“EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS UNDER THE MAGNIFYING GLASS:

A comparative study between text – based distance education and virtual education”

Mgter. Martha EspíndolaCorrientes - Argentina

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To value the quality of educational

materials and its capacity to cause the

independent and flexible learning,

corresponding to the Special Plan of Degree

in Educational Sciences offered by the

Universidad de la Cuenca del Plata

METHODOLOGY

• Qualitative type• Documentary observation• Aspects of both types of materials:

– The present enunciative strategy– The curricular design– Selection, sequence and organization of

curricular contents– The type of route promoted by information– The prevailing implication from the reader

or the author

ASPECTS OF VIRTUAL MATERIALS

• Type of technological tools

• Their flexibility

• Type of management information

MAIN DATA

• Explicit authors and institutional framework• Implicit addressees• Complementary patterns• Explicit objectives• Subjects contextualized whithin the curricular plan• No motivating activities or indicators• Educational interactions based on written texts• Individual interactions with the content and information• No social activities or cooperative construction knowledge• Rigid route of learning• Greater implication of author / educator• No activities to determine previous knowledge• No activities to encourage self – steem or self – concept• Meaningful and functional contents for professional trainning

profile• Contents organized with separators / organizers

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PRINTED AND VIRTUAL MATERIALS

PRINTED MATERIALS VIRTUAL MATERIALS

Previous knowledge and the competences to develop not mentioned

Both types of information are mentioned

Conceptual and procedural contents included

Conceptual, prodecural and attitudinal contents included

No technological tools for communication

Technological tools widely used

CONCLUSIONS

• The structure and quality of the mediating supports in virtual education, such as: written, iconic, graphic, multimedia, technological, etc. are important

• Interaction and interactivity are essential

• Interaction and interactivity can be exploited by using ICT

• The virtual environment of the Career analized has these technological possibilities

HOWEVER …

• It can be concluded that these virtual materials have not been prepared exclusively to be used in the web

BECAUSE MOST OF THEM…• Propose educational interactions based on the

use of the discourse• Introduce the information through textual codes,

developing linear sequence of the information• Not use visual support with complementary

indicators, such as: multimedia elements, images, sounds, graphic, video, etc.

ALTHOUGH …

• It cannot be asserted that these proposals are accompanied the potentials the ICT offers

• It can be observed and emphasized the presence of meaningful and clear educational proposals

THIS IS CORRIENTES, LOCATED IN THE NORTHEAST OF ARGENTINA

CORRIENTES - ARGENTINA

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