Due to her academic and professional experience, Renata Frade, DigiMedia PhD student, was invited to become a <A+> Alliance for inclusive algorithms member. It’s one of the biggest and most important tech feminism associations in the world.

<A+> Alliance leads global strategic advocacy, and thought leadership for feminist AI to actively correct for the real life biases and barriers that prevent women and girls from achieving full participation and equal enjoyment of rights, advocating for a humanist feminist AI, inclusion, gender equality and women’s rights.

In 2020 the <A+> Alliance was a Fast Company 2020 World Changing Idea in AI & Data and  nominated for a WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society) Award for International & Regional Cooperation.  In 2021, the <A+> Alliance was selected for the Paris Peace Forum as an example of a  new global governance.

https://aplusalliance.org/member/renata-frade/

Within the 5th Cientificamente Provável program, 95 students from 9 to 19 years old (from 5th and 12th grade), from Agrupamento de Escolas de Aveiro and Escola Secundária da Gafanha da Nazaré, developed several activities framed by ongoing or concluded DigiMedia research projects. These activities took place at the Department of Communication and Art, from 7th to 9th of February, and involved several DigiMedia members and PhD Students: Maria Ferreira, Liliana Vale Costa, Mónica Aresta, Patrícia Oliveira, Telmo Silva, Cátia Silva, Pedro Reisinho, Cláudia Ortet, Raquel Cabral e Francisca Lourenço.

5th grade students developed activities related to the projects Gamers4Nature and FlavourGame and experienced PresenceVR. Secondary school students developed 3 activities: Playmutation, PresenceVR and Immersive Web Environments. Additionally to this, the students involved in the school newspaper developed activities related to the project TRUE.

The Cientificamente Provável program aims to promote and stimulate the development of concrete actions that allow, among other modalities:

a) the displacement of scientists and researchers to schools;

b) the displacement of students to research centers;

c) the promotion of activities related to science, in all its domains, carried out by researchers, namely through visits and projects monitored and validated by research centers;

d) the participation of students in research center projects;

e) the promotion of scientific dissemination.

The Playmutation activity aimed to develop digital games to learn about viral infections, deepening skills in game design and development as well as health education.

In the PresenceVR, students were invited to explore four genres of content – game, simulation, virtual environment and a 360º video – using Meta Quest 2 virtual reality glasses, in order to  understand whether the genre of content presented in virtual reality is a factor that influences the sense of presence.

TRUE is a support platform for building digital school newspapers. Teachers and students from both schools participated in this activity, as well as students from the Moliceiro newspaper club, learning how to build, mediate and publish news in the online newspaper.

In the Immersive Web Environments activity, students were invited to enter an immersive classroom that contains several resources, in this specific case, about José Saramago and his work Memorial do Convento. Represented by avatars, students interacted with each other, with teachers and with 3D objects displayed in the environment.

Within Gamers4nature, students learned to program in Scratch and developed fun and educational games on the theme of combating microplastics on our planet.

As for FlavourQuest, students had the opportunity to play a hybrid serious game (which combines a digital component with a board game).

A local Global Game Jam® (GGJ) event took place at the Departament of Communication and Art/University of Aveiro from the 3rd to the 5th of February 2023. Laptops, auxiliary monitors, wireless network, sleeping bags, snacks, fruit, tea and lots of coffee are some of the essentials for the game creation marathon.

More than 20 participants coming from all over the country developed 6 games in 48 hours.

Several DigiMedia members and PhD Students were involved in the event: Mário Vairinhos, Mónica Aresta, Silvino Martins, Tânia Ribeiro, José Nunes, Pedro Reisinho and Cátia Silva. The Mestrado em Desenvolvimento de Jogos Digitais supported the event.

The University of Aveiro (UA), through the Department of Communication and Art (DeCA) and the Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics (DETI), is organizing a local Global Game Jam® (GGJ) event from the 3rd to the 5th of February 2023.

The Global Game Jam® is the world’s largest game creation event, taking place simultaneously in multiple physical locations around the world in 113 countries.

For the sixth time at the University of Aveiro, more than a hundred creative and innovative university students are expected to meet, who during the 48 hours of the event will develop team games.

Before the presentation of the theme, participants will have the opportunity to participate in a “crash course” of Blender 3D, and learn more about “how to survive a Game Jam”.

Registration for participation in the event is open until February 2nd and can be done using the form.

