areas in the pandemic traditional need to develop new knowledge and implement situation, so, in view of this fact, it has become necessary to professional updating in their activities, in addition to reorganize the times, spaces and activities mediated by overcoming the resistance of the institutions to assume the technologies [11] to ensure the continuity of teaching. This deep and adequate changes to the new reality". need for adaptation refers to both students and teachers, who It is noticeable that the advancement of the discussions are mostly unfamiliar with EaD and/or the use of educational gives rise to a new term, the Non Presential Activities (ANP), technologies, thus facing the commitment to, as Passos, nomenclature adopted by the National Education Council. Sondermann and Costa [8] points out, "[...] to guarantee the excellence of academic activities carried out at a distance, Se por um lado blinda a EaD da ampliação dos offering instigating and quality support material, in addition to preconceitos com a modalidade já existentes, por outro abre o providing support and guidance for student learning". In debate sobre ações em virtude da excepcionalidade e das addition, there is the impossibility of direct contact with the incertezas geradas pelo momento de pandemia. Para as tutor, a professional who acts in the support poles in the instituições públicas o desafio é ainda maior, pois muitos distance courses, to which the student is linked, which is of alunos são de baixa renda e não possuem acesso à Internet. utmost importance, to solve doubts, obtain clarifications or deepen the knowledge made available in a virtual way, and "stimulate the motivation of the student for his continuity of Source: Ifes (2020) the course" [8]. The use of various multimedia in education makes the The survey, together with the student body, demonstrates teaching-learning process more effective and dynamic and the different levels of education offered by Ifes, where, of the virtual rooms have become an environment conducive to respondents, 53% are from the Integrated Technical to High learning. Digital technologies are embedded in our culture and School courses, 32% from the Undergraduate courses, 12% challenge us to think of new ways of teaching and learning. from the Concomitant or Subsequent Technical courses and Mobile technologies are strategies for pedagogical innovation 3% from the other courses offered as Postgraduate, Integrated [12]. Technical to High School-Proeja and Professional Qualification, which shows the diversity of levels of education Both teachers and students need to adapt to this context, attended. because they increase the possibilities of search, information exchange, sharing, multiplying the learning spaces. Regarding Regarding the place of social isolation, 84% of the the digital technologies available in places of social students said they were in urban areas and 16% in rural areas. distancing, many said they had some kind of digital It was chosen to make a correlation between the questions to technology, such as Smartphone, Computer, Tablet or Smart know the type of connection used and the place of social TV with Internet access (Figure 6). Smartphone is highlighted, isolation, obtaining the following data according to Figure 4. however, although Mobile Learning is an educational trend, This information allows the planning of actions to be taken to there are some restrictions that can lead to exhaustion. If this create possibilities for students to continue studying, because is a possible solution it is prudent to explore different the technologies are not neutral, they open paths, create bonds, resources, for example, audio and video, and also records in bring us closer, create opportunities to break paradigms, allow notebooks. The use of the Smartphone to the resources more freedom to learn. And in this way, involved in the available in the cloud is a help regarding insufficient memory construction of one's own learning, it provides opportunities and demands Internet connection. Memory cards can be an for the development of critical thinking. However, when alternative, at least for access to Information. observing the type of connection one notices the lack of FIGURE 6 - DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES USED BY RESPONDENTS knowledge about the subject and still diverse possibilities to be considered in order to provide solutions for the ample student attendance. FIGURE 4 — PLACE OF SOCIAL ISOLATION OF STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE TYPE OF CONNECTION USED Source: Ifes (2020) And when asked about the lack of Internet access in their home, 44% said they could use someone who lives with them, 33% get access from a neighbor and the 23% said they can't see an alternative. And so, part of the students could be Source: Ifes (2020) harmed, amplifying the educational inequalities, therefore, alternatives to the access of materials and activities should be And as for the connection quality, presented in Figure 5, conditions for the implementation, even in times of pandemic. approximately 32% of