Brazilian Journal of Computers in Education

AutiBots: Educational Digital Game for Cognitive and Motor Development of Children with Autism

Leandro Pereira Sampaio — 2025-01-09

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder, potentially affecting communication skills, cognitive abilities, social interactions, and presenting restricted and repetitive patterns. When diagnosed early, the chances of the individual receiving appropriate therapeutic and educational interventions increase. These interventions are essential for the child to stimulate and acquire new skills, including cognitive and motor development. In this context, and understanding that digital games can offer an interactive and playful platform as support for these interventions, this work describes the development of AutiBots, a three-dimensional game for Android mobile devices, mainly aimed at children on the autism spectrum. In the game, players assist robots in navigating paths with various challenges and obstacles, stimulating fine motor coordination, direction and laterality, visual perception, verbal and non-verbal language, logical reasoning, and executive functions (working memory, problem-solving, and attention). The game was developed following the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and the guidelines for developing serious games for learners with ASD, and validated through the adaptation of the MEEGA+ educational game evaluation model, allowing its application with professionals, educators, and families. During the validation process, 17 evaluations were obtained from technology professionals, and in a second stage, from 12 teachers, specialists, and parents of children with autism. The results highlight AutiBots as a potential tool to stimulate various cognitive skills, as respondents' perceptions of usability and the dimensions of learning, trust, satisfaction, fun, and relevance were well rated by both groups. Finally, when applying the MEEGA+ scale to the questionnaire responses, scores of 57.22 for the first group and 69.4 for the second were achieved, classifying it as a good and excellent quality game, respectively.

Flow Experience, Performance Expectation and Performance: An LGBTQ+ Diversity Perspective on Gamified Systems

Breno Felix de Sousa — 2025-04-27

Cis-heteronormative stereotypes in STEM fields are responsible for making minority groups like LGBTQ+ people feel like they don’t belong in these areas of science. To identify and analyze the effects of such stereotypes, we carried out a quasi-experiment with N = 70 participants in a gamified system. The results indicate that self-identified cis-heterosexual participants had better flow experiences in environments with stereotypes that disagreed with their sexual orientation. Regarding expected performance, stereotypes not aligned with sexual orientation were harmful. These results reflect the importance of developing socially inclusive educational technologies, with mechanisms that allow customization of the interface to avoid disadvantages of minority groups, and are also relevant to the scientific community as empirical evidence that sexual stereotypes must be taken into account. when designing gamified platforms to avoid negatively impacting individuals.

Analysis of Responses from LLMs Regarding Introductory Programming Content: A Comparative Study between ChatGPT and Gemini

Luiz Carlos Pereira Filho — 2025-07-09

Recently, Large Language Models for Natural Language Processing have stood out among current technologies. This technology has opened up a range of possibilities for use in various areas, including programming education, as these models can create program codes. Among these models, two are well-known: OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, both demonstrating abilities to create, correct, and explain programming codes in various languages. In a previous work, tests were conducted and the responses of ChatGPT were analyzed regarding introductory programming content from the perspective of beginners in the subject. This work extends the previous research and adds tests with Gemini, also concerning the same content. The goal is to determine whether these models are suitable for beginner programming students and whether they can be used for learning this content. As in the previous work, qualitative tests were conducted, in which some interactions with the model were made if the initial response was unsatisfactory, and quantitative tests, in which these interactions were not made. All tests were conducted on both ChatGPT and Gemini, and their responses were analyzed. Both showed potential to correctly respond to and explain generated codes, but there are caveats. The overall performance of the tested LLMs, in terms of correct responses, was ~78.2% for ChatGPT and ~69.6% for Gemini. Even with this potential to assist in the programming learning process, the responses generated by LLMs should not be considered entirely correct, demanding prior knowledge from those who use them to analyze and make use of them.

Evaluating ChatGPT’s ability to perform Natural Deduction proofs in Propositiona and Predicate Logic

Francisco Leonardo Batista Martins — 2025-05-02

Due to recent popularization of Large Language Models, such as ChatGPT, many studies have been conducted to explore the use of these tools to assist in the teaching and learning process. These systems have the ability to understand and process amounts of data, allowing them, for example, to provide individualized support to students in solving exercises. However, it is important to consider that these systems mostly have a reasoning process based on statistical methods, such as machine learning algorithms, which can hallucinate resulting in incorrect responses in tasks as logical reasoning. This paper aims to evaluate the ability of the ChatGPT in solving exercises of Natural Deduction in Propositional and Predicate Logic. In order to do so, we conduct experiments using a database of natural deduction exercises and the results confirm that the statistical reasoning process is still not adequate for perform logical reasoning, making ChatGPT, for now, unsuitable for this task.

Strategies and Approaches for Digital Inclusion in Interaction Codesign: a remote study with elderly women

Valéria Argôlo Rosa — 2025-05-03

Promoting digital inclusion in interaction codesign has the potential to increase the effective participation of older people in the development of digital technologies in a meaningful and conscious way. In this article, we present some strategies and approaches adopted to promote digital inclusion in an interaction codesign process with older women. In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, the study was conducted remotely with five older women. Among the strategies highlighted were the development of a list of competencies for digital literacy and digital literacy, as well as the development of a mapping of competencies for understanding interaction design. The results suggest that the strategies adopted were useful in helping the participants develop technological skills and interaction design knowledge, promoting digital inclusion and more effective participation in codesign activities. It is hoped that this study will encourage the implementation of digital inclusion practices in interaction codesign projects.

Development and Accessibility Automatic Assessment of ADA Blocks: A Virtual Assistant that Supports the Choice of Block Programming Tools

Ana Paula Juliana Perin — 2025-10-15

Currently, personalized learning is sought to encourage 21st Century skills and competencies in students, such as logical reasoning and computational thinking. Block programming can support this process. However, it was noticed that teachers, such as those in high school, have difficulties in choosing programming tools depending on their context of use. Therefore, the ADA Blocks virtual assistant was developed to assist teachers in choosing block programming tools. The ADA Blocks development methodology includes systematic mapping study, preliminary and feasibility studies, and accessibility automatic evaluation. As a result of the feasibility study, the usefulness, ease of use, and limitations of ADA Blocks were identified.
The automated accessibility assessment, performed with tools such as AccessMonitor and ASES, identified technical and content issues. Based on these findings, the assistant was improved, with adjustments such as hierarchical text organization and the insertion of textual references in images for assistive technologies ('alt' attribute). After the improvements, a new automatic evaluation showed a significant increase in accessibility scores, rising from 61.57% to 88.41% on ASES and from 5.2 to 6.9 on AccessMonitor. Finally, ADA Blocks demonstrated positive accessibility results in its new version.
This work fills a gap in the literature, being the first to evaluate the accessibility of virtual assistants for recommending block programming tools. Future prospects include evaluation with users with disabilities and experts, eventually identifying usability issues and refining the assistant based on user feedback.

Educational Data Mining and Active Methodologies integrated into a Recommendation System to prevent dropouts in Distance Education

Tiago Luís de Andrade — 2025-08-01

As Distance Education grows in popularity, the high dropout rate worries administrators and teachers, who seek ways to identify situations likely to give up and motivate students to remain in their studies. There are initiatives to mitigate this situation, such as the application of Educational Data Mining and the use of Recommendation Systems. Despite being effective in identifying students prone to dropout and indicating complementary learning materials, they lack mechanisms aimed at student motivation and pedagogical intervention by teachers, as they do not present methodological proposals to encourage the learning of those identified at risk of dropout, preventing this possibility. This article presents a Recommender System model that integrates the pedagogical strategy of Active Methodologies to mitigate the risks of failure and enhance the permanence of students identified through Educational Data Mining techniques as likely to dropout. In studies carried out in the literature, no evidence of this integration was found, with the development of the model being the main scientific contribution of this work. In this sense, a prototype was developed and applied in a discipline to evaluate functionality and acceptance. According to the TAM Model (Technology Acceptance Model), more than 90% of students agreed with the ease of use, and 88% agreed that the model could be helpful in the teaching and learning process.

