Abstract:

Several authors have discussed the consequences of using new technologies associated with formal education. New technologies and the choice of adequate tools have fed quite recent debates focusing “knowledge development”.

A causality effect is recognized between the use of new technologies and population access to higher levels of education; however there is only a very weak correlation between the use of new technologies and the quality of learning. In Brazil a government census (2014) shows that only 17.1% of students accepted at Universities come from “Distance Learning”; further, these results could not be correlated with the quality of learning.

A similar effect happens with non-formal learning. As an example, although Planetariums are outreach scientific centers, in Brazil 76% of their visitors are students from low level schools (up to students ages 14-15), encouraged by their teachers, in order to better illustrate classroom information. Hence we can say that Planetariums have been converted, through their public profile, into learning environments. Generally their “cupula sessions” are focused in astronomic concepts, although Astronomy, as such, is not a school subject either in Brazil or Portugal or in many other countries. Consequently, for an enhanced usefulness, “cupula sessions” to be attended by students should be designed as interdisciplinary activities, to create adequate learning environments.

Research carried out in Brazil in 2010 showed that interdisciplinary was almost completely absent in a large number of Planetariums. This was attributed to lack of adequate instrumental resources.

At about 1985 a new tool was developed, the digital planetarium (note that the instrument is indicated by a small “p” and the environment by a capital “P”). Since than the “old” optical-mechanic systems have been continuously replaced by these modern projectors and nowadays every Planetarium has the more recent instruments. They allow the coverage of different scientific areas of knowledge besides Astronomy. However, although they allow interdisciplinary studies, in practice these have not yet been implemented.

As a PhD project, a research using the Planetarium as an enlarged and more useful non-formal auxiliary resource for formal learning is being developed by the 1st author, where the correlation between the use of new technologies and school students’ quality of learning will be investigated. We expect that this work will act as a source of reflection on the utility of new technologies in non-formal education, contribute to a deeper learning of sciences, create a partnership between non-formal education centers and schools and illustrate new ways for learning and the potential of pedagogical practices developed in Planetariums.

Keywords:

Science Education, Teaching and learning in planetariums, non-formal education, scientific dissemination.