Abstract:

This article aims to report the experiences of a Brazilian student in academic mobility at the Universitá degli Studi di Firenze - Italy during the period of the new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The isolation measures intended transformations in an emergency character such as the suspension of the classes in person and the adoption of the synchronous e-learning modality in the university context. This new dynamic required the use of new resources and tools and launched challenges mainly for foreign students. It required not only technical skills but also a deeper knowledge of the language for interactivity with teachers and colleagues in building relationships of knowledge exchange. The classes took place from a collaborative, welcoming and bonding perspective, with the "division of the protagonism of the learning process with the students, in the search for the participative construction of knowledge" (Reis & Lunardi-Mendes 2018, p. 298). We lived a classroom experience with the practice of an "active and personalized model", with the collaborative construction in which students became "co-authors" of their "training courses, being able to decide on learning objectives" (Calvani & Ranieri, 2002). Thus, through autobiographical narratives, the main perceptions, experiences, learnings, challenges, and the class routine and strategies used in this adverse context are highlighted. The text is based on the theoretical reference of authors such as Abrahão (2003; 2018) who reaffirm the potential of narratives. We also rely on the authors Santaella (2013), Reis and Lunardi-Mendes (2018), Calvani and Ranieri (2002) and Borges (2007) among others who deal with learning, education and digital technologies. The narrative of this experience, demonstrated in face of the limitations imposed as classes and digital technologies became essential for the permanence of the student in this context. In this sense, it is concluded that it is necessary, besides a critical reflection on the appropriation and use of these means, to expand the reach in a more democratic and inclusive way.

References:
[1] Abrahão, M. H. M. B. (2018) Memórias, identidades, experiências...destacados educadores brasileiros em histórias de vida. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS.
[2] Abrahão, M. H. M. B. (2003) Memória, narrativas e pesquisa autobiográfica. História da Educação. Pelotas, 14, 79-95. Retrieved 25 abril, de 2020 from https://seer.ufrgs.br/asphe/article/viewFile/30223/pdf.
[3] Borges, M. K. (2007) Educação e cibercultura: perspectivas para a emergência de novos paradigmas educacionais. In: Vallejo, A. P.; Zwierewicz, M. (Eds.). Sociedade da Informação, educação digital e inclusão. Florianópolis: Insular (1) 53-86
[4] Calvani, A. & Ranieri, M. (2002) E-learning: un modello per la formazione on-line. Formare Open Jounal per la formazione in rete. Retrieved 11 Maio 2020 from http://formare.erickson.it/wordpress/it/2002/e-learning-un-modello-per-la-formazione-online/.
[5] Reis, V.& Lunardi-Mendes, G. M.(2018) De iniciantes a vanguardistas: O uso de tecnologias digitais por jovens professores. Holos, 1(34). Retrieved 20 maio 2020 from: http://www2.ifrn.edu.br/ojs/index.php/HOLOS/article/view/4867
[6] Santaella, L. (2013) Comunicação Ubíqua. Repercussões na Cultura e na Educação. São Paulo: Paulus

Keywords:

Narrative autobiography, Academic mobility, Coronavirus, Online learning, Innovative pedagogies.