Accessible Harmony: Enhancing Music Education for Deaf Children with Artificial Intelligence

Cristiano da Silva Benites — 2025-09-29

This study explores the use of artificial intelligence to promote digital inclusion in the musical education of deaf children. We developed an innovative system that integrates tactile and visual feedback, along with interactions with educational robots, creating an inclusive learning environment. Artificial intelligence monitors children's performance and emotional responses in real time, dynamically adjusting activity difficulty to personalize the learning experience. We applied an experimental methodology with seven deaf children, comparing the system’s impact with traditional teaching methods. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to assess gesture accuracy, engagement levels, and emotional and social effects. The results indicated that the AI-based system improved gesture accuracy by 30% and increased engagement and motivation by 40% compared to conventional methods. Longitudinal analyses demonstrated that multisensory learning enhances musical knowledge retention even after long intervals, reinforcing the system’s effectiveness. These findings highlight the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in inclusive musical education, expanding learning opportunities for deaf children. The project suggests promising directions for future research and innovations in assistive technology, contributing to a more equitable and accessible educational environment.

Level-Up: a gamification process applied in education

André Luiz de Souza Brito — 2025-09-19

Student demotivation is an issue in traditional teaching methods that are not tailored to a new generation of digital native students. Gamification is a game-based technique that tries to address this issue, but there is a lack of a formal process in the construction of gamified solutions in the field of education. The aim of this work is to propose a formal process for developing gamified solutions based on the Design Thinking approach and the Octalysis framework. A case study was elaborated and applied to validate the proposed process.

Cibertriborgue: collective cyborgs supporting educational musical practices

Thiago Marcondes Santos — 2025-09-29

On the research summarized here a computer artifact based on the Internet of Things to support musical education, the CiberTRIBOrgue, was designed and built. The epistemological and methodological approach is a combination of the Design Science Research method and Training-Research. An investigation was made of the use of the artifact by 22 sixth grade students in a private school in Rio de Janeiro. As a result of the analysis of the generated data, three subsuming ideas were obtained which are theorizations about the findings: individual and collective transient cyborg experiences; the reconfiguration of the relationship between the bodies of the learning subjects with cyber culture digital sound instruments; and the concept of Teacher- Researcher-Designer-Maker.

Usability Study of a Tangible Solution in the Literacy Process of Children with Down Syndrome

Laura Quevedo Jurgina — 2025-10-06

This paper presents a usability evaluation of Alfaba, a tangible and multisensory educational device originally designed to support literacy development in general contexts. The study investigates its specific applicability to children and adolescents with Down Syndrome. Seven participants aged 7 to 17 took part in individual sessions conducted in a therapeutic setting. Interactions were recorded through direct annotations, audiovisual recordings, and spontaneous verbal reports, and analyzed using a structured observation protocol. Coding was performed independently by two evaluators, with inter-rater agreement assessed via Cohen’s Kappa coefficient. Results suggest that the integration of tactile, visual, and auditory stimuli may support letter recognition, autonomous error correction, and initial engagement, although attention declined over time and environmental distractions were noted. Based on these findings, design improvements were proposed and implemented, resulting in a new version of Alfaba, whose effectiveness will be investigated in future studies. The study contributes to the field of Educational Computing by documenting how usability and accessibility principles can inform the iterative refinement of inclusive educational technologies.

"The Game is the Test!": a report on the use of educational games articulated to computational reasoning in basic education

Carla Adriana Ferreira da Silva — 2025-04-09

Teaching Computer Science in schools is generally confused with instrumental computer classes, in which technologies for everyday use or in other school subjects are presented. Therefore, these are classes in which concepts are not necessarily constructed but the understanding of techniques or technologies. However, Computer Science presents a set of non-limiting concepts and methods, potentially favoring the development of important human formation competencies. Part of this conceptual and methodological set has been called Computational Reasoning (CR). This article presents an experience of how didactic practices meticulously constructed with the support of CR skills, and the construction of a board game used for the teaching of the Portuguese Language in the 9th year of Elementary School in a public school, could contribute to the expansion of the teacher's methodological repertoire, as well as the effects of pedagogical intentionality regarding the use of CR in student protagonism. In the initial results observed from this experience, we found evidence that the didactic proposal made it possible, from the teacher's perspective, to develop and use direct and transversal CR skills, and skills from the BNCC.

A Chatbot for Remote Assistance in Systemic Arterial hypertension: Literature Review

Mateus Monteiro dos Santos — 2025-03-04

Systemic arterial hypertension (SAH), a chronic non-communicable disease characterized by a persistent increase in blood pressure (BP), has been increasing in prevalence in Brazil and around the world. Considering its multifactorial aspect, the treatment and control of SAH becomes a challenge, especially when considering patients' adherence to current management methods. Given the current technological expansion, it is necessary to highlight the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in health, such as the use of Chatbot, an mhealth tool that can facilitate the monitoring of SAH treatment and expand the possibilities of patient-professional interaction of health. Therefore, it is essential to study the assertive points and limitations of technologies in the management of SAH, making it possible to ratify or not the innovative role of ICT in health education.

The study proposes an integrative literature review to identify and analyze the effectiveness of using Chatbots in the management of SAH. This was guided by the guiding pillars: observe the use of chatbots in monitoring and health education for hypertensive patients; analyze the types of technologies and approaches they use for their benefit; ensure usability and user satisfaction.

Given the inclusion and exclusion criteria applied, 1744 articles were found in the first phase; in the second phase, 40 articles; and 10 articles in the third phase. Based on this result, the articles showed a specific improvement in health self-management behaviors and greater adherence to daily BP monitoring.

In view of the study carried out, it is clear that, although there is still no software capable of covering all the digital tools that allow full remote assistance to users, the great potential of the technologies addressed is undoubted, as a means of increasing patient adherence to drug therapies, as well as an improvement in their lifestyle habits.

Potentialities and Challenges in the Continuous Training of Educators in Active Methodologies

Dirceu Maraschin Junior — 2025-03-04

The changes in access to information and knowledge highlight the need to assess the training of educators to meet the challenges of this transformation. In this research, continuous training is considered a key aspect for improving pedagogical practices and updating the knowledge of these professionals. This study addresses the transformation in teaching methodologies, driven by innovative educational practices, with a focus on active methodologies and their adaptation to learning objectives and the curriculum. Case studies are presented based on the provision of continuous training to educators and managers. The initiative aims to provide technological support and develop competencies and skills essential to contemporary educational demands. The results revealed educators' satisfaction, emphasizing the transformative impact of integrating creative technology-based activities in schools.

Higher Education in Project-Based Computing: Inteli on the path to innovation

José Armando Valente — 2025-06-13

The digitization of society has demanded an increasing number of technology professionals to keep up with the development of necessary computing resources. However, the quality of graduates from traditional computing courses is not meeting the market and country's needs. With the goal of training future technology leaders, the purpose of this article is to present the implementation of a project-based pedagogical approach in Computing courses, as well as the selection of the involved faculty, the creation of partnerships, the physical and technological infrastructures, and the activities that demonstrate students’ learning. This is an experience report whose methodology for developing the article was based on documentary and bibliographic approach. The educational proposal was tested in a bootcamp, and the results indicated how faculty, technological infrastructure, and partnership should be articulated to enable the implementation of a project-based teaching and learning methodologies. The result of this work is the operationalization and instantiation of a project-based pedagogical approach that allows the community to think and rethink the concrete steps for the curricular transformation of the country's Computing courses.

OntoUaffect: an ontology for affective states based on contexts in the educational environment

Sandro Oliveira Dorneles — 2025-05-02

Human behavior is impacted by different phenomena that affect perception and interaction. In each culture, different words are used to describe how someone feels. Affective phenomena can provoke different physiological, cognitive, or behavioral reactions and can affect a person's actions and reactions. In the educational environment, affective phenomena are essential in learning and can impact motivation and attention. Thus, understanding the relationships of the affective state and the educational context can help in the identification of factors that negatively or positively impact the student. This article proposes the OntoUaffect ontology to represent information from affective states, the educational and personal context of the student. The ontology was developed using the Protégé software and the Python language. To evaluate the ontology, real data collected from high school students were used. From SPARQL consultations, it was possible to obtain results that answer the proposed questions of identification of the student's affective state in specific events, as well as the relationship of the variables of the educational context, demonstrating the contribution of the proposed ontology.

