Uso de fóruns para o estudo da escrita da língua de sinais

Abstract

This study devoted itself to investigate the facilities, difficulties and possibilities related to teaching in distance education (EaD) modality. It was based on the critical comments of students and tutors concerning the interaction tool “forum”, in AVA, in the disciplines SignWriting I, II and III, focusing technology use in deaf people distance education from a bilingual perspective. An exploratory descriptive research was carried out in a quali-quantitative approach. Letras-Libras course is offered in EaD modality by the Federal University of Santa Catarina in association with eight Educational Institutions, among which is the Federal University of Ceara. Despite EaD growing spread and adoption for education in various areas and with several audiences, the use of this type of education in a graduation course in Letras-LIBRAS for deaf people is new and brings several implications that serve for generating the following questions: EAD propitiates interaction among the members of the Deaf Community within the virtual environment in which Letras-LIBRAS takes place? It guarantees the contact among the pairs which are interconnected both linguistically and geographically? How deaf adults, fluent in LIBRAS but without SignWriting mastery nor Portuguese reading and writing total command will benefit themselves from courses in this modality of education? Which effects the writing required by the forum might have for deaf education? Preliminary results of the research indicate a preference by both deaf students and tutors for the use of videos in LIBRAS rather than writing in the forum. However, the majority had an active participation sending messages in Portuguese – with the influence of LIBRAS