Maria José Fonseca’s PhD defense takes place on the 25th February, at 2:00 p.m., in Sala de Atos Académicos, with the topic PROPOSAL OF AN INFOCOMMUNICATIONAL SERVICES MODEL FOR THE SCHOOL LIBRARY | PROPOSTA DE UM MODELO DE SERVIÇOS INFOCOMUNICACIONAIS PARA A BIBLIOTECA ESCOLAR.
Maria José Fonseca is a student of the PhD programme in Information and Communication in Digital Platforms and her supervisor is Óscar Mealha (DigiMedia, UA).
DigiMedia members are invited to participate in this important moment.
Abstract:
In the light of the infocommunication paradigm, it is considered necessary to act; enhancing safer, contextualized, and timely changes, where the school library as a phygital space (physical +digital) assumes a central and updated role in the educational ecosystem.
A research process, user-supported, was developed (identification of the User eXperience, UX, mediated by the smartphone) within a qualitative approach and based on a dominant epistemological theoretical assumption, i.e., constructivism, but on a postmodern basis, highlighting the role of the individual, particularly given their singularities for a common good in contemporary society.
Supported by the Case Study, the methodological approach is of a flexible nature, iterative and qualitative, guided by the Design-Based Research, allowing the constant refinement of knowledge, between discovery and accomplishment. The study leading to the final proposal of a smartphone-mediated infocommunication model is supported by the literature review through bibliographic research and, a case study, in which the researcher has a close relationship with the context. It includes as technical procedures the participant observation, present across the whole process, online questionnaires applied with human mediation, allowing to know the procedures of use in smartphone inside and outside the educational ecosystem, and semi-structured interviews considering the interests and needs of the different stakeholders within the educational ecosystem. The investigation takes place in the natural environment, the school library, with an intended sample of 236 participants, students from the 5th, 7th, and 9th grades, teachers, and families, of the Head School of the Agrupamento de Escolas D. Maria II in Vila Nova de Famalicão, intending to understand this case, this situation, in this context and in different infocommunication situations.
The results show that the identified features indicate an infocommunication model that promotes more intuitive, fast, attractive, and rewarding learning environments, that can allow interaction with different “actors” inside and outside the school, in a concept of just in time, anytime and anywhere, in this case, through smartphones. It is expected that this authentic study will contribute both to the area of information and communication and education, preparing the context for new learning and leading to the adoption of these practices mediated by personal mobile devices.
More information available HERE