Proposition and validation of an instrument to analyze the movements and levels of the dimensions and components of the TPCK model for Natural Science and Mathematics teachers

Andrei Barbosa da Cruz — 2025-04-25

This study aimed to understand and verify teachers' profile of technological, pedagogical, and content (scientific and/or mathematical) knowledge regarding the use of ICT in teaching and learning science and mathematics. The methodological design of the present study was based on a qualitative approach, exploratory and descriptive in nature. To this end, six teachers participated, three from Natural Sciences and three from Mathematics from the Private and Public education networks of schools in the city of Diamantina-MG, by answering an online questionnaire. To analyze the data, an instrument was proposed, based on the TPCK model, to assess the level of Pedagogical, Technological, and Content Knowledge that the participants possessed. As a result of the study, it was found that most teachers constantly use ICT, such as WhatsApp and YouTube, for educational purposes. All teachers demonstrated access and skill in using technological and pedagogical tools such as social networks, video classes, and educational software. In this way, it was possible to classify and analyze teachers' TPCK “levels” and create indicators for improving Teacher Professional Development and teacher training courses for using digital technologies in teaching Science and Mathematics.

Exploring Feature Reduction for Dropout Predicting in Higher Education in Brazil

André Menolli — 2025-04-02

Dropout within the higher education system is a prevalent and intricate phenomenon characterized by a multitude of reasons that can differ significantly from one context to another. Developing machine learning models and discerning the key features for diverse contexts poses a considerable challenge. In this paper, we propose a process based on feature selection to create and evaluate machine learning models for predicting dropout in the higher education system. The approach not only outlines the essential steps for model development in any context but also emphasizes the identification of the most critical features. We conducted a comprehensive study across five distinct contexts within Brazilian higher education, specifically focusing on face-to-face courses. Through this process, we identified the most important features for predicting dropout. The results highlight that the correlation between a student's enrollment duration and the percentage of the course completed emerges as the primary predictor of dropout. However, we noticed the fundamental role of context in predicting dropout. Moreover, in all scenarios explored, it was possible to create more accurate models with a reduced set of features compared to the original models.

National Common Curricular Base for Computing (BNCC Computing) at the National Education Conference (CONAE 2024)

Adriana Almeida Sales de Melo — 2025-07-07

The article is one of the products of doctoral research in progress with the Postgraduate Program in Education at the Faculty of Education of the University of Brasília (PPGE – FE/UnB) whose objective is the comparative analysis of the implementation of the CNE/CEB Opinion No. 2/2022, approved on 10/03/2022, and CNE/CEB Resolution No. 1, 10/04/2022, which deal with standards on Computing in Basic Education – Complement to the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC). Through document analysis, it was possible to appreciate to what extent the discussion on Computing and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Basic Education were addressed in the Final Document of the National Education Conference (CONAE 2024), which has among its objectives to generate subsidies to prepare the National Education Plan for the next decade (PNE 2024-2034). The findings point to, on the one hand, the absence of specific proposals aimed at implementing BNCC computing in the Final Document, on the other hand, the presence of strategies aimed at Digital Education, Digital Inclusion and Literacy, Artificial Intelligence. Furthermore, the document addresses several dimensions of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in education, such as: infrastructure, technological and digital resources, assistive technology, training of education professionals, financial support, connectivity. This panorama demonstrates that these themes have reached the agenda of national educational policy and are being considered for planning the goals and strategies that will appear in the next PNE, therefore converging with Law No. 14,533, of 01/11/2023, which establishes the National Digital Education Policy (PNED).

Study of Educational Activities Present in the Literature on Computer Education in Brazilian Elementary School: A Systematic Analysis of Identified Skills, according to the Complementary Standards to the BNCC

Leonardo A. A. Pimenta — 2025-08-21

The teaching of Computing has gained relevance in the Brazilian basic education curriculum, driven by the growing integration of technology in all spheres of human activity and the approval of Resolution No. 1/2022 of the National Education Council (Standards on Computing in Basic Education – Complement to BNCC), which establishes mandatory computing teaching in basic education. This movement reflects global trends and highlights the urgency of adapting educational curricula to the demands of contemporary society. With this in mind, the present work aims to identify the skills, as defined in the standards complementary to the BNCC, worked on in the teaching-learning activities described in the literature on the teaching of Computing in Brazilian Basic Education, more specifically in the Elementary School stage. (Early Years and Final Years), and the frequency with which each of these skills occurs. To this end, the research method adopted in this research included a preliminary study of curricular guidelines and the carrying out of a systematic mapping of the literature. The results obtained showed a predominance of primary studies focusing on the development of Computational Thinking. On the other hand, primary studies aimed at teaching skills related to the Digital World and Digital Culture axis were considerably less recurrent, most evidently the last one. Thus, it is concluded that there is a need to expand teacher training and adapt curricula to more effectively incorporate the contents of the Digital World and Digital Culture axes, in addition to developing related teaching resources. This study offers a basis for future educational and curricular initiatives, promoting a more holistic integration of Computing in basic education.

Computational Thinking and Serious Game Mechanics: A Case Study on the Decomposition Line

André Luis Macedo Caruso — 2025-07-09

The first decades of the 21st century have highlighted society's growing dependence on technology, intensified by Artificial Intelligence and the COVID-19 pandemic, which shifted many activities to remote environments. In this context, education must include the development of Computational Thinking (CT) to form citizens capable of solving problems that can be processed by computers. Promoting CT, which is already part of the National Common Curricular Base, is essential for preparing students both for the job market and for living in a digital society. This scenario demands that traditional education adapt to the needs of Digital Natives (DN), who do not always respond effectively to conventional teaching practices. Often, there is a conflict between the teaching methods adopted by instructors, usually Digital Immigrants, and the expectations of DN, who are accustomed to a constantly connected life. Considering this backdrop, Serious Games emerge as a promising approach to developing CT, promoting 21st-century skills, and engaging DN. However, there is still no well-established conceptual relationship between these areas. This work advances the investigation of a semantic relationship between serious game mechanics and the lines of CT. A case study is conducted for the Decomposition (DEC) line, demonstrating that designers and players identify the possibility of composing, decomposing, interrelating, and reusing (actions related to DEC) when manipulating the mechanics of Behavioural Momentum, Tile-Based Movement, and Role-Playing. These relationships, identified in a semantic mapping, were previously corroborated by a panel of specialists.

An Experience Report on Teaching Computer Science in Elementary School

Simone André da Costa Cavalheiro — 2025-09-19

The motivation to introduce computing in Basic Education arises from the growing importance of digital literacy in the modern world. Recognizing this, Brazil’s National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) now includes an annex dedicated to Computing, structured around three main pillars: Computational Thinking, Digital World, and Digital Culture. However, this inclusion presents several challenges for implementation, such as the effective integration of computing concepts into school curricula, the development of appropriate methodologies for curricular activities, and the establishment of suitable assessment methods. This paper presents a seven-year experience report, from 2013 to 2019, on the introduction of computing activities in elementary schools. The report discusses the aforementioned challenges and provides insights into overcoming them. The findings emphasize that the physical space available, the layout of classrooms, and the contextualization of student groups are crucial for the planning of materials, lessons, and support teams, all of which contribute to achieving the desired learning outcomes. Additionally, the introduction of computing concepts is feasible and effective through unplugged methods, especially when using playful, incremental, and challenging approaches that align with students' contexts. The report also highlights that continuous and incremental assessment of the concepts introduced through exercises, games, and challenges proves to be effective. Furthermore, the strategy of evaluating learning gains through pre- and post-tests is successful when assessing the concepts and strategies incrementally and in contexts different from those presented in the classroom. This experience report demonstrates that the integration of computing in elementary education can be both viable and impactful, provided that careful planning and contextualization are prioritized.

Perceptions on the Development of Computational Thinking in Early Childhood Education

Claudia Heidemann de Santana — 2025-04-25

Computational Thinking involves applying computational principles to solve problems in a logical and creative manner. In early childhood education, it enables children to develop skills such as pattern recognition, sequencing, and algorithm design. However, integrating Computational Thinking into early childhood education requires teachers to be trained in specific teaching practices and tools. This article presents the results of a survey conducted in the municipal education network of a city in Paraná, Brazil, examining teachers' perceptions of teaching computing in early childhood education. The findings reveal that early childhood educators view Computational Thinking as a vital skill for student development and active participation in a digital society. Nevertheless, they feel unprepared and express a desire for specialized training. Additionally, many are unaware that computing can be taught without digital resources. In line with national public policies that incorporate computing into basic education, this study underscores the need for ongoing teacher training to foster essential cognitive skills in young children.

