Networked remote education for all: a low-cost virtual environment for vulnerable populations

• Grant number: 21/06846-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: January 01, 2022
• End date: December 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Computer Science - Computer Systems
• Agreement: MCTI/MC
• Principal Investigator: Flávia Linhalis
• Grantee: Flávia Linhalis
• Host Institution: Núcleo Interdisciplinar de Informática Aplicada à Educação (NIED). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: André Constantino da Silva ; Julio Cesar dos Reis
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/03202-5 - Development of accessible frontend in Angular for a VLE with offline features, BP.TT; 23/01296-2 - Distance education with virtual offline environment, BP.TT; 23/01179-6 - Angular frontend development for offline tools, BP.TT; + associated scholarships 23/01184-0 - Java Spring Boot backend development for tools with offline features, BP.TT; 22/11148-8 - Spring Boot Java backend development for a VLE with offline resources, BP.TT; 22/09514-6 - Development of accessible frontend in Angular for a VLE with offline features, BP.TT - associated scholarships

Abstract

The territorial extension of Brazil, combined with social differences, brings the great challenge of giving everyone opportunities to access technology and knowledge. The social isolation situation that we are experiencing has made these inequalities even more evident in various aspects - social, gender, and access to education and knowledge. How to bring education and learning for all? In Brazil, when we talk about remote education, we are referring to teaching that often takes place through the cell phone, using an intermittent network. With schools and universities closed, we can see that the right to study is unequal, that the lack of access to technology and the Internet can further aggravate the social differences existing in Brazil and other underdeveloped countries. It is a scenario that highlights the urgency to incorporate technologies that enable education and learning in a more egalitarian way. With scenarios where connectivity is not possible or limited, choosing platforms that enable offline work and study can make a difference to a significant audience. The objective of this research is to contribute to the design and development of an open source Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), to improve gaps identified in the literature regarding i) social issues related to inequalities of access and digital exclusion and ii) economic issues that arose with the high prices of electronic components and the widespread adoption of technological solutions, apparently free of charge. As a result, it is expected to have an VLE that can work offline or on intermittent networks and that can be installed on low-cost hardware. (AU)