TIM Tec software is already being used by 16 Federal Institutes (IFs) in order to create customized MOOC (massive open online courses) platforms. 11 of them have published their platforms and 5 are in the installation process. Besides, one Tecnhological Education Federal Center (CEFET) has also started the installation of its platform. The initiative is carried out through a partnership between Instituto TIM and the Department of Professional and Technological Education (Setec) of the Ministry of Education, which promotes the free sharing of TIM Tec’s technology and courses with public educational institutions of Rede e-Tec Brasil.
The Federal Institute of Acre (IFAC) has released its platform for about seven months and has approximately 130 registered students, both from the institution and other interested people. Silvana de Andrade Gonçalves, coordinator of Information and Communication Technology of the Special Programs Directorate at IFAC, says that the installation was done without great difficulty and that the feedback from students about the TIM Tec courses available on the platform is positive. “All courses are very interesting and of modern areas, and allow students a good absorption of the content”, she says.
Silvana keeps contact with managers of other IFs through a discussion group, where they exchange experiences and information about the platform. “The group is used to foment the use of the platform across Rede e-Tec Brasil”, she explains. The next steps for the IFAC platform are intensifying its propagation among students from institutions across Acre and enable the Institute’s studio for the production of new courses. “The TIM Tec partnership with IFAC has contributed to strengthening the distance education policy and the dissemination of technical knowledge to Acre’s population”, she says.
In the Federal Institute of Southern Minas Gerais (IFSULDEMINAS), the Information Technologist Jean Loro is having the support of the TIM Tec team to complete the platform installation, which will also be opened to students from inside and outside the institution. One of the goals of creating the platform is to offer teachers an option to publish their own open free courses. “It is a simple and intuitive platform,” says Giovane José da Silva, director of Distance Education at IFSULDEMINAS.
Several courses are on production by teachers, with topics such as pedagogy in MOOCs, recording and editing video classes and instructional design. “We intend to make them available and share them with other IFs,” adds Giovane. On May 16th, the first of them will be launched, named Exploring the MOOCs. “It’s a course that instigates discussions and reflections on MOOCs”, explains professor Aracele Fassbinder, responsible for creating the course. It consists of videos, texts, forums and case studies on the origins, characteristics and benefits of a MOOC. Students who register on the platform will also have access to TIM Tec courses.