A participatory requirement engineering process for the development of educational technologies

Ramon Pontes Araújo — 2025-10-08

Software engineering proposes several processes for general-purpose requirements engineering. However, it still lacks a specific model to develop educational technologies that consider the cognitive and social aspects of the teaching-learning process. A participatory process is essential in this context, as it enables the active involvement of teachers and students in defining requirements, ensuring greater alignment between technological solutions and pedagogical practices. This study investigates and develops a participatory requirement engineering process for constructing educational technologies, grounded in the theoretical-methodological frameworks of Participatory Design, Design Thinking, and Problem-Based Learning. The methodological approach included a systematic literature mapping to identify gaps and applicable techniques, then designing and refining the process through three in-person workshops with teachers and students in authentic learning contexts. The resulting prototypes were evaluated using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and focus groups, allowing the analysis of perceptions regarding usefulness, ease of use, and pedagogical alignment. The results indicate a high level of agreement regarding clarity, applicability, and ease of use, ranging from 76% to 97% of responses marked as “strongly agree” and 100% as “agree” or “strongly agree” in the evaluated criteria. The observations and suggestions collected during the workshops contributed to refining the process, highlighting its potential to integrate pedagogical practices and technological development collaboratively. The study demonstrates the feasibility and relevance of this approach to promote greater engagement, pedagogical adequacy, and innovation in the development of educational technologies.

Self-Formation and Statistical Literacy: A Mathematical Modeling Project in Linear and Polynomial Regressions with Python

Luciano Pontes da Silva — 2025-08-19

The informational society and its large-scale data production presuppose that the individuals belonging to it possess tools and skills capable of understanding these precepts. This work presents a Mathematical Modeling project proposal, integrating Mobile Digital Information and Communication Technologies (MDICT), specifically using the Python programming language to build Linear and Polynomial Regression models. First, the theory of Self-Formation is presented, along with the concepts it contains, such as Ecoformation and Heteroformation. Next, concepts regarding Statistical Education are introduced, with a focus on Statistical Literacy, and the integration of Mathematical Modeling with MDICT is explained, providing examples of projects that apply this approach. Finally, the project proposal is divided into three parts, where the initial problem, essential mathematical concepts, and code implementation for the model, as well as the project's culmination, are discussed. This proposal enhances the perception of the levels of plurality in reality, along with the possibility of developing questioning attitudes towards these levels and aiming at their modification.

Computational Literacy in Youth and Adult Education in Professional Nursing Training Courses: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Marcos Paulo Pereira da Costa — 2025-08-29

The aim of this article is to carry out a systematic review of the literature on computational literacy in Youth and Adult Education, with a focus on professional training courses in Nursing. The research seeks to identify and analyze the main trends in theoretical references, research methodologies and data collection instruments, addressing both specific studies on computational literacy in Nursing and those related to other areas of professional training. The guidelines that guided the review were: (i) free search; (ii) definition of guiding questions; (iii) definition of search strings; (iv) definition of search strategies; (v) application of inclusion and exclusion criteria; (vi) extraction of primary data; (vii) data analysis; (viii) discussion and interpretation of results and (ix) writing of the text. The databases explored were: Google Scholar, Capes Periodicals, the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations and the ProfEPT Observatory. Thus, after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 16 papers were selected, making up the panorama of publications on computational literacy in professional nursing training courses. The papers were then analyzed based on theoretical discussions of the terms computer literacy, computational literacy and letramento computacional. Subsequently, the methodologies used in the research and the data collection instruments used were analyzed. Based on these analyses, some results stand out: (i) Although there is still no agreed definition, Computational Literacy has proved to be a developing concept that encompasses material, cognitive, social and cultural aspects, which are essential for digital inclusion and professional training; (ii) The investigation of computational literacy in a contextualized way makes it possible to group together skills and competences linked to computational thinking and the various literacies of digital technologies and the media. Based on this understanding, it becomes possible to seek to develop curricula that integrate this knowledge; (iii) Integrating computational thinking into teachers' practices is an essential factor in the development of computational literacy; (iv) Studies indicate a gradual increase in research, reflecting the growing search for a deeper understanding of technologies; (v) There is a diversity of methodological approaches, with a predominance of qualitative approaches and systematic literature review, reflecting the complexity and richness of the research field; (vi) There is a focus on pedagogical practice and the active participation of students, considering emerging perspectives; (vii) A wide variety of data collection instruments are identified, ranging from interviews and questionnaires to literature review and document analysis, reflecting a comprehensive approach; and (viii) The following theoretical models were identified: Knowledge Construction Theory and Computational Literacy Theory.

Using MEEGA/MEEGA+ for the Evaluation of Educational Games: A Retrospective

Christiane Gresse von Wangenheim — 2025-08-27

Educational games are assumed to be an effective and efficient instructional strategy. However, it is essential to systematically evaluate such games in order to obtain sound evidence of their impact. An alternative is the MEEGA/MEEGA+ model, providing support to evaluate games in terms of motivation, user experience, and learning based on the reaction of the students. Since its first publication in 2011 originally focusing on games for teaching Software Engineering it has been adopted for a wide range of games and knowledge domains. Thus, the objective of this article is to present a systematic mapping on the application of the MEEGA/MEEGA+ model identifying 166 relevant articles, and describing 170 studies on the evaluation of 178 serious games. Findings show that the model is mostly used as-is in case studies as an easy way to evaluate games in the classroom, with fewer studies simplifying the data collection instrument and/or completing the data collection with other measurement instruments. This shows that especially the improved version MEEGA+ is a well-accepted model for the evaluation of serious games in order to assist game creators and instructors to improve such games as well as to support decisions on their application within instructional units.

The production of teaching materials for distance education from the perspective of dialogical principles

Erivaldo da Silva Santos — 2025-08-29

Distance education is advancing and increasingly contributing to teaching and learning, favoring the creation of strategies that bring the teacher-author and the student closer together, supported by digital information and communication technologies. As a result, educational practices are gradually innovating, with the addition of elements that favor creativity, critical thinking, reflection, and resolution of concrete problem situations. This study investigated the collaboration of the multidisciplinary team for the training of the teacher-author during the production of teaching material for distance education, observing the dialogical principles. This is a qualitative research conducted based on semi-structured interviews with 11 professionals who work in the process of producing teaching material in the Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem do Sistema Único de Saúde (AVASUS). The data were collected from an approach with themes that observe the dialogical principles: problematization, encouragement of autonomy, simple language, and realistic dialogue. The study highlighted the participants' concern about the need for more complete training, including theoretical and practical constructions, with a dynamic presentation of each stage of the teaching material production process, aiming to strengthen the construction of knowledge, the process itself and, consequently, resulting in an educational resource with dialogic quality. The study also showed that the training of teacher authors does not occur in an isolated moment, but throughout the entire process of producing the teaching material.

Predicting the risk of university dropout using machine learning: Characteristics and dynamics of dropout in Engineering courses at UFRJ-Macaé

Pedro Andrietta Chagas — 2025-09-17

The phenomenon of university dropout has been widely investigated due to losses in financial resources and labor, so understanding its dynamics is important to identify solutions and preventive strategies. This study uses data science and machine learning techniques to predict the risk of university dropout and analyze the characteristics and dynamics of dropout in Engineering courses at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in the city of Macaé, Brazil. Using the CRISP-DM methodology, Logistic Regression, Decision Tree, and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) models were trained, being optimized through Bayesian optimization. According to the results of the models, it was observed that the academic performance of students in their first period is sufficient to identify, with an AUC of 0.80, students who dropped out of the test set. In the exploratory analysis of the data, it was also revealed that more students dropped out than graduated, with 75% of dropouts occurring in the first three semesters. Furthermore, a strong correlation was observed between low academic performance and the risk of dropping out, particularly in the subjects of Calculus and Physics. This work highlights how a university's data can be explored to identify patterns and trends in student behavior and how machine learning can be used as a statistical tool to extract valuable information from large volumes of data, helping to improve quality and accessibility of education in higher education.