Carla V. Leite as Invited Researcher at UTU, Finland

Carla V. Leite is a PhD candidate from the Doctoral Programme in Multimedia in Education from the University of Aveiro, and DigiMedia Member. She arrived at Turku a few weeks ago, and will stay for 4 months as Invited Researcher and part of Connected Health UTU Research Programme, from the Nursing Sciences Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, Finland.

The Programme focuses on Health Promotion, Care and Literacy with the support of Smart Technologies. It has a wide range of collaborations with Health Care Organisations, Enterprises, Research Groups and Universities all over the world.

Carla has Hannakaisa Niela-Vilen as her advisor, and they will work along with Researchers and Professors of Midwifery and Future Technologies fields, in order to further develop her doctoral research: “Digital media supporting informed decision-making regarding childbirth preferences”, which is supervised by Rita Oliveira and Catarina Lélis, both DigiMedia Members. This experience will also allow Carla to apply for the European Doctorate title upon concluding her studies later this year (expected).

Meanwhile, Carla created a proof of concept of a digital tool for the Portuguese population, and she is inviting all women to participate on its evaluation, so future developments can be provided. It takes 15min and she promises some free knowledge following WHO recommendations for a positive birth experience:

https://forms.ua.pt/index.php?r=survey/index&sid=191436&lang=pt

This research was approved by the Ethics and Deontology Committee (67-CED/20022) and by the Data Protection Officer (GDPR 30/11/22), both from the University of Aveiro.

Ana Raquel Carvalhos’s PhD defense takes place on the 6th February, at 2:30 p.m., in Sala de Atos Académicos, Edifício Central e da Reitoria from the University of Aveiro, with the topic Peer mentoring and its impact on peer mentors’ learning process based on participation in a technology-enhanced model | A mentoria entre pares e o seu impacte no processo de aprendizagem de alunos mentores em modelo mediado pelas tecnologias digitais.

Ana Raquel Carvalho is a student of the PhD programme in Multimedia in Education and her supervisor is Carlos Santos (DigiMedia, UA).

DigiMedia members are invited to participate in this important moment.

ABSTRACT: Teaching and learning in the 21st century implies that a new paradigm concerning the relationship between human beings and knowledge is considered, which translates into a greater appreciation of the instrumental nature of knowledge, as well as the development of technical and soft skills in such diverse areas as metacognition, humanistic and fundamental knowledge. As a social constructivist pedagogical approach, peer mentoring brings together differentiating characteristics, praised in the literature for their relevance in terms of contributions to formal education contexts, namely a holistic view of the teaching and learning process, the assignment of new roles to students and teachers, the promotion of student -centred learning strategies that facilitate collaborative work and knowledge sharing, as well as new forms of interaction and an active, autonomous and responsible participation of students throughout the process of knowledge co – construction. However, according to the literature more evidence is needed as for the conditions under which peer mentoring approaches are particularly effective in terms of their positive impact on students’ academic performance, especially on student mentors’, with particular emphasis on the stimulation of deeper learning levels resulting from the development of metacognitive skills in non -tertiary education. The present thesis, implemented within the methodological approach of Educational Design Research, aims to provide evidence of the effectiveness of a peer mentoring programme prototype, developed based on the inclusion of complementary pedagogical strategies, such as challenge and project -based learning and the mediation of digital technologies, in the learning of English (foreign language, LE), within the scope of upper and lower secondary education. The study, implemented in three basic and secondary school clusters, in the 2020/2021 academic year, involved 47 student mentors, 72 mentees and 7 English (LE) teachers , and included the use of mixed data analysis methods, namely descriptive and inferential statistics and content analysis. The aim was, therefore, to assess the impact of student mentors’ participation in this programme on aspects of the cognitive, affective and social dimensions, namely the development of metacognitive skills, motivation for learning and collaboration and communication skills, as well as to assess the role of digital technologies in the implementation of the prototype. According to the study results, it was concluded that the participation in the peer mentoring programme had a positive and significant impact on the development of student mentors’ metacognitive and collaborative and communication skills and that the role of digital technologies was fundamental, both to the promotion of the competence areas: “interaction” and “sharing through digital technologies” (in the context of collaborative and communication skills), and to the immersive and innovative nature of the learning situations provided. Thus, in the light of the four general quality criteria for educational interventions, namely relevance, consistency, practicality and effectiveness, and of the purpose of this thesis, the prototype developed proved to be relevant, appropriate and efficient. The contributions of the thesis to the area of Multimedia in Education shall be extended to the theoretical, methodological and pedagogical spheres, and are expected to be valid both for the dissemination of peer mentoring in the educational and academic environments and for supporting decision -making at the level of educational policies in basic and secondary education, considering the option for this pedagogical approach and the provision of guidelines for its effective deployment.  

