Abstract:

There is a growing demand for the integration of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the educational environment at all teaching levels. However, there are two main resistances to fulfill this demand. The first one we call systemic rigidity, characterized by poor ability to assimilate methodological changes and the strong identification with existing paradigms applied to teacher´s training courses. The second one is the unawareness and inexperience of schools and teachers on how to meet this demand in order to ensure effectiveness in the expected results. Although the systemic rigidity might be overcome, the prevalence of the lack of knowledge and inexperience prevents attempts to promote the inclusion of new technologies in schools. This article examines six possible ways to apply the new technologies in the educational environment and five distortions commonly found in the experiences of using ICT in educational processes. The six possible ways to apply the ICT in education were identified as: instructional tool; resource for cognitive development; preparation for work; motivation; social Inclusion; and current culture. The five distortions found in the use of ICT were identified as: social isolation; information overload; social exclusion; lack of trust in network content; and excessive valuation of the virtual content. In this context, the Project Methodology (PM) emerges as a resource of great potential to solve the difficulties found in the use of ICT in education. The choice of the Project Methodology took into account the wide possibilities it offers in basic education and its contribution in building valuable competencies and skills. The article presents the reasons for choosing the PM and the potential of this methodology as a pedagogical resource that favors the procedures of deployment of ICT in educational processes, avoiding possible distortions arising from inappropriate uses of these technologies. Field research was conducted in schools in the public and private educational systems, trying to analyze the reality of the deployment of ICT in basic education. The results show that the PM favors deployment procedures and applications of ICT appropriately in the educational context and helps to avoid distortions that can arise from inappropriate uses of these technologies.

Keywords:

Information and Communication Technologies in Education, The Project Method, Learning environments.