Difficulties in Learning Programming: An Examination Based on a Systematic Literature Mapping and a Behavioral-Analytical Interpretation

Marcelo H. Oliveira Henklain — 2025-10-27

Learning to program is a demand for many 21st-century citizens. However, difficulties in this learning process persist, challenging educators. To help mitigate this problem, we defined two objectives for this study: (1) To identify students’ difficulties in the initial learning of programming based on a systematic literature mapping (SLM); and (2) To propose variables, based on behavioral-analytical psychological theory and open to future research, associated with these difficulties. For the SLM, we defined a search string that was applied in three databases: Web of Science, ACM Digital Library, and IEEE Xplore. We found 503 studies. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 11 remained. Only four researchers had more than one publication. These studies are concentrated in the last decade and are typically published in journals, are empirical in nature, and identify programming difficulties based on the perceptions of students or teachers, with emphasis on language features and programming concepts, as well as behaviors such as problem-solving, reading and interpreting code, and identifying sources of errors. For the second objective, we considered that behavioral-analytical theory interprets psychological phenomena as behaviors and analyzes them as a system of interactions between the antecedent environment, the person’s actions, and the consequent environment. Thus, based on the SLM results and on our experience, we proposed 9 variables related to the antecedent environment that are difficult for us to discriminate and, therefore, contribute to difficulties in programming, as well as 9 variables related to the consequent environment, associated with the teaching context, that may make the learning process less effective. We also highlight some behavioral repertoires that are important to develop for success in programming tasks. With this work, we hope to foster behavior-analytic studies aimed at understanding and addressing difficulties in learning programming.

Evaluation of Critical Thinking Skills in Technical and Higher Education in Computing Education: A Systematic Mapping

Deise Monquelate Arndt — 2025-09-03

Critical thinking is an essential 21st-century skill and particularly crucial for computing professionals, who need to constantly solve complex problems and make informed decisions in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. This study presents a systematic mapping of the literature on critical thinking assessment in technical and higher education in computing. Twelve articles published between 2013 and 2024 were analyzed, identifying trends and gaps in this area. The results indicate a predominance of studies in Asian countries, focusing on higher education, especially for incoming students in Computer Science and Engineering courses. Most studies use self-assessment and standardized instruments, such as the Computational Thinking Scale (CTS), to evaluate critical thinking skills. The most frequently assessed skills are Evaluation, Analysis, Self-regulation, and Inference. Variability was observed in the quality and reporting of psychometric properties of the instruments. This mapping provides findings for educators and researchers, highlighting the need to develop more robust and specific assessment instruments for the computing context, as well as to conduct longitudinal studies on the development of critical thinking in computing education.

The use of Technology in the Classroom with Teaching Students with ASD: the Systematic Review of the Literature

Mariana Mattos Manhães Machado — 2025-06-13

With the advancement of technology, new teaching possibilities for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have emerged. The objective of the present study is to determine, based on a systematic review of the literature, which digital technological resources have been used in the classroom to promote learning for students with ASD. The PRISMA methodology was used and articles were searched in the CAPES periodical database with the strings “autism” and “technology” and “education”. After following the previously established exclusion and inclusion criteria, sixteen articles were selected to compose this review. The works examined showed, for the most part, that the use of digital technology helps in some way in the learning process of students with ASD. Among the resources mentioned in the works, communication applications, games and videos were identified as the most used in the classroom with students with ASD. These resources are most frequently reproduced on computers and tablets. It was possible to verify that there are still challenges to the use of digital technology, such as the high cost of electronic devices and teacher training. It is concluded that there are various digital resources being used and that they are relevant for teaching.

Diagnosis of Teaching Non-Functional Software Requirements and User Experience in Undergraduate Computer Science Courses in Brazil

Josué Viana Ferreira — 2025-07-04

This article presents a diagnosis of the teaching of Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs) and User Experience (UX) in undergraduate Computer Science courses in Brazil. The research considers the 2020 ACM/IEEE curriculum, the 2017 Brazilian Computer Society (SBC) Training References, and the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK – 3.0) Guide, the main references for Computer Science curricula in Brazil. Pedagogical Course Projects (PPCs), teaching plans, and program contents of 44 courses were analyzed, covering 62 disciplines distributed among 24 institutions, considered the best Brazilian universities in Computer Science according to the 2024 Folha University Ranking (RUF). The results show that NFRs are mainly addressed in Software Engineering disciplines, with a focus on Security, Usability, and Performance. Subtopics such as Emergent Properties, Error Handling, Fault Tolerance and Emergent System Properties are absent. The UX is covered in Human-Computer Interaction courses, addressing Interface Design, Accessibility and Usability Heuristics. Subtopics such as Localization, Internationalization and Software Robustness receive little attention. The predominant workload is 60 hours, adequate for introductory content, but may be insufficient for specialized topics of NFRs and UX from SWEBOK, which are absent in the analyzed curricula. Practical and extension activities carried out by some universities are valuable for applying knowledge. The conformity of curricula related to NFRs and UX, compared to the ACM/IEEE and SBC references, is limited, evidencing a gap to be addressed. The study shows that curricula do not integrate NFRs and UX, restricting a holistic view for the development of robust and user-friendly systems. It is concluded that there are opportunities to improve curricula, recommending an interdisciplinary approach aligned with the ACM/IEEE, SBC and SWEBOK Guide guidelines, strengthening the technical training of students and increasing the quality of the systems developed.

From ores to precious stones: What do Brazilian theses and dissertations say about the game Minecraft? A state of the art from 2014 to 2024

Rodrigo Ferreira Marinho — 2025-09-17

Electronic games are part of the reality of many students and have been used for educational purposes, this is the case of the game Minecraft. Launched in 2009, the game has more than 40 million players and has been used in educational research since its launch, in this sense this study analyzed theses and dissertations available in the Capes databases and the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD) to understand how the game is being used in education. The procedures of Romanowski (2002) and the content analysis of Bardin (2016) were followed to organize, explore and interpret the collected material. 51 researches were analyzed, including theses and dissertations, found in the period from 2014 to 2024. We identified the ways in which the game was used in the research, the areas of study, the types of research, the data collection instruments and the levels of education. Finally, we conducted an analysis of the most cited authors in the surveys, as well as the most used references. We conclude that the game Minecraft has great potential for educational use, with several possibilities of application in different areas of knowledge, in addition to identifying possible paths for researchers who would like to use this game for educational purposes.

Comparing the Perceptions of Middle and High School Students from Different Socioeconomic Status Backgrounds on Learning Machine Learning

Ramon Mayor Martins — 2025-07-07

Machine Learning (ML) is increasingly integral to modern life, requiring its introduction to young individuals across all socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. Various initiatives are emerging for the integration of ML into the education of young students including the development of curricula, courses and activities. And although first applications indicate positive findings with regard to the students’ learning, there still is a lack of research on the effect of such teaching efforts across students from different SES backgrounds. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of different SES backgrounds on the students' understanding and application of ML basic concepts through the application of the ML4ALL! course to 266 middle and high school students from different SES backgrounds. The findings reveal significant differences in students' understanding and explanation of ML concepts, indicating that this may be affected by their SES background. However, students' perceived ability to apply ML concepts and the perceived difficulty in learning ML were consistent across all groups. The results indicate that although the SES background may influence students' learning, it does not necessarily limit their perceived ability to engage with AI/ML concepts. The insights from this study may contribute to a better understanding of the perceptions of students from a low SES background regarding AI/ML learning and can assist in facilitating the development of inclusive, effective, and enjoyable educational approaches.

Justice, Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics in Learning Analytics: A Systematic Literature Mapping

Letícia Rocha de Oliveira — 2025-08-18

This systematic literature review analyzes the integration of the principles of Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics (FATE) into Learning Analytics (LA), addressing their application in educational settings. The study identified the tools used, the main ethical and technical challenges, and the most impacted stakeholders. Fifty studies were analyzed, selected based on rigorous inclusion and quality criteria, which demonstrate how ethical practices can promote more equitable and responsible use of educational data. The results highlight the importance of personalizing learning, protecting data privacy, and ensuring transparency in LA systems. It concludes that the successful adoption of these technologies requires governance practices, regular audits, and greater attention to the needs of underrepresented populations.

