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- How higher education teachers are using web technology in their education activities: a case studyPublication . Ribeiro, Sandra; Peres, Paula; Moreira Silva, ManuelInternet technologies, mobile phone and social media have brought new challenges to higher education. E-learning has been gaining a huge acceptance among educators, especially in Higher Education Institutions (HEI). This happens due to the exponential growth of the use of Internet and educational technologies that have fostered deep transformations in the teaching-learning process and paradigm. Our institution began e-learning activities in 2003 with WebCT, but soon changed its approach with the adoption of the open source platform Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) and the integration of specialized staff to assist teachers and students on a daily basis. Since then, there is evidence that the b-learning model has been maturing the school's educational culture, according to the teacher's willingness or availability to integrate technology in the teaching-learning process. However, it is important to know if the integration of web technology in the teaching-learning process is being combined with a shift in the pedagogical methodologies, and if teachers are taking full advantage of the capabilities offered by these learning environments and not using learning management systems as simple digital libraries for learning contents for students to download. To answer those questions we present a case study that describes how teachers have been using web technology to support their learning/teaching activities. We discuss the results of the analyses made on about 200 teachers' interactions according to different points of view and criteria. This analysis will focus mainly on the technological but also on pedagogical achievements, also on the challenges there are still to overcome and propose a set of good practices to support a more rewarding use of e-learning environments.
- Language tools: communicating in today’s world of businessPublication . Ribeiro, Sandra; Noronha Cunha, Suzana; Silva, ManuelIn a society increasingly mediated by technology, the medium has created unparalleled opportunities. As a result, it has refocused educators’ attention on how technological literacy is both an essential learning outcome in all higher education programs, and the intermediary, the means to achieve the digital competences expected from employees. In the field of English for Specific Purposes, and at a time when technology is perceived to enable quick and effective access to a vast number of sources of information and knowledge, teaching a language confronts teachers and students with divergent views that converge into what we perceive to be interconnected paths. We critically reflect upon these interconnected paths in order to obtain further insights on how technology, namely Machine Translation and Computer-Aided Translation, is perceived by business communicators who are learning English in an ESP environment. Within the premises that translation is an act of intercultural communication, our case study addresses mirrored perceptions of the English language, the act of translation, and the use of technological tools. Our study draws on both perspectives and discusses how mirrored images of students and teachers converge through project-based approaches, rooted in practical, short visual tasks with a clear and immediately visible purpose.