the students evaluate their connection as good quality, since it presents a fast connection, on the other In addition to the question related to connection, which hand 66.4% say they have a connection from reasonable to makes the teaching-learning process very difficult in non- very slow and still, there is 1.6% that do not have any classroom activities, there is also a concern among connection. This situation may interfere directly in the classes, respondents about the quality of learning in face of the since these may happen through web conferencing, videos, physical structure in their home, lack of appropriate space for among other possibilities, and with a low quality connection studies. As already presented, the questions imposed by it is compromised the transmission and quality assurance in socioeconomic inequalities compromise the conditions of the teaching-learning process. teaching-learning; this is evident in the transcription of the reports of the students obtained in the survey. FIGURA 5 - QUALITY OF CONNECTION USED BY STUDENTS Online classes aren't the same as face-to-face classes, the moment is of crisis so extreme measures and an opportunity to develop new means of integration, I've already done another college and the difference between the online class (I've had it in another college) and the face-to-face class are very big, when the crisis passes I suggest that we go back to normal Ifes is a teaching reference and this will affect a lot the quality. I don't think that distance learning classes are comparable The link of the research, can be viewed at: to in-person classes, but since the minimum workload is https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScBE0CDT36A required, I do believe that I should have some online 6QSPy0NnmCceS5JGtu0HFrpnDLnbGKeC6ciRw/viewfor activities. I believe that they should only be m. complementary activities, and not classes in themselves, because students who suffer from a lack of attention have It was possible to verify, in this survey, that many teachers a much harder time with video lessons because of the lack who answered the questionnaire already had or were of assistance a teacher can give in class. conducting training to work with EAD. The students, who were against the implementation of Faced with the scenario presented by Ifes, even knowing activities in the distance modality, were guided by the issue of the challenges imposed and the lack of understanding about social inequality, as reported below: the exceptional situation for decision-making, sought a solution in a collaborative manner and with diverse I'll use this gap to leave my opinion on the subject: I do not representations, which culminated in the approval of a consider EAD, nor AVA, democratic solutions to deal with resolution for Pedagogical Activities Non-Presential, nº the issue of social isolation, since many students at the 1/2020 of the Superior Council, dated May 6, 2020, available Federal Institute do not have access to a quality internet at: service and would thus be immensely harmed. https://www.ifes.edu.br/images/stories/Resolu%C3%A7%C3 %A3o_CS_n_1_2020__Normas_Atividades_n%C3%A3_Pr Ifes is an institution with many students in a vulnerable esenciais_Periodo_Pandemia_Covid_3.pdf, approved after a situation, which was evidenced in the survey that 75% of long meeting lasting approximately nine hours. the students receive some type of student assistance, mostly for food, housing and transportation. Only 25.3% In addition to the resolution, Ifes approved an said they didn’t get the aid. ordinance for emergency aid for Digital Inclusion, available at: https://www.ifes.edu.br/noticias/19332-ifes-lanca- Still as one of the questions raised in the survey, regarding regulamento-do-auxilio-emergencial-de-inclusao-digital, the Virtual Learning Environment (AVA) - Modular Object- which guarantees Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (MOODLE), 57.9% said they have already accessed the environment, The hiring of Internet by 12 months, since the institution 23.1% said they have never accessed and 19% never even believes that even in the return of classes, digital inclusion know what an AVA is. should be part of daily school life. Other actions were also in progress until the writing of this article, such as: equipment According to Passos, Sondermann e Costa [8] the EAD lending, equipment action campaigns, rental studies, safe use methodology used by Ifes "values the autonomous study, of campuses laboratories through protocols, etc. promoted by the available readings and proposed activities in the virtual learning environment, mediated by the distance Parallel to the regulatory actions, Ifes through the Center tutor and support of the in-person tutors". And, in view of the of Reference in Training and Distance Education (CEFOR) respondents' reports, how can all students have access to the expanded the list of training courses, created the Nuclei of available online content and be able to carry out the non- Educational Technologies (NTEs), in addition to a Frequently presential activities? How to make students