Teacher Training Course on the Use of Digital storytelling as a Pedagogical Tool

Eduardo Gomes de Oliveira — 2025-10-31

Innovative practices, such as digital storytelling (DS), offer valuable opportunities to empower teachers in the practical application of technology within the educational curriculum. However, despite its importance, many educators face challenges when incorporating digital stories, especially due to the complexity of creatively integrating curricular content. This article reports on the experience of an extension course focused on the use of storytelling as a pedagogical strategy. To evaluate the course's effectiveness, qualitative and quantitative data were collected through a survey. The data analysis revealed a largely positive reception. Participants highlighted the practical relevance of the skills acquired, particularly in using storytelling to increase student engagement and motivation. They also praised the quality of the content and the support provided by the instructor.

Technical and tactical factors of an educational platform aiming to deal with a large number of students and inequalities when teaching programming for STEM students

Gabriel Xará — 2025-03-06

Considering the characteristics found in the post-pandemic scenario of public higher education in Brazil, we must address issues related to equity in access to educational resources. In STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) courses, these differences become striking regarding the conditions and resources for extra-class study that the student can count on. Machine Teaching is a web-based system used in introductory programming classes to support students and instructors and has been used since 2018 in Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. In this work, we present the challenges faced to adapt Machine Teaching to the post-pandemic scenario. Issues of equity in access were addressed in three ways: changes to the system architecture, optimization of page loading times, and actions to improve user satisfaction. Our novel implementation allows students to undertake exercises from any device with internet connectivity, enabling access from low computational power machines. Also, our optimization results decreased up to 80% the web system loading time, allowing slower connections to still access the system. This work contributes to the discussion on the risks and benefits of using digital technologies in education, placing our specific scenario in the big picture of inequality of conditions in connectivity, AI and data analysis in education.

Unpredictability in Lesson Planning Practices: Recommendations for Collaborative Systems Design

Leandro Marques Queiros — 2025-08-19

Lesson planning is essential for teaching practice, but the lack of time, resources, and collaboration among teachers creates challenges. This scenario results in constant improvisations and professional isolation, hindering teaching effectiveness. The study investigates how collaborative planning systems can be improved to promote greater interaction and support among teachers, allowing for more flexible and adaptable practices. The research used an ethnographic approach, with semi-structured interviews and observations in public schools. The objective was to understand planning practices and how teachers face daily challenges. Collaboration among teachers is limited by a lack of time and infrastructure, with many using informal tools, like WhatsApp, to share resources and plan. Collaborative planning systems should be designed to facilitate flexibility, resource sharing, and teacher collaboration, overcoming isolation and promoting more effective and innovative lesson planning practices.

Evaluation of Human-Artificial Hybrid Tutoring System for Mediation of Engagement in E-Learning

Aluisio José Pereira — 2025-04-27

This pioneering article aims to understand hybrid tutoring strategies, which combine human and artificial tutor interventions. In this regard, an approach of an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) was developed, involving the intervention of human tutors to mediate student engagement in e-learning. To evaluate the effectiveness of the approach, testing guidelines were adopted involving human tutors from the stages of system preparation, activity script creation and interview, test application, data collection, analysis, and communication of iteration results and proposals for improving the ITS approach. The results suggest effectiveness in increasing productivity and facilitating tutoring activities. Additionally, there was a lower perception of complexity, burden, and consistency when continuously iterating the system with the involvement of human tutors. Therefore, strategies such as “active search” for students with low engagement levels were facilitated by algorithms from the ITS approach, with the contribution and involvement of interpersonal interactions of human tutors to provide students with attractive and personalized tutoring experiences.

Cooperative work for the technological empowerment of secondary school teachers supported by Maker Culture

Martín-Santiago Domínguez-González — 2025-05-03

This work shows the implementation of a proposal that encourages the cooperating researcher supported by the Maker Culture, for those who are Science and Technology teachers who can improve their teaching practice at the secondary level. The purpose of this is due to the low academic performance of students in these subjects as a result of the teacher’s method of teaching. A research based on design was developed, with a background in the technological mediation proposal resulting from the research project of the Doctorate in Educational Systems and Environments, which facilitated a dynamic relationship between the researcher and teacher community. With a qualitative research approach, findings are highlighted in terms of concepts such as peer mentoring, a collaborative attitude, high expectations about action in the classroom, and learning new methods -all closely related to Maker Culture-, and second, derived from the triangulation of times, a graphical representation is produced that demonstrates this phenomenon. The findings allow us to infer that a change in teaching practice is possible through the appropriation of the Maker Culture. Further, it illustrates the importance of andragogy in teacher training.

Scientific literacy in the life sciences: A state of the art

Libia Adriana León-Izurieta — 2025-08-19

The acquisition of scientific literacy skills in the biological sciences is essential to prepare students to communicate and understand scientific concepts, contributing to their comprehensive education. This article examines the various meanings of scientific literacy, associated skills and educational strategies, including the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). Despite its importance, the study of scientific literacy is limited and presents discrepancies in its components. The study is organized in five areas: definition of scientific literacy in biological sciences, associated skills, dimensions of study, research in higher education, and educational strategies related to ICT. A searching was conducted in databases such as Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed, including publications from the last eight years (2015-2023). The findings highlight four key skills: written scientific communication, evidence-based analysis, argumentation, and graph creation. However, a gap was identified in the teaching of scientific writing, essential for developing argumentative skills. The pandemic revealed deficiencies in the use of ICT, emphasizing the need for teacher training and active learning strategies. It is concluded that scientific literacy is crucial to train professionals capable of applying and communicating scientific knowledge in the context of the biological sciences, directly impacting the quality of life of society. It is imperative to integrate these skills into educational programs.

Application of the ADDIE model for the creation of a virtual learning center in basic concepts of electronics

Caroleny Eloiza Villalba Hernández — 2025-05-13

This article shows the different stages and results that correspond to the design, development, implementation and evaluation of a virtual center for the learning of basic concepts of electronics aimed at engineering students of a public institution of Higher Education. The research focused on mixed methods, following a sequential exploratory strategy with a didactic proposal supported by the ADDIE model. The data collection techniques used were Focus Group and the application of a Computer Systems Usability Questionnaire (CSUQ). The results show that the virtual learning center promotes a practical, motivating and up-to-date approach with a view to contributing to engineering education and specifically to the area of electronics. In conclusion, this study contributes to technological development and innovation in Educational Systems and Environments, providing an educational design methodology for the development and implementation of a virtual learning center aimed at students in the engineering area, designed as a self-managed virtual space for the incidence in the learning of basic concepts of electronics.

Strategies for Extracting Sequential Learning Patterns in the Teaching of Algorithms: A Comparison between Classical Algorithms and Evolutionary Metaheuristics

Djefferson Smith Santos Maranhão — 2025-08-21

Discovering sequential patterns in student behavior in online programming teaching environments is essential for personalizing learning and optimizing the educational process. With the digital transformation in education, platforms focused on algorithm learning have gained prominence but still lack personalized sequencing of activities to assist in academic progression. In this scenario, the application of Sequential Pattern Mining (SPM) can reveal learning patterns and recurring challenges students face, becoming a valuable tool for personalizing the learning experience. Thus, the present study compares two SPM approaches: classical algorithms and evolutionary metaheuristics, to evaluate their effectiveness in detecting patterns. The research analyzes the interactions of 313 students in an algorithm teaching environment, observing the performance of the approaches in terms of accuracy, computational cost, and applicability. Classical algorithms prove efficient in smaller datasets, while evolutionary metaheuristics reveal complex patterns more effectively in large volumes of data. The results indicate that both approaches can benefit the teaching environment, helping the teacher anticipate signs of demotivation and intervene proactively to keep the student interested and active on the platform. As a contribution, it is demonstrated that both classical algorithms and evolutionary metaheuristics can generate valuable insights, such as the need to review a specific problem or provide more practical examples to students.

