THE IMPACT OF THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND

COMMUNICATION IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

Case Study of NORTH OF PORTUGAL and SOUTH OF GALICIA

Manuel Pérez-Cota, Luis Vilán-Crespo, Jose Paulo Machado Da Costa, Ana Isabel Díez Sánchez.

Grupo GEAC. Departamento de Informática.

Escuela Universitaria de Ingeniería Técnica Industrial.

Universidad de Vigo

Rúa Torrecedeira, 86

36208- VIGO

España

ywords: e-learn, teacher, information technologies, comunication, learn, computer science.

Abstract: This article intends to synthesize the results obtained by the investigation work done in the North of

Portugal, by GEAC - Group of Teaching Attended by Computer, of the Vigo University, under orientation

of the PhD. Manuel Pérez Cota. The main objective, in this investigation phase, is to try to identify the

teacher's profile, his sensibility for the teaching-learning process based in the technologies, in what way are

or not the computer sciences tools used, how, when and where, the knowledge were acquired, in the

meaning of computer science, for the teacher, try to identify the decisive causes and the importance of these,

for an appropriate use of the computer science in the education process, inside of the your class

1 THE EDUCATIONAL CAREER

IN PORTUGAL

Portugal has been coming to develop a considerable

effort in the sense of adapting his education system

to the demands of qualification of the national

human potential with the intention of reducing the

high tax of young education holders at secondary

level incomplete, that results in a level of deficient

qualification of the active population in comparison

with average of European Community and

consequent loss of competitiveness in a

medium/long period.

In this sense, government political orientations

are pointed in the report presented to European

Consul in the Spring of 2001 by the Ministry of

Education of Portugal, choosing the “the human

potential valorisation as priority domain of

intervention at medium period”. The main

orientation resulting, is the need to intensify the

actions that may increase the basic knowledge in

Communication and Information Technologies (in

Portugal TIC), corresponding to the intention of

creating conditions for the consolidation of a

knowledge economy where the people's qualification

is the decisive element.

Today, in Portugal, the school career can begin

just from the 4 months of age and to the 5/6 years,

the children frequent the Preschool Teaching and no

obligatory. Just in the last 10 years it was begun to

give the due importance and to create effective

access conditions to the poorer social classes, at this

teaching level.

The obligatory Basic Education is split in 3

teaching cycles. The 1st Cycle, Primary, corresponds

to the student's first 4 academic years.

The Portuguese government, in the last two

years, through the Ministry of the Science and

Technology, and of his project “Technology in

movement”, has been trying to put at disposition of

all Preschools and 1st Cycle (Primary) a group of

computers connected to the Internet, for the children

begin, earlier, using the computer. On the other

hand, it tries to endow of equal opportunity, the

197

Pérez-Cota M., Vilán-Crespo L., Paulo Machado Da Costa J. and Isabel Díez Sánchez. A. (2004).

THE IMPACT OF THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND COMMUNICATION IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM - Case Study of NORTH OF

PORTUGAL and SOUTH OF GALICIA.

In Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, pages 197-201

DOI: 10.5220/0002606201970201

 SciTePress

schools of the rural environment and more

supported.

With approximately 10/11 years, it begins the

2nd Cycle, corresponding to the 5th and 6th

academic year.

The Basic Teaching, was reorganized recently in

the sense of contemplating some obligatory

components with the goal of assuring a general

formation common to all students that guarantees

him development of their interests and aptitudes,

promoting the individual success in harmony with

the values of the social solidarity, namely:

− the education for the citizenship, building a

dialogue space and reflection about lived

experiences and concerns felt by the students, as

well as on subjects and relevant problems of the

community and the society;

− the project area, with the goal of allowing the

students the articulation of knowledge about several

discipline areas;

− the accompanied study, seeking to promote

the acquisition of study methods and of work that

allow obtain a growing autonomy in the learning and

the development of the capacity of learning to learn;

− The use of the technologies of the

information and communication. The accompanied

study areas and of project they will be privileged

spaces for the development of the work with these

technologies, which it will be guided in a

perspective simultaneously of the students basic

formation and of support of the all areas and

disciplines of the curriculum, in whose essential

competences should have expression;

− the inclusion, in the 3rd cycle (7th to 9th year

of education), of a second foreign language as

obligatory discipline.

With about 15 years, the student finishes the 3rd

Cycle of Basic Teaching and the respective

obligatory education, could continue their studies for

the Secondary Teaching.