develop this Asked Questions (FAQ), available at: autonomy to manage their own learning? How can we ensure https://cefor.ifes.edu.br/index.php/component/content/article/ that the social inequalities between students imposed by 2-uncategorised/17185-chegando-agora-na-ead-pode-contar distance/ remote education are not increased in the face of this -com-a-gente. challenge imposed by the pandemic? This article had the initial objective of presenting the Bacich and Moran [12] argue that collaborative work mapping of Ifes students in terms of digital inclusion and allied to the use of digital technologies enables learning presenting possible solutions, but due to the urgency some moments, where learning from peers becomes even more actions were highlighted for further studies on the results significant. achieved. It’s agreed with Bacich and Moran [12] that despite the V. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS challenges and problems related to the use of digital technologies, it’s necessary to propose active and liberating The pandemic in virtue of COVID-19, brought on the learning. In this sense, changes are necessary and with them agenda issues that had already been discussed in major studies comes adaptations, constructions and reconstructions and thus on educational trends, for example, hybrid teaching and the creates possibilities for innovative learning with the use of use of educational technologies in the educational field. From digital tools. However, in the context presented, EAD, has a one hour to the next, all institutions had to reinvent themselves great challenge and is full of questions that need to be or remain in inertia, waiting for the end of the pandemic. resolved, since the educational institutions had to change the Teachers and students found themselves with a new reality dynamics between students and teachers when they became installed, both in their personal and academic lives, so this online, without preparing for it. study brought a mapping that can be taken advantage of by many institutions, adapting them to their specificities. In addition, a survey was also conducted from April 1, 2020, with the aim of knowing the profile of teachers and Once the issues of regulation, training, and Internet Administrative Technicians in Education directly linked to the connection have been resolved, it is expected that a legacy in area of support to teaching, regarding the use and training in favor of the use of educational technologies will be seen as an the area of Distance Education and Educational Technologies, important ally in the teaching-learning process and, in aiming at the planning of educational actions during and / or particular, that the academic community will understand that after the period of suspension of teaching activities in person. the student's protagonism is something essential to contemporary society, whether in face-to-face, distance, or [4] Brasil. Decreto nº 9057, de 25 de Maio de 2017. Regulamenta o art. 80 hybrid education. And, also, that teacher, holder of da Lei nº 9.394, de 20 dezembro de 1996, que estabelece as diretrizes e bases da educação nacional. Diário Oficial da União, 26 maio. 2017, knowledge, walks to be a mediator, a curator or producer of ed. 100. Seção 1, p. 3-4. educational contents that can be shared and that allow their co- [5] ABED – ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE EDUCAÇÃO A creation. DISTÂNCIA. A solução para o distanciamento social está à mão: EAD. São Paulo, 2020. Disponível em: REFERENCES http://www.abed.org.br/arquivos/A_solucao_para_o_distanciamento_s ocial_esta_a_mao_EAD_Fredric_Litto.pdf . Acesso em 07 jun. 2020. [1] Ministério da Educação. Portaria nº 343, de 17 de março de 2020. [6] SONG, Jie et al. Creating effective collaborative learning in a CALL Dispõe sobre a substituição das aulas presenciais por aulas em meios environment. In: 2012 International Symposium on Information digitais enquanto durar a situação de pandemia do Novo Coronavírus Technologies in Medicine and Education. IEEE, 2012. p. 422-425. – COVID-19. Diário Oficial da União, 17 mar. 2020, ed. 53. Seção 1, [7] SILVA, Viviane Gomes; GOMES, Maria João. Dos dispositivos p. 39. móveis à aprendizagem ubíqua: da usabilidade técnica à usabilidade [2] Ministério da Educação. Portaria nº 345, de 19 de março de 2020. pedagógica. In: ACTAS DEL XIII CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL Altera a portaria no 343. Diário Oficial da União, 17 mar. 2020, ed. 54. GALLEGO-PORTUGUÉS DE PSICOPEDAGOGÍA. 2015. Seção 1, p. 1. [8] MORAN, José Manuel. O que é educação a distância? Disponível em [3] Ministério da Educação. Portaria nº 376, de 3 de abril de 2020. Dispõe www.eca.usp.br/prof/moran/dist.htm. Acesso em: 20 de abr. 2020 sobre as aulas nos cursos de educação profissional técnica de nível [9] BACICH, Lilian; MORAN, José (Orgs.). Metodologias ativas para médio, enquanto durar a situação de pandemia do novo coronavírus - uma educação inovadora: uma abordagem teórico-prática. Porto Covid-19. Diário Oficial da União, 03 abr. 2020, ed. 66. Seção 1, p. 66. Alegre: Penso, 2018. 238 p.