Keywords: peer mentoring, digital technologies, challenge-based learning, project- based learning, English teaching and learning, basic and secondary education.

RESUMO: Ensinar e aprender no séc. XXI implica atender a um novo paradigma relativo à relação do ser humano com o conhecimento, traduzível numa maior valorização do caráter instrumental desse conhecimento, assim como do desenvolvimento de competências técnicas e transversais em âmbitos tão amplos como os do metaconhecimento, conhecimento humanístico e fundamental. A mentoria entre pares congrega, enquanto abordagem pedagógica de cariz socioconstrutivista, características diferenciadoras, exaltadas na literatura pela pertinência ao nível dos contributos trazidos para contextos de educação formal, nomeadamente pela visão holística do processo de ensino e aprendizagem, pela atribuição de novos papéis a alunos e professores, pela promoção de estratégias centradas no aluno e facilitadoras do trabalho colaborativo e da partilha de conhecimento, assim como de novas formas de interação e de uma participação ativa, autónoma e responsável dos estudantes ao longo do processo de coconstrução de conhecimento. Contudo, é também reportada na literatura a necessidade de se reunir mais evidências acerca das condições em que abordagens na área da mentoria entre pares são particularmente eficazes, ao nível do impacte positivo no desempenho académico dos alunos, sobretudo nos mentores, com particular destaque para o estímulo de níveis de aprendizagem mais profundos, decorrentes do desenvolvimento de competências metacognitivas, em níveis de ensino não superior. A presente tese, implementada no âmbito da abordagem metodológica Educational Design Research, visa, desta forma, trazer evidências acerca da eficácia de um protótipo de programa de mentoria entre pares, desenvolvido tendo por base a inclusão de estratégias pedagógicas complementares, como a aprendizagem por desafio e por projeto e a mediação das tecnologias digitais, no âmbito da aprendizagem de Inglês (língua estrangeira, LE), em níveis de ensino básico e secundário. O estudo, implementado em três Agrupamentos de escola básica e secundária, no ano letivo 2020/2021, envolveu 47 alunos mentores, 72 alunos mentorandos e 7 professores de Inglês (LE) e implicou o recurso a métodos mistos de análise de dados, nomeadamente, a estatística descritiva e inferencial e a análise de conteúdo. Pretendeu-se, assim, aferir o impacte da participação no referido programa, nos alunos mentores, relativamente a aspetos das dimensões cognitiva, afetiva e social, nomeadamente o desenvolvimento de competências metacognitivas, da motivação para a aprendizagem e de competências de colaboração e comunicação, assim como avaliar o papel das tecnologias digitais na implementação do protótipo. De acordo com os resultados obtidos, concluiu-se que a participação no programa de mentoria teve um impacte positivo e significativo no desenvolvimento de competências metacognitivas e de colaboração e comunicação dos mentores e que o papel das tecnologias digitais foi determinante, tanto na promoção das áreas de competência “interação” e “partilha através das tecnologias digitais” (no âmbito das competências de colaboração e comunicação), como do caráter imersivo e inovador das situações de aprendizagem proporcionadas. Comprovou-se, assim, que à luz dos quatro critérios gerais de qualidade das intervenções educativas, nomeadamente, a relevância, consistência, praticabilidade e eficácia, e dos propósitos desta tese, o protótipo desenvolvido revelou pertinência, adequabilidade e eficiência. Os contributos da tese para a área de Multimédia em Educação são extensíveis aos âmbitos teórico, metodológico e pedagógico, esperando-se que sejam válidos tanto para a disseminação da mentoria entre pares nos meios educativo e académico como para a tomada de decisões ao nível de políticas educativas no ensino básico e secundário, que consagrem a opção por esta abordagem pedagógica e a sistematização de orientações quanto a uma implementação eficaz da mesma.

Palavras-chave: mentoria entre pares, tecnologias digitais, aprendizagem por desafio, aprendizagem por projeto, ensino e aprendizagem de Inglês, ensino básico e secundário.