The reorganization of the structure curricular of

the secondary teaching (10th to 12nd year of

education) and the reinforcement of the mechanisms,

orientation structures and information destined to the

youths in the age group of the 15 to the 18 years

have as central goal to assure the access of

secondary level formations, consecrating,

consequently, the secondary teaching in his double

nature of intermediate cycle of pursuit of studies and

of terminal formation cycle, being favoured the

transition between the basic education and the

different education courses and of secondary level

formation. Like this, the new curricular organization

of the secondary teaching seeks to guarantee:

− the articulation of this teaching level with the

basic teaching, with the higher education and with

the world of work;

− the integration of the curriculum and of the

evaluation, assuring that this constitutes the element

regulator of the teaching and learning;

− the existence of disciplines and curricular

areas seeking the accomplishment of significant

learnings and the students' integral formation,

through the experimental teaching and of the

articulation and the contextualization of knowledge,

in a perspective of facilitating the transition for the

job market;

− the creation of conditions that assure the

access to the education and to the formation during

the life.

The curricular revision of the secondary teaching

allows to clarify the distinction among general

courses, destined to the pursuit of studies in the

higher education, and technological courses,

destined to the integration in the job market, but it

guarantees the possibility of course alteration and

the existence of a common general formation, which

includes the continuation of learning of one of the

two foreign languages studied in the 3rd cycle of the

basic teaching.

2 UNIVERSE OF THE STUDY

They were elaborated and later random distributed,

about 1000 questionnaires, one for each teacher, of

all of the teaching levels (except the higher

education).

Distributed by the districts of Viana do Castelo,

Braga, Vila Real, Bragança and Porto,

corresponding to the North of Portugal, they were

identified the following public and private schools:

In Portugal, the last data known regarding the

number of teachers in the several teaching levels in

study, they are summarized next:

Educators of Childhood (preschool). North of

Portugal

Ministry of Education

Public Private Total

Educators of

childhood

1 731 778 2 509

Teachers of the 1st cycle of the basic teaching – North of Portugal

Public Private Total

Teachers 11 668 815 (1) 12 483

(1) In exercise in the establishment

Teachers of the 2nd cycle of the basic teaching - North of

Portugal

ICEIS 2004 - SOFTWARE AGENTS AND INTERNET COMPUTING

198

Public Private Total

Teachers 9 160 868 10 028

Teachers of the 3rd cycle of the basic teaching and of the

secondary teaching. North of Portugal

Public Private Total

Teachers 23 980 2 340 26 320

Source: Department of Prospective Evaluation and Planning (DAPP)

3 TEACHERS’ PROFILE

All of the teachers inquired are in the preschool

teaching, 1st Cycle, 2nd Cycle, 3rd Cycle or in the

Secondary Teaching. Some of them, are in several

teaching levels, for accumulation of service time.

Graph 1. the teachers' representation by teaching level

From the analysis of the histogram to proceed

presented, we can observe that, relatively at the time

elapsed from the conclusion of their studies, most of

the teachers' are concentrated in two intervals, the

interval of 2 - 18 and of 24 - 30 years. From the

average calculation (18,6) and of the standard

deviation (8), we can conclude that exists a high

degree of dispersion of the time of service, in other

words, in our sample, we found individuals that are

teachers at a long time and other ones much

younger.

Graph 2. Histogram of the time elapsed since the

conclusion of the studies

On average, the teachers’ teaching the same

discipline to the approximately 11 years, however,

and similarity of what happened in the previous

point, there are a high dispersion degree in the time

they teaching the discipline (standard deviation of

10).

Graph 3. Histogram of the time in that teaching the

discipline

4 KNOWLEDGE, AS REGARDS

TO COMPUTER SCIENCE,

THAT HAS THE TEACHER

During his academic formation, the teachers

consider insufficient the degree of use of computer

sciences tools, namely, the purpose general tools

(word processors, worksheets, databases,...), and the

specific tools for the teaching support. The scenery

worsens, as for the use of specific tools of the

discipline that they teaching (very scarce or null).

After concluding the studies, the frequency of

computer science courses on purpose general (word

processors, worksheets, databases,....), specific of

the discipline that they teaching or specific for

support to the teaching it is insufficient face to the

actual needs of the teaching, for that, some teachers,

[0 - 6[[6 - 12[[12 - 18[

[18 - 24[ [24 - 30[ [30 - 36[

100

120

140

Pré-

primária

1º Ciclo 2º Ciclo 3º Ciclo Secundário

100

[0 - 6[ [6 - 12[ [12 - 18[ [18 - 24[

[24 - 30[ [30 - 36[

THE IMPACT OF THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND COMMUNICATION IN THE EDUCATIONAL

SYSTEM – CASE STUDY OF NORTH OF PORTUGAL AND SOUTH OF GALICIA

199

try to compensate with auto-formation, however,

still in quite reduced number, revealed insufficient.

All this situation of little or any learning and use

of computer sciences tools, reveals an insufficient

degree of the teachers' participation in works on

educational computer science.

83% of the teachers never participated in a

learning process no presence, what reveals, little

sensibility for teaching-learning processes no

presence (tele-education).

