Floriano, Sônia I.
Guarezi, Rita de Cássia M.
Rodrigues, Mônica
Schuelter, Giovana
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Instituto de Estudos Avançados

THE COMMUNICATION IN THE LEARNING-TEACHING PROCESS FROM A DISTANCE: A CASE OF PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES AND THE BRAZILIAN SERVICE SUPPORTING ON MICRON AND SMALL COMPANIES

1. COMMUNICATION

The term communication comes from Latin: communis , common, giving a community idea. (ALMEIDA:1980). Accurately focused on community that a conception of Distance Education - DE, directed toward the independent and collaborative construction of the knowledge, and toward the interpersonalization of the process teach-learning, defends the communication as "part-key". In truth, it is fact that the communication process is essential for the human and necessary development for any educative process, either actual or from a distance.

As Wikipedia (2006), the communication human being is a process that involves the exchange of information and uses the symbolic systems as support and that three types of communication exist basically:

 

1.1 Verbal communication

- Express message by means of the languages said or writing. In the picture, to follow, it is presented difference between if using adequate a verbal communication or not.

 

Verbal Communication
Adequate	Inadequate
- Vocabulary to the level of the interlocutor - Short Phrases - Clear and varied Punctuation - Joint of ideas - Definition of concepts - Fluency and rhythm.	-Confused Ideas -Lack of vocabulary -Grammatical Incorrection -Slangs (ok,yeap, got it) -Codification for one only sub-group -Lack of dialogue -Prolixity -Common Words

Picture 1: Verbal Communication Source: WIKIPEDIA, 2006, 2.

 

1.2 Non-Verbal communication

- Express message by means of the corporal language (gestures, emotion, images, color, and position). The picture below brings information on the adequate and inadequate form of if using the not-verbal communication.

 

Non-Verbal Communication
Adequate	Inadequate
- High degree of motivation - Mobility of the head and face - Eye in the eye of all – rich gestures - Voice graduated to the environment -Use of audiovisuals resources (color, sound, image) – right signs (corporal position, to walk, clothes, colors, hairdo and adornments) – able to get emotions	- face Immobility - To look at in the emptiness - Lack of gestures - banal or pornographic gestures - Dissonance between gestures and words - rocking Position - Crutches (objects in the hand, to support itself in something) – bad habits (to absorb tooth, to twist the hands, to bite the lips)

Picture 2: Non-Verbal communication Source: WIKIPEDIA, 2006 3.

 

1.3 Factual Communication

- Express message for the behavior, the action, the exemplifications and the capacity to take decision. The picture below brings information on the adequate and inadequate form of if using of the factual communication.

 

Factual communication
Adequate	Inadequate
- Exchange of position (to place itself in the place of the interlocutor) Communication in charge - (what!? When? Who? Etc.) - To know to make well what it is justified - To be determined and practical in the action proposals - Co-to participate (examples) - To distribute the power calling the responsibility for all.	- Just say words without arriving the proposals and plans - not to promise nothing for not committing itself - To forbear in one difficult hour - descontextualized Information

Picture 3: Factual Communication Source: WIKIPEDIA, 2006.

 

It is also a consensus that the study of the communication is ample and its application is still bigger. As the Wikipedia (2006):

For the Semiotics, the act to communicate is the materialization of the thought/feeling in signs known for the involved parts. These symbols then are transmitted and reinterpreted by the receiver. Today, it is interesting to also think about new processes of communication, that enclose the collaborative nets and the hybrid systems, that combine communication of mass and personal communication and horizontal communication.

In this direction it fits to point out that the generation contemporary uses each time more the audiovisual language to communicate itself (BABIN, 1989). Therefore, this article defends that the communication process has that to occur by means of a dialogical and horizontal relation. Therefore, as it emphasized Paulo Freire (1986, p 47), "without dialogue communication does not exist and without communication the true education does not exist."

 

2. THE COMMUNICATION IN DISTANCE EDUCATION

The communication process always was a aspect that excited a great degree of concern of many theoreticians of the conventional education. In the DE this concern if becomes still more pressing, therefore all the involved ones meet separate in the time and the space, where practically all the communication occurs of mediatizated form.

The new technologies of information and communication - TICs, in special the Internet, allows, in normal conditions, a fast and personalized communication, aspect that during years worried to all the ones that work with this modality of education. This easiness made with that in the distance physical it was not plus a main characteristic of the DE, therefore the TICs allows synchronous and asynchronous communication among all.