End-to-end automated student attendance recording system using surveillance camera

John Davi Dutra Canuto Pires — 2025-05-19

The practice of recording and monitoring student attendance is a fundamental action in various contexts, especially in the school environment. However, due to its manual process, it often consumes a significant part of class time. This paper presents an end-to-end automated student attendance recording system utilizing classroom surveillance cameras. The system used advanced technologies such as computer vision, face recognition, and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) techniques to streamline the attendance process and enhance the time distribution in the classroom. The study evaluates the performance of five class sessions from a public dataset and three class sessions collected by us at the school studied in this paper through different scenarios with varying image quality and student positioning. Our results highlight the superiority of ResNet29 in detecting and recognizing students, especially in lower-resolution images. Compared to Facenet512, Facenet, and ArcFace models, in terms of final frequency marking accuracy, the model showed superior metric results by having an increase of 50% of accuracy compared to the others, reaching 80% accuracy, as well as demonstrating being superior in precision, recall, F1-score, and AUC-ROC metrics. The system's deployment in a school setting has shown promising results, prompting plans for expansion to additional classrooms. The lightweight and non-intrusive nature of the system aligns with the concept of Next-Generation Smart Classrooms, emphasizing its potential to revolutionize attendance management in educational institutions.

Predictive system for failure of basic education student

Bruna Damaris Ramos dos Santos — 2025-05-21

Academic performance measures how students are doing according to the study plan proposed by schools. Educational performance is a crucial factor in education, making it important to develop a system that can indicate if a student is at risk of failing. This work discusses the development of a student failure prediction system for basic education using a dataset of about three million records of students' assessment grades from schools in Brazil. The system's primary objective is to identify students at risk of failing and provide indications to educators in search of preventing students' failure. The system architecture uses historical data from Middle and Basic Secondary Education students' assessments to predict approval or failure outcomes. Classification algorithms, including K-Nearest Neighbors, Decision Tree, Random Forest, and eXtreme Gradient Boosting, were applied for the system development, creating machine learning models. Results of model evaluations indicated that Random Forest and eXtreme Gradient Boosting showed the best performances. The final system utilizes eXtreme Gradient Boosting to create the predictive models due to its consistent performance and computational efficiency, achieving approximately 86% accuracy and F1-Score. These findings are implemented in a Business Intelligence Panel to empower educators to identify and assist students at risk of academic failure proactively.

Development and validation of a Serious Game for oral health education of adolescents

Bárbara Gomes da Silva Andrade — 2025-08-27

Although it is an innovative and efficient approach in various areas of knowledge, the use of Serious Games aimed at adolescent oral health education is still in incipient, highlighting the need for specific studies for this group. The objective was to develop and validate a Serious Game to promote understading about oral health care and healthy habits for adolescents. This is a methodological study divided into three stages: Planning, based on the establishment of the theoretical framework and workshops conducted with the target audience to support the foundation for the Game; Development of the game prototype; and Content and DesignValidation carried out by 12 expert judges equally divided among three areas of knowledge, based on the modified Delphi method. The Educational Content Validation Instrument in Health (IVCES) was used for content validation, while the Educational Technology Appearance Validation Instrument in Health (IVATES) was used for appearance validation. The evaluated items in both instruments were, for the most part, well estimated by the judges, resulting in a Total IVC of 0.89 and Total IVA of 0.92. The development and validation of the content and design of the Serious Game were successfully completed with positive feedback from the evaluators regarding the accuracy of the information and its attractive and intuitive design. These results significantly contribute to filling a gap in the field of adolescent oral health education.

Paper Folds and Mathematics Patterns of Crease Patterns: a Learning to Learn Process Mediated by Digital Technologies

Aline Silva De Bona — 2025-09-08

The article presents an action research that developed 32 algorithms to build and develop paper folds. The guidelines for developing these paper folds can be written, visual and/or animated, and were applied to 184 Basic Education students. After developing the folds, it is suggested to observe the crease pattern of the paper in search of patterns, models and mathematical concepts, to improve the appropriation of knowledge by students. Then, after manual work with the folds, and based on the crease patterns observed, the folds were plugged in with the help of 15 digital technologies chosen by the students who participated in the practices with this investigative proposal, also covering 38 teachers. As a result, it was possible to observe that mathematical concepts and paper folding algorithms are objects of thought for the student, and that they allow the teacher to plan activities in an individual or collaborative way, contextualized or interdisciplinary, increasing the possibilities for a meaningful and effective learning in the classroom.

Understanding Collaborative Interaction and Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Metaverse Environments for Distance Learning: A Quasi-Experiment and Its Implications for DALverse

Adson Roberto Pontes Damasceno — 2025-08-29

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated significant transformations in education, driving the adoption of digital technologies for remote learning and promoting changes in teaching and learning processes. These changes aimed to enhance student engagement, participation, and the development of critical thinking. In this context, many educators adapted methodologies to intensify student interaction, motivation, and learning. As a result, the metaverse emerged as an innovative alternative to expand student interaction and immersion in virtual learning environments. Thus, this study investigates the use of the metaverse as a collaborative environment for Distance Education (DE), with a special focus on the inclusion of People with Disabilities (PwD). To achieve this, a quasi-experiment was conducted on the DALverse platform, analyzing how individuals with hearing and physical disabilities interact, engage, and assess accessibility within this environment. The research involved 34 participants, including students and tutors, who carried out educational activities in the metaverse using features such as customized avatars, text and voice chat, an interactive digital whiteboard, and screen sharing. Through a mixed-method study (quantitative and qualitative) based on a survey, metrics related to motivation, collaboration, and usability were analyzed, with an emphasis on accessibility for PwD, aiming to understand their challenges and guide strategies to enhance their inclusion and autonomy in using the metaverse for education. The results provided positive evidence from students' perceptions, suggesting that the metaverse can be an innovative approach to distance teaching and learning. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the metaverse can foster more immersive and collaborative learning experiences, although accessibility challenges still need to be addressed. Based on experiences gained from remote teaching during the health crisis, this study contributes to advancing research on digital inclusion in the metaverse, encouraging educators to reflect on more accessible and equitable educational practices in the post-pandemic reality.

Open process model for developing distance courses: an approach based on INTERA methodology

Juliana Cristina Braga — 2025-05-28

The growth of distance education (EaD) has intensified both globally and in Brazil, driven by technological, social, and economic demands. Structured and high-quality EaD requires specific planning and resources to achieve learning objectives and meet the needs of education. In EaD, the content, structure, and teaching methodology must be planned and developed in advance, with an emphasis on intuitive instructional design, efficient virtual learning environments, and agile technical support. Additionally, preparing the pedagogical team responsible for delivering the course is essential. A lack of understanding of the complexities of EaD can compromise the quality of courses, highlighting the need for a model that organizes and standardizes processes. Process modeling contributes to better organization, flow optimization, and ensures that educational activities adhere to quality standards while allowing all participants to understand their roles. This work proposes an open process model based on instructional design theories and software engineering for EaD. This model aims to facilitate collaboration among professionals involved in the creation of distance education courses, promoting continuous validation and improvement of EaD quality and contributing to a more effective and accessible learning experience.

AI as a Supporter of Human Creativity: Developing the “Earth and Universe” App with ChatGPT

Victoria Regia Cavalcante de Vasconcelos — 2025-05-28

Technological advances have profoundly transformed the educational landscape in recent years. These developments offer a new paradigm for teaching methods and learning processes, especially in areas related to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Despite all the progress achieved, there are still challenges and misconceptions in exploring the use of generative AI, which have slowed down the advancement of innovation and discouraged the promotion of creativity in education. In this paper we show the results obtained with the development of a mobile application called Earth and Universe developed with support of ChatGPT, with the purpose of introducing foundational science knowledge to ninth-grade students. The limitations and potential of ChatGPT’s use in developing the app and promoting creative processes in classrooms are highlighted. The results indicate it as a promising tool to support teachers in creating more interactive and innovative educational resources, even for those without a technical background, such as programming. Careful preparation of prompts was found to be essential for generating relevant insights and achieving desired goals.

Open Educational Practices Mediated by Technology in Initial Teacher Education: Towards the Dissemination and Implementation of Open Culture in Basic Education

Fernando Cesar Balbino — 2025-05-30

Since the enactment of the first specific legislation on open educational resources (OER) in the country in 2011, public policies in this area have advanced within the Brazilian context. However, lack of awareness or low adoption of OER usage still limits the effective implementation of an open culture across different levels of education. In this context, the objective of this work is to present and discuss the results of implementing open educational practices (OEP) in an undergraduate teacher education program, supported by a dynamic OER repository. This repository integrates into a single software the actions of retaining, reusing, revising, remixing, redistributing, and evaluating the shared resources. Thus, one of the contributions of this work is the provision of a software tool that enables and facilitates OEP while mitigating cognitive overload for educators and learners with varying levels of computational fluency. The results of the case studies, conducted over three consecutive years, indicate that the inclusion of OEP in teacher education programs promotes the dissemination of open culture, stimulates student engagement, mobilizes interdisciplinary skills, fosters student agency in knowledge production, and integrates extension activities into the curriculum. Consequently, the relevance of adopting OEP from the initial teacher training stage is emphasized so that graduates become potential multipliers of open culture in schools, aiming for the effective implementation and consolidation of related public policies.