5 DECISIVE CAUSES AND

IMPORTANCE FOR AN

APPROPRIATE USE OF THE

COMPUTER SCIENCE IN THE

TEACHING, INSIDE OF THE

HER DISCIPLINE,

CONFRONTING WITH THE

REALITY

It was intended that the teacher made a valorisation

of the factors that they influence on the use of the

computer science, in her discipline, at the same time

that he evaluates the adaptation of those factors in

the actual moment.

The appraised factores were:

- Formation institutionalized in computer

science, for the teacher;

- Readiness of resources, for the teacher;

- Previous formation in computer science of the

students';

- Readiness of resources for the students;

- Existence of computer science resources

applicable inside of the discipline;

- The use of the computer would suppose

increment of time to apply it in the discipline;

- Tools for the development of the contents;

- Increase of time for the development of the

contents;

- Specialized support for the development of the

contents;

- Specialized support to apply the contents.

In this evaluation, for all factors, the teachers

consider to be wide or notable his importance and

interest to influence a correct use of the computer

science in the teaching. At the same time that they

considered, for the same factors, that in reality,

what’s happens that’s an insufficient use of the

computer sciences tools.

Allied to the lack of institutionalized teachers

formation, still verified, that in reality, exists a

shortage of the readiness of the available resources

for the teachers and students, of the existence and

consequent use of computer sciences tools and

computers for the development and presentation of

contents.

6 USE THAT THE TEACHER

DOES, WITH EDUCATIONAL

ENDS

i) In the preparation of the didactic contents, the

computer science tool more used by teachers is

the word processor, but still in an insufficient

scale, in other words, the number of teachers

that does is it quite reduced. Computer sciences

tools as the worksheets, database, presentations

software, CD-ROM encyclopedias, internet and

other, are the most used, but usually as a

complement of the word processor.

ii) As it would be expecting, after having analyzed

the results of the previous point, in the class, as

teacher, for the exhibition of the class contents,

the teachers don't use computer sciences tools

and the ones that make it, they fall back upon

CD-ROM encyclopedias or presentations

software, as Power Point and similar.

iii) On the other hand, when compared with the

computer sciences tools, an increase of the use

of other audiovisual ways is verified in the

exhibition of the contents, especially the use of

Projector and transparencies.

7 USE OF INFORMATICS’

RESOURCES BY THE

STUDENTS, INSIDE THE

TEACHING-LEARNING

PROCESS

Without any surprise, at this time, the teachers verify

that in the class, the students don't use or they use

very little the computer sciences tools. Of the ones

that use, the word processor and the CD-ROM

encyclopedias, surprisingly, the two categories most

used by the teachers, are the most frequent.

The teachers have been verifying equally, that

their students, at home, very rarely or they never use

computer sciences tools in the support to the study.

When they make it, a small number of students use

the same categories of the classroom (word

processor and CD-ROM encyclopedias).

ICEIS 2004 - SOFTWARE AGENTS AND INTERNET COMPUTING

200

8 CONCLUSIONS

The teacher today, no longer is the source of whole

knowledge, the master that the student appealed

whenever he had doubts. For the easiness access to

great amounts of information, he carries out now, a

guiding paper of knowledge’s that guide the students

in the research and learning of those matters.

To value to the maximum the human potential,

the teacher goes through all resources at your

disposal, he doesn't stop being a teacher if someone

remove him the pencil, he teaches starting from a

white leaf, with a projector, some transparencies,

with photocopies, with videos, televisions and even

with computers. If these goes, indeed, the resources

that can contribute to increase the motivation and

their students' success, the teacher cannot leave of

using because it is not his area, because he doesn't

know, he doesn't have time or for any other reason,

without before, have worried in trying, practice,

investigate and learn.

Of the made study, it can be ended, relatively to

the teacher's profile, that the more time elapsed,

since the conclusion of their studies (academic

study’s), minor were the contacts with the

computers, more difficulties and motivation they sit

down in his use and learning, avoiding to participate

and elaborate works that involve computer sciences

tools, even considering them very important.

Most of them, considers of notable importance,

know how to use the computer correctly and

consequently the available computer sciences tools,

in the teaching. They agree that her correct use may

contribute to capture and to motivate their students

more easily, but in reality, they stay waiting that the

government given them institutionalized formation,

that they put at disposition informatics resources.

When the formation doesn't exist, they don't seek

her, either they make a serious effort in the auto-

formation as alternative, for they development or

update.

As consequence of a deficient technological

formation by the teachers, a scarce or null use of the

computer and of the computer sciences tools is

verified in the preparation, elaboration and

exhibition of their didactic contents, at the same

time, that they forget to motivate their students to

use them, because then, appear, certainly, doubts and

uncertainties that can remove him, teacher, of the

center of whole knowledge.

Happily, we verified that the teachers, that in his

initial formation, that by auto-formation or by

institutionalized formation, they had learning and

use of the computer, they serve from lever to the

other ones. The computer begins to be seen, for

most, as one more resource at teacher's disposal and

don't like a “contestant”, start to be faced as a work

tool, that it is used to reach an end and not the end in

itself.

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