The focus of the interest is observed that if before the concern was with the efficiency of the communication process, currently is the effectiveness. The guarantee is understood here for efficiency of the communication of that same complete the its course, or either, the message arrives inside at the receiver of the foreseen stated period. Therefore, before, depending on the distance and the localization where the student if found, a message took days or weeks to be received. If these messages were clarifying some doubt, or passing some orientation, or information, many times its objective was not reached, therefore it arrived very late! The student already could be at one another moment of its learning or even though given up.

Already the effectiveness of the communication process is centered in the guarantee of the agreement of the message, in the concretion of the objective of the message. Thus, with the use of the Internet, the focus of the attention it started to be another one. Now it is not enough only to answer doubts or to direct orientations quickly. The concern with the content, the form, the style and the language becomes necessary.

 

2.1 How to communicate

One of the goals of the EaD must be to favor the autonomy of studies and the collaborative construction of the knowledge, by means of a significant learning. In, meanwhile, this is only possible for way a proposal pedagogical adequate and of efficient strategies of communication. Considering that the students are separate in the time and the space, the importance of a good communication becomes a prerogative of the process long-distance teach-learning. Since practically all the communication is mediatizated and the used language is predominantly the writing.

However, to plan and to carry through communication strategies that favor the autonomy are not an easy task, exist of the institutions search, analysis and planning permanently. For Holmberg (1985), the interpersonal communication is basic for the interpersonalization of the process teach-learning originating lower rate of desistence and better quality of the learning.

This author affirms, still, that the autonomy must be stimulated by means of opened systems, adapted to the individual rhythm of the students, having as base of the process teach-learning the "guided didactic communication of gone and mediatizated return".

According to Holmberg (1985), the "guided didactic communication of gone and mediatizated return" are the propeller spring of all the process of learning of long-distance students e, in part, responsible for the development of the autonomy. Therefore, the communication must all be present during the course on a personalized form (for the student to feel motivated). This communication has three main purposes:

1. To support the motivation and the interest of the students.
2. To support, to guide and to facilitate the learning of the student knowing that this can apply the knowledge, explanations and suggestions.
3. To follow and all analyzes the progress of the students and feedback the process.

But, how to turn a communicative action into guided didactic communication of double hand? This transformation occurs when:

1. To exist feeling in the personal relation between the students and the professors capable to promote the pleasure in the study and the motivation of the student.
2. The feeling can be fomented by means of together auto-instruction to one adjusted gone communication of and comes back.
3. The intellectual pleasure and the motivation of the study to contribute for reaching the learning objectives.
4. The atmosphere, the language and the conventions conversational are friendly and favor the feeling of that a personal relation exists.
5. The messages sent and received in dialogue form are pertinent, clear, and objective and that they take care of the necessity of the student.

Also this care with the process of communication in DE can be observed in Pérez (1996). The author affirms that to obtain one adequate communication is necessary to leave of a significant communication, remembering that a sign can have distinct meanings for one and for another one.

For the semiology the signs are constructions human beings and only can be understood in terms of the uses that the people give they. For Saussure (2001), the signs if relate with the reality only through the concepts of the people who use it.

In this sense Peréz says that if the communication in the DE requires a dialogical relation then, the used ways must provide this dialogic. It is understood of this form, because all process of communication requires the personalization, either for the didactic material, either for the tools of interaction between the professor and the students.

2.2 Communication Frequency

The frequency of the communication must be in accordance with vary the characteristics, objectives and duration of the course, the yearnings, degree of difficulty and performance of the students in the course.

Moreover, it must constantly be negotiated with the students during the entire course and planned again, therefore the communication has to motivate them to remain studying it. At last, it cannot have excess and nor scarcity.

Prieto and Gutierrez in 1994 already alerted that tutorial in intention to guarantee an effective process of communication with the students, sent messages without having conscience or clarity if they at that moment were useful. This means to say that, to sin for excess it becomes so desmotivante how much to sin for scarcity.

Through researches of Holmberg and Baath (1992) had evidenced that it is the quality of the communication that contributes for the learning of the students and not it amount, as many institutions thought. This wants to say that we must prioritize the quality of our messages in detriment of the amount.

 

2.3 Essential Aspects in Distance Education

Holmberg (1985) emphasizes that assure an efficient and efficient communication process, it is necessary to take in consideration aspects central offices. One describes on each one of these aspects to follow:

1. To know the students - to analyze the profile - is important to know the possible maximum on the social antecedents and educational, its incentives and motivations, which are the objective expectations and with the course. This wants to say that, to be able to establish an efficient communication we need to know: what to write, When to write and as to write, is necessary to know: for who I am writing, or either, necessary to know who they are the students, which its interests, its concerns, its difficulties, which are the capacities or the knowledge that if wait to develop e, therefore, as to conceive a strategy of adequate communication its demands, its necessities and to its purpose.

