Inclusão digital nas escolas: uma realidade para todos? Um estudo a partir das escolas da rede estadual de ensino no município de Santa Maria

Abstract

By the last years there has been an increasing expectation of the use of new technologies in schools. However, there are still many doubts about this very important issue for current society. Thus, this article aims to do a little analysis about digital inclusion in schools, advocated by theorists and politicians, and also about what schools really can offer. Among the theorists who advocate the use of different media in order to develop classes, Oscar Fontanini José de Carvalho and Maria Elisa Quartiero are notorious. They were useful, among others, as bibliographic referencial for this work, as well as the National Curriculum Guidelines, NCGs (1998), which encourage teachers to use new media in order to prepare classes, but not excessively. By studying the theoretical issues, labs from six schools were used in order to sustain the practical side. They were from state schools in Santa Maria municipality. By doing that, it was possible to establish that practice is far from theoretical issues, considering that the situation is even worse in schools located in the municipality countryside. There are also a lack of (maintained) equipment’s and appropriate setups, inadequate infrastructure, and qualified professionals. These facts are even more aggravated in schools located within the municipality. Thus, this paper argues that digital inclusion in schools is not a reality for everybody. In addition, without planning and an effective investment in schools, it will take some time to what is advocated in theory, and also in the NCGs, become real in state from Santa Maria municipality.