More information available HERE

The miOne online community (https://mione.altice.pt) was the main result of the SEDUCE 2.0 project (http://www.seduce.pt) led by the Department of Communication and Art of the University of Aveiro through the research center DigiMedia (https://digimedia.web.ua.pt) which also had partners from the University of Porto, the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu and also the Altice Foundation.

Seduce 2.0 is part of Newsletter 377 from COMPETE 2020 with voice of the Principal Investigator of the project, Ana Isabel Veloso (DigiMedia member).

The article in the Newsletter is available HERE

Links

Website da comunidade online miOne: https://mione.altice.pt

Website do projeto SEDUCE 2.0: http://www.seduce.pt

Vídeo demonstrativo da comunidade miOne: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkIa4dsjRA&t=14s

Within the scope of the Doctoral Program in Multimedia in Education at the University of Aveiro, the 1st Seminar on Emerging Topics in Multimedia in Education was held on January 14, 2023, under the theme “Pedagogical Innovation with Technologies”.

The event, under the responsibility of professors António Moreira, Carlos Santos and Luís Pedro, and organized by students of the 1st year of the Doctoral Program in Multimedia in Education, had the collaboration of CCTicUA and the support of the Altice Foundation.

The students’ work was developed around the challenge of integrating technologies into innovative pedagogical practices, potentially integrated with each student’s experience and practice. Among other topics, papers were presented that addressed topics as diverse as microcredentials, podcasts, artificial intelligence, video in augmented reality, chatbots, digital storytelling, flipped classroom, walk-to-talk, communities of practice and teacher professional development.

The event, held in a hybrid model, had more than 200 participants, and 175 accreditation certificates for teachers were requested.

The article Women in Tech Communities: challenges and risks by Renata Frade (DigiMedia PhD Student) was published in the JOURNAL ON INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS.

Abstract:

Citation:

FRADE, R. Women in Tech Communities: challenges and risks. Journal on Interactive Systems, Porto Alegre, RS, v. 13, n. 1, p. 375–385, 2022. DOI: 10.5753/jis.2022.2806. Disponível em: https://sol.sbc.org.br/journals/index.php/jis/article/view/2806.

Within the scope of the Doctoral Program in Multimedia in Education at the University of Aveiro, the 1st Seminar on Emerging Topics in Multimedia in Education will be held on January 14, 2023, under the theme “Pedagogical Innovation with Technologies”.

At a time when technologies assume a central role in our lives and when traditional models of education and training are questioned, pedagogical innovation using technologies can make a difference, providing more motivating and enriching learning environments.

This 1st Seminar will have the presence of the guest speaker Ana Rodrigues, from the Department of Education and Psychology at the UA, and with several communications by students of the Doctoral Program in Multimedia in Education, spread over three panels.

The event, under the responsibility of professors António Moreira, Carlos Santos (DigiMedia member) and Luís Pedro (DigiMedia member), and organized by students of the 1st year of the Doctoral Program in Multimedia in Education is accredited for the purpose of continuous training and has the collaboration of CCTicUA and the support of the Altice Foundation.

The event takes place in person at the CCCI Auditorium of the Department of Communication and Art of the University of Aveiro, but can also be followed online.

The (in)formal book launch of The Impact Plan: rethinking today, remaking tomorrow, designing a better world, by Catarina Lelis, is taking place on Wednesday, January 25th at 3:30 pm, at SALT (Space for Active Learning and Teaching), located on the lower floor of “Mediateca”, at the Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro.

The book proposes and elaborates on a method that aims at supporting a conscious reflection that should precede commitment to projects or challenges, whether these are academic (PBL, CBL, etc), entrepreneurial, professional or personal.

Under the great influence of Design Thinking practice, The Impact Plan helps individuals (and teams) go through potential contexts and influences in order to determine the impact that one or more challenges may have on their own experience as participants (in the short term), in their careers (in the medium term) and in humanity and/or the planet (in the long run).

Broken down into four main sections that follow The Hero’s Journey, the book begins by addressing the first contact that individuals have with challenges and opportunities, going through the most common adversities, presenting the support tools and their connection to the UN SDGs, to culminate in a reflection on what is expected from (and for) all of us in the future.

Going through the fundamentals of decision-making and speculative design, this text offers the reader a playful and relaxed structure to plan and prioritise projects based on foreseeing their impact.