2. Defining the objectives - already being had knowledge of the potential and the difficulties of the students and its goals of studies. All the type of communication must be adapted to the real necessities of the same ones. Each sent orientation must have a clear purpose, specifying the persistence level that the student must have and which the objectives that the students will have that to reach to the end of each stage of study and what the same ones must have learned in the end of the course. At last, we cannot direct messages without having an objective clearly, and certainty of that will be contributing for the student learning

3. Which the type of learning - a significant learning must be prioritized that favors the autonomy of the students. In this direction, in the process of communication, instead of presenting ready answers and absolute truths, it must be stimulated the students to take off its proper conclusions. Always followed by a feedback communication.

4. To observe the language and style - the essential language is part for the communication of a message. The written language must obey three dimensions:

a. Simplicity of the structure of the conjunct and vocabulary, or either, to use a language standard to the level of formation of the students, in case that it is necessary to use terms technician, these must be followed of its meanings.

b. Structure and concision.

c. Brevity, relevance and additional stimulation, with affirmative expressions and prenames.

In order to create a didactic conversational atmosphere guided giving opportunities to one real communication of and its feedback. So that to stimulate the reflection instead of memorization. (HOLMBERG, 1985).

Independently of the type of communication, the language must be clear the sufficient so that the student understands the message with easiness. Therefore, the DE must be characterized by an interpersonal communication; therefore the interlocutors are separate in the time and the space. Because of that, it is necessary to recreate a bond enters the process teach-learning by means of the interpersonal communication didactically dialogued.

5. To contemplate the esthetic - Another aspect of extreme importance is the esthetic form of the message. It is necessary to have well-taken care of with presentation of the messages, therefore a well formatted message stimulates the student to read and facilitates the understanding.

At last, one believes the communication processes will be consistent; the students get greater motivation and create emotional defenses that allow them to get greater success in the learning.

 

3. COMMUNICATION IN THE COURSE “INITIATING A SMALL GREAT BUSINESS” - IPGN

From now on it will be reported the results of a course carried through in a partnership between the Institute of Advanced Studies - IEA and the Brazilian Service of Support to the Micron and Small Companies - SEBRAE, named Initiating a Small Great Business - IPGN.

These two institutions, guided for the presented principles of communication previously, had jointly developed a virtual environment of learning and management; pedagogical strategies; transposition of the content and the dynamic of learning based on the guided didactic communication with a feedback.

One of the premises considered in IPGN planning course was to take care of to a great number of people, however of personalized form. It was not simply intended to offer a course for a great population contingent, but, above all, to propitiate an educational environment that facilitated to the students the elaboration, rework and construction of new knowledge.

Offered gratuitously in a wide scale to all the states of the federacy, since 2001, the IPGN was drawn to take care of a clientele with graduation from incomplete average education and that it has basic knowledge of computation and navigation in Internet. However today it takes care of to the different levels of education, especially university students.

Until the moment, they are 236,445 students, of these had been certified 157,045, what it means a tax average of 66,41% conclusion. To each year, 40 a thousand new entrepreneurs are taken care of by the course divided in groups of 200 students each one. The IPGN is currently the biggest opened, gratuitous program, of enterprising formation saw Internet of all Latin America .

Counting with a course load equivalent to 30 hours on period for accomplishment of two months, the objective course is to instrument the participants for planning a new enterprise and to make to reflect them on its enterprising capacity. It is composed by five modules: Enterprising profile, Identifying business-oriented Chances, Analysis of Market, Conception of the Products and Services and Financial Analysis. Besides the business-oriented elaboration that is composed by the 5 modules.

3.1 The IPGN Communicative Process

The IEA and SEBRAE believe that a key-factor for the good development of courses in the distance education is related directly to the process of communication established between the involved agents. Therefore, as affirms Martins and Polak (2001, p. 22), actions of DE just are established if it will not have distance between the involved agents. The "non-distance" is related to the established communicative process between the pairs, or either, the permanent dialogue in the search of construction of meanings in such a way of synchronous form as asynchronous.

Researches of authors in that area, as Alonso, Preti and Neder (apud MARTINS and POLAK, 2001) demonstrates that the didactically adequate use of the new technologies of communication and information supported in a proposal pedagogical cognitive and partner-critical is breaking the paradigm of physical distance between the involved agents, whom if the main characteristic of the DE conceives as, which was enclosed to the own name.

It is fact that the interactive technologies had brought for the DE the possibility to dilute the distances of time and space.

