Educação a Distância e Universidade Corporativa: um estudo sobre os sistemas de tutoria dos programas educacionais

Abstract

This thesis presents the outcomes of a research that analysed tutoring systems at distance education programs at corporate universities. Ten companies that currently offer educational courses exclusively in the distance learning format and count with tutoring support participated in the research. Research method included a survey and interviews. The research aimed to identify relevant tutor skills, their different ways of working and how tutors use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and media and resources of Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) in distance courses at corporate universities. The study also aimed to analyse the consequences of the absence of a professional tutor in trainings that are offered at corporate universities, including the effectiveness of learning among students, the degree of student abandonment in these courses, and the effectiveness of the use of the virtual environment, among others. The research also revealed that some competences and responsibilities of the tutor at distance courses at corporate universities are similar to those found among tutors at academic institutions. According to the gathered data, the absence of this professional has implications for the evasion of students. The research also revealed that generally tutors use synchronous and asynchronous media and resources of the LVE to establish communication interfaces at distance learning courses at the surveyed institutions. Research also shown that there is not only one model of tutoring but several different models, usually antagonist. The research concludes that it is necessary to understand the tutoring system in the educational context in which it is integrated with the curriculum and the wky on the previous woks of the planning of tutors moviments, technologies ans activitiee. The wok is based on the mainly on the previous works of the following authors: Michael Moore, Jennifer O'Rourke, Paulo Freire, Marisa Eboli and Fernando José de Almeida