We present a management and communication tool with the students, which will allow students to understand the needs of the students and respond to their questions in a quicker and more effective way.
ABSTRACT
Specific needs regarding the requests of the students that develop courses in this modality of Distance Education are continuous. However, the resolution of the difficulties presented by the students in this area with efficiency is fundamental for the proper progress of the activities. In view of this perspective, the Open University of Brazilian National Health System of the Federal University of Maranhão (UNASUS/UFMA) has sought to develop a management and communication tool with students, which will allow students to understand their needs and respond to their questions in a quicker and more effective way. The present work aims to present the Student Service Center (SSC), a system developed by the above mentioned institution, seeking to improve the interaction with the students.
INTRODUCTION
Among the various definitions of distance education in the literature, Bordenave (1986) emphasizes that it defines it as an organized proposal of the teaching-learning process, in which students of different ages and backgrounds study in groups or individually, at home, in workplaces or any other environment, using self-instructional materials produced in a teaching center, distributed through various means of communication.
Specific needs in relation to the requests of the students that develop courses in this modality of education are continuous, such as request for declaration, request of 2nd call, justification of absence in tests, among others. However, resolving these issues efficiently in this area of education is fundamental to the proper course of activities. In distance courses, this management must take place in a properly structured manner.
In view of this perspective, UNASUS/UFMA has sought to develop a management and communication tool with students, which will allow students to understand their needs and respond to their questions in a quicker and more effective way.
The present work aims to present the Student Service Center (SSC), a system developed by the above mentioned institution, seeking to improve the interaction with the students.
THEORETICAL FOUNDATION
Distance education is a form of education in which teachers and students meet in different places (Moore and KEARSLEY, 2008, CARLINI and TARCIA, 2010) "during all or most of the time they learn or teach" (MOORE and KEARSLEY, 2008, p.1). The acronym distance learning is used for both Distance Education and Distance Learning (BELLONI, 2009).
This teaching modality seeks to develop environments and methodologies that provide remote learning, through which one or more students can experience learning experiences in physically distinct places from where the instructional resources are located (NAKAYAMA and SILVEIRA, 2004).
The increasing incorporation of new information and communication technologies into the teaching - learning process has made this educational modality more extensive in the public and the audience, breaking cultural, language, geographical space, and time barriers, as much as it has been dynamizing the ways of teaching and learn, and to realize the necessary interactions between "learner / interface, learner / content, learner / learner, learner / learner" (Hoffman and Mackin, 1996).
The emerging mechanisms of interaction are fundamental for the generation of quality distance learning courses, demanding from the educators more than technological evolution, didactic-pedagogical practices necessary to this new learning environment.
It is important that managers and educators are attentive and aware of this constant evolution, committing themselves to the knowledge and the incorporation of this technological advance, seeking to reflect on pedagogical practices, promoting the breakdown of educational paradigms, with the insertion and use of new technologies , establishing connections between the participants of this whole educational process, and especially, in the concern to stimulate and to advance the best the student involvement and the integration of the technological culture to the educational environment (FRANÇA, 2010).
The consolidation of distance learning induces a (re) signification of educational paradigms, especially with regard to the conception of teaching and learning; the understanding of education as an open system; the construction of knowledge in network and as process; to the resizing of educational times / spaces as subjective construction; communication and autonomy of the subjects of educational action, etc. These transformations in the educational field also occur in management processes, which become more dynamic and complex. The creation of a differentiated management system (based on decentralized, horizontal, more integrated and flexible processes) becomes a challenge to current or future managers of distance learning programs (MILL, 2010).
STUDENT SUPPORT CENTER
The Student Service Center refers to a communication system that, through a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), it is possible for the student to clarify their doubts, as well as initiate a call with the Coordination. The doubt created by the student is sent directly to the responsible sector, because, when submitting their call, it is linked to a question, creating a kind of filter, automatically directing the questioning to the involved coordination. This system is a complement to the various other management systems of UNASUS/UFMA.
In sequence, the mechanisms of access to the product under discussion, as well as the different forms of visualization, are presented, depending on the type of user that will use the tool.
After logging in to this system, the user chooses the Attendance option to start using it.
Student Vision
The student accesses the address of the SSC, which provides a list of frequently asked questions, also known as FAQ, which is divided into categories. If the question in question is not answered, the student can open a request based on the question, being a kind of filter to guide the sectors.
Another option of SSC is that the FAQ is just a form of consultation, not generating the request through it. If the student wants to open a call, he / she initiates the request by clicking on the "new request" button, where he / she chooses the course (if included in more than one course in moodle) and also chooses the sector to be assigned the called.
Clerk's View
The respondent will view the requests for your sector, and the request can be assigned to more than one category to an industry when the CAA is being configured for the FAQ to originate the request. The administrator can also allocate one or more users to track the requests for that sector. Another interesting characteristic is that, if the request is not in agreement with that sector, the responsible one can give science to the most relevant sector.
TECHNICAL CONSIDERATION OF THE STUDENT SUPPORT CENTER
The system was developed using the PHP language with JQuery and JQuery UI. The database used is MySql.
CONCLUSION
The Student Service Center, developed by UFMA through UNASUS, has become an extremely necessary tool in the operationalization of the requests of the students of its courses. Among the advantages offered are the agility in communication among students and coordination, ease of solving doubts / pending issues identified by the students, immediate activation of the professionals of the institution directly involved with the callers, through automatic notifications, besides ensuring registration and enable protocols of requests.
It is believed, therefore, that this system makes positive contributions to educational institutions, given the numerous benefits generated, which will certainly reflect positively in the student's connection with the course.
REFERENCES
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