Corroborating with these authors, the communicative process in this course was planned to understand two main moments: pedagogical materials and communication between tutors/students, and students/students The efficiency and effectiveness of the materials and the form as the students are guided and taken care of for the institution they are evidenced by the index of conclusion in the courses and by the degree of approval diagnosis for the satisfaction research.

The entire content was elaborated having as base a significant learning by means of the guided didactic communication of and feedback, that is why the professor was explaining the same content in classroom, therefore, the author talks with the student, makes questions, suggests reflection, considers analysis of situations problems, cases, activities, games, simulation and examples.

For that, the starting point is profile of the pupils, the nature and the objectives of the course. The positive result can be visualized by the research of satisfaction in 2006, where 100% (one hundred percent) of the respondents had affirmed that the content was pertinent, with adjusted language, contributing for the learning. Of this percentage 99% (ninety and nine percent) considered excellent and good.

 

Figure 1: Language used in the content

Source: Internal research of Satisfaction, 2006.

 

The communicative process between institution/tutor-student, student - student occurs by means of chat, forum, mural, doubts solving, e-mail and telephone. The initial planning of the communicative process is focused on five aspects ranked by Holmberg and presented previously: profile analysis; definition of the objectives; the type of learning; the language, style, esthetic form and.

First aspect - profile analysis: The actions of communication initially are structuralized in accordance with similarities as: he wants to receive support and orientation from the tutor; he prefers to study alone instead of with a tutor; he likes to socialize its knowledge with the colleagues; he likes to receive message from motivation; what he likes to make in the free hours; he works and it studies or alone he works; or still only his studies; if he has knowledge in the thematic one of the course. Such data are informed by the own students at the moment of the school registration. To facilitate to the actions the IEA it counts with the aid of filters carried through inside of the virtual environment of learning to form the groups of students. Having this assured aspect the second action of the tutor is to plan the messages in accordance with the necessities of the students and objectives of the course.

Second aspect - Definition of the objectives of a communicative action: the guardianship plans the communicative actions aiming to take care of to the necessities and yearnings of the students, the characteristics and nature of the course. After having contemplated plus this aspect the following step is to plan the strategies in accordance with significant a collaborative learning that stimulates the autonomy of the students.

Third aspect - Type of learning: about this aspect, the tutor plans actions directed the collaborative construction of the knowledge, by means of situation-problem analysis, success cases, reflection on proper the practical professional and staff, the utilization of a to for debates and chat. The argued subjects are determined for the proper students by means of research for the tool enquiry. With this aspect also contemplated, the tutor observes the language and the style of the directed messages, in the debates and forum and in the answers the doubts of the students.

Fourth aspect - Language and style: all the communicative actions are structures in form of dialogue with personal prenames to establish an affective tie between the tutor and the students, coming closer to a verbal communication, with clear and objective orientations. With a vocabulary standardized for the student's area and the terms technician as well as foreigners are followed by its respective meanings. Clear and short phrases showing that the student advanced in the course and pointing the advantages of it to continue continuing in the studies, with an affirmative expression stimulating the construction of the knowledge and the interpersonal communication.

Fifth aspect - Forma/esthetic: The final consideration about the communicative actions is related to the harmonious aspect between the esthetic form and of the message. This care is based on the type of letter, size and adjusted color, amount of information and distribution of the text. Thus, as the concern in using illustrations, images and gifs that they complement the information. During the course the communicative process is planned again also considering the level of development of the students. Since the tutor see all the learning process of the students by tools of the virtual learning environment.

Through this accompaniment, each tutor establishes strategies of communication personalized with the 200 students under his responsibility. By the analysis of the contributions in the forum debates and chat and of the several activities carried through for the students, the tutor makes the diagnosis of the main necessities and difficulties of the students, relates to the other information already previously and plan new orienting actions and of support in accordance with the specificities of each one. The result of this process with the style of language in dialogue form assures the personalization of the process of communication and the process teaching/learning from a distance. The personalization stimulates the affective tie between tutors and students and consequently the students motivate themselves to conclude the course successfully to it.

The effectiveness of this communicative process is confirmed when 100% (one hundred percent) of the respondents approve the form as the tutor communicates with them. Of this percentage 99% (ninety and nine percent) it considered excellent and good. For 85,17% (eighty and five, seventeen percent) of the respondents had affirmed that the form as the tutor communicates for the tools like e-mails, bulletin board, doubts solving and telephone motivate to conclude them to it the course and stimulate a knowledge collaborative construction of tools like forum and chat. (Research of Internal Satisfaction, 2006).

 

Figure 1: Research satisfaction - Communication between the tutor and the students.

Source: Internal research of Satisfaction, 2006.

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