Pedagogical Approach with Digital Games: Influence on the Development of Executive Functions in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Mariane Gomes Lacerda — 2025-06-10

This study investigates the influence of the use of digital games on the development of executive functions in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the context of Specialized Educational Assistance (SEA). Using an experimental approach, the research involved 12 adolescents, divided into an experimental group, which took part in sessions with digital games, and a control group, which carried out traditional ESA activities. Data analysis, conducted using neuropsychological tests and questionnaires administered to guardians, revealed that the experimental group showed significant improvements in selective attention and inhibitory control. The experimental group's average scores on the Cancellation Attention Test (CAT) increased from 91.7 points in the pre-test to 103.7 in the post-test, while the control group showed a slight drop, from 53.8 points in the pre-test to 45.8 in the post-test. In addition, the guardians reported positive perceptions of the adolescents' behavior and engagement. The results indicate that digital games are an effective approach in ESA to promote the development of executive functions and increase the engagement of adolescents with ASD, highlighting their potential as an inclusive pedagogical approach. This study contributes to the literature on adaptive educational interventions, emphasizing the relevance of assistive technologies in inclusive education and the role of technological development in specialized educational environments.

Support for Monitoring the Goals of the National Education Plan: a Technological Approach for Data Driven Educational Management

Paula Toledo Palomino — 2025-09-17

The National Education Plan (PNE), sanctioned in 2014, establishes 20 goals for Brazilian education. In this context, federated entities have the autonomy to define their own subnational plans and must monitor their indicators in alignment with the PNE. When developing these plans, state and municipal managers face the challenge of obtaining information about PNE indicators. This article investigates the articulation between the needs of educational managers and good practices identified in the implementation and monitoring of educational goals, with the aim of proposing a technological solution that supports the monitoring of educational indicators. The design of the open and connected data platform Conecta PNE was based on semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and the analysis of related platforms and good practices extracted from case studies. Providing data in open and accessible formats strengthens transparency, facilitates interoperability between different sources of information and expands the possibilities for analysis and data crossing. In this way, the proposed solution provides essential information, allowing a more in-depth and evidence-based analysis of educational indicators, supporting decision-making and improving public policies in the area.

Insights and Tools on Digital Creation of Educational Personalities through Artificial Intelligence: A Systematic Literature Review

Lívia Elias Cardoso Verhalen — 2025-07-08

The advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed several areas and the possibility of digitally recreating deceased educators is one of the developments of this revolution. This innovation arouses both enthusiasm and concerns, because, while it allows new ways of preserving the legacy of educators for future generations, it also has ethical implications. Given this scenario, through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR), we seek to analyze the literature in the area with a view to identifying educators' perceptions about the digital recreation of educators by Artificial Intelligence and the ethical implications that emerge from this possibility. To this end, the method of using Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome (PICO) parameters was adopted in the formulation of the research questions, and the bibliographic search was carried out in the ACM Digital Library, CAPES and Google Scholar databases. After the selection process, 12 studies were considered relevant among the 365 initially identified. It is noticeable that the literature on the subject is still limited, especially empirical studies. Among others, it is concluded that the practice of recreating educators through Artificial Intelligence requires clear guidelines to guarantee its ethical and beneficial application.

Technological Artifacts to Support the Creation of Digital Solutions for Children with ASD

Marcelo da Silveira Siedler — 2025-06-10

This work presents software artifacts aimed at supporting the creation of digital educational solutions for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Technology can be a powerful tool to assist pedagogical and therapeutic interventions, contributing to the development of essential skills in these children. One of the challenges, however, is designing solutions tailored to the target audience, as autistic children have specific needs that must be considered when developing specialized software. In this study, a prospecting phase was conducted with experts to explore how inclusive materials should be developed, the dynamics of interventions in resource rooms, and the particularities to be taken into account when designing digital solutions. Based on these findings, the created artifacts are presented, consisting of a set of guiding principles that establish recommendations for developing software targeted at children with ASD. Subsequently, a development model is proposed and implemented based on these principles. Finally, the proposed model is validated by software developers who created digital games using the materials provided within the model. This process resulted in two prototypes developed as Minimum Viable Products, addressing different aspects of early childhood learning, such as motor coordination and literacy.

Challenge-based learning in practice: a case study

Zobeida J. Guzmán — 2025-09-17

New generations have brought about drastic changes in lifestyle and learning preferences. While generational shifts have always existed, these changes have become faster and more abrupt in recent decades. On one hand, younger generations gravitate toward immediate learning experiences, often lacking the patience to retain knowledge until its practical application. On the other hand, well-established and emerging educational strategies seek to impact the classroom significantly. However, there remains a considerable gap between theory and practice. Various educational strategies have been developed to enhance learning experiences in response to this transformation, yet their effective implementation continues to pose challenges. This study aims to analyze the implementation of challenge-based learning (CBL) in a university course, assessing its impact on the teaching-learning process, cognitive skill development, and student motivation. The central research question guiding this analysis is: How does the application of CBL in a university setting impact knowledge acquisition, problem-solving abilities, and student engagement? A case study design was adopted with a qualitative approach incorporating quantitative elements to address this question. CBL was implemented in an advanced Computer Vision course, structuring the experience into several phases: problem identification, solution development, prototype implementation, and formative assessment. Data was collected through direct observation, analysis of student work, and surveys. The results indicate that CBL promotes meaningful learning, enhances critical thinking skills, and increases student motivation by allowing them to apply their knowledge to real-world projects.

Teaching Hands-On Digital Image Processing with morph.py: Methods and Comprehensive Results

Francisco de Assis Zampirolli — 2025-08-29

Teaching Digital Image Processing (DIP) presents significant challenges due to mathematical and algorithmic complexities. Although the field has experienced recent growth, there is a lack of comprehensive resources to support effective DIP education. To address this gap, this paper introduces a practical course utilizing a Python library named morph.py, which is designed for beginners and accessible on Google Colab. This interactive course features illustrative examples and hands-on exercises to help learners grasp fundamental DIP concepts and operators. It starts with basic concepts (e.g., image representation) and gradually advances to more complex topics, including image transformations and feature extraction. This work demonstrates how to use morph.py in Colab for teaching materials to tackle different computer vision problems. It also discusses the integration with MCTest and Moodle for assessments with automatic grading, enhancing the reproducibility of the presented method. Additionally, the paper details the use of Safe Exam Browser (SEB) for securing exams. We conducted an exploratory case study in one group (N=15) and gathered their perception through a voluntary survey. Our quantitative analysis provides strong support for the effectiveness of our teaching method based on the morph.py library, successfully addressing the difficulties of teaching DIP to beginners.

Personalized Gamification with Adaptive Feedback in Programming Education: A Motivational-Profile and Learning-Style-Based Approach

Patricia Diniz — 2025-10-30

This study investigates the impact of personalized gamification strategies on programming education, based on students’ motivational profiles and learning styles. The research was conducted in a technical computer science course and is grounded in the HEXAD and GRSLSS models for classifying student profiles and integrating these classifications into the organization of gamified activities. The pedagogical proposal includes the use of adaptive feedback to promote continuous adjustments in the activities, according to students’ performance and responses. The methodology encompassed two phases: the first involved the application of a common introductory activity (Animal Duel), and the second, an activity based on Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), adapted to the previously identified profiles. The results indicate significant gains in engagement, autonomy, content comprehension, and academic performance. The adopted approach demonstrates that personalized gamification, combined with adaptive feedback, can make the teaching and learning process more inclusive and effective. This study contributes to the field of Computer Science Education by presenting a practical, replicable, and theoretically grounded methodology that considers the diversity of student profiles in real educational contexts.