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Check below some of the projects that are currently being developed by NEES researchers.

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Soutec: there is always a technical course that is just right for you

Encourage Brazilian students to choose a technical course tailored to meet their interests. This is one of the main objectives of the software created by NEES at the request of the Secretariat of Professional and Technological Education (Setec) of the Ministry of Education (MEC).

With the tool, an application called SouTec, young people can answer 72 questions that assess their preferences related to work activities. Subsequently, the application automatically relates this result to the characteristics of 215 courses available in the National Catalog of Technical Courses (CNCT). Then, the application recommends the options that best suit each interest profile.

The tool also makes it possible to customize the searches using filters such as the location in which the course is offered according to the distance from where the students live. It is also possible to add the preferred options and institutions to their list of favorites.

The Soutec application is now available for free download at this link (Android or IOS operating system): https://linktr.ee/soutec

Learn more: www.nees.ufal.br/soutec

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Innovation Network for Hybrid Education

To promote and implement hybrid education strategies in all Brazilian states. This is the goal of the Innovation Network for Hybrid Education, project that is being developed by the Center of Excellence in Social Technologies (NEES) from the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MEC). The goal is to integrate the Ministry and the education secretariats of the Brazilian states, multiplying the learning opportunities.

Among the many possible definitions for hybrid education, NEES specialists point out that it can be understood as the integration between non-face-to-face education, that is, mediated by information and communication technologies, and face-to-face education. The modality is very different from the so-called remote emergency education, which was adopted worldwide when the covid-19 pandemic forced educational institutions to paralyze face-to-face activities. In the case of hybrid education, the goal is to achieve an optimal combination of face-to-face and non-face pedagogical strategies, allowing educational development to take place in different spaces and times.

To achieve this goal, it is essential to have an adequate infrastructure available, to consolidate and share good experiences, and to qualify human resources throughout the country. Actions are planned on several fronts, which will result in the creation of:

    • 52 Innovation Centers for Hybrid Education, which will be installed in the future in all regions of Brazil;
    • a virtual learning environment tailored for students enrolled in high school;
    • repository of educational resources such as videos, texts, audios, images, animations, lesson plans, and other pedagogical materials;
    • Observatory of Hybrid Education, a space for monitoring and evaluating the Network’s operation, following its performance and evolution, and proposing improvements and innovations to enhance hybrid education and high school education in the country.
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School dropout and early school leaving: using technology to predict the future and act in the present

Considering the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on education, several countries have faced an increase in dropouts and school dropouts. In Brazil, for example, the number of children and adolescents out of school increased 171% during the pandemic, according to a survey by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

Dropout occurs when the student stops attending school before the end of the school year, without formally requesting a transfer to another educational institution. Dropping out, on the other hand, occurs when a student does not enroll in order to continue his studies in the next school year.

The proposal of the NEES project is to use mathematical and computational tools to predict the future and enable educational managers to act in the present in order to prevent students from dropping out of school. Starting from the collection of a series of data – resulting from questionnaires filled out by students and managers plus educational data from various sources – the idea of the project is to create a solution to analyze them and, through the use of predictive mathematical models, calculate the risk of dropout and abandonment. With this system, it will be possible to monitor and direct personalized actions to the students who present the highest risk.

It is worth noting that the project is part of the scope of actions provided for by the National Policy for Learning Recovery in Basic Education. Published in the Official Federal Gazette (DOU) on May 24, 2022, the policy aims to implement strategies, programs, and actions for learning recovery and to tackle dropout and early school leaving in basic education.

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A technical solution to aid teachers by facilitating and speeding up the correction of handwritten texts

The project’s goal is to build an automated corrector of handwritten texts using artificial intelligence tools. The first step to creating this solution is to obtain a large database of essays and evaluations of students from all over Brazil.

These materials will constitute the foundation to train computers in the art of correcting texts. To facilitate data collection, an application for the digitalization of handwritten texts was developed, which is available on the following link: https://abre.ai/ejw4

Over 53k handwritten texts were already collected and the proposal is to create a text evaluation model and put it into operation before the end of 2022. With the project, researchers hope to support Brazilian teachers in the arduous and challenging task of broadening students’ writing skills.

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Actions in collaboration with the National Textbook Program (Programa Nacional do Livro e do Material Didático – PNLD)

Several projects related to the PNLD are being carried out, in partnership with the National Fund for Education Development (FNDE) and the Secretary of Basic Education (SEB) of the Ministry of Education (MEC).

NEES researchers conduct actions such as:

  • setting up a system for the evaluation, cataloging, and selection of books, teaching materials, and digital resources;
  • conceiving, testing, and specifying a supply model for the qualification of digital content;
  • development and management of digital guides to support schools in choosing textbooks.
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A platform for democratic management of normative acts in the education field

Construction and mapping of processes necessary for effective maintenance of the normative acts of the educational field, in a standardized manner alongside education councils (state and municipal). The platform makes it possible to monitor the development of educational public policies in Brazil, in an indexed and georeferenced manner to facilitate evidence-based monitoring and validation.

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National Platform for Education Plans (Plataforma Nacional de Planos de Educação – PNE)

Considering the various education plans developed at the municipal, state, and federal levels, the project’s goal is to enable the consultation and monitoring of all these plans at a national level. For this, it is necessary to evaluate, plan and integrate the processes and systems that subsidize the educational ecosystem. Only then will it be possible to promote digital transformation that enables consultation, monitoring, and evaluation of all education plans.