As geotecnologias no ensino de Geografia: uma análise nos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental I

Abstract

Study on the use of Geotechnologies as teaching tools in the teaching of Geography of the initial years of Basic Education I, developed within the scope of the research line Environmental Dynamics of the Postgraduate Program in Geography of Pontal, Federal University of Uberlândia, Institute of Human Sciences. With regard to the term Geotechnologies, one can mention the main tools that compose them, which are: Remote Sensing, Digital Cartography, Aerophotogrammetry, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS). However, this research was based on using two of these, Remote Sensing and Digital Cartography for didactic purposes in Geography classes, so the main objective was to verify the use of these in the initial years of Elementary School I (1st to 5th year). The research was carried out at the Municipal School Professor Ildefonso Mascarenhas da Silva, in the city of Ituiutaba - MG. The scientific relevance of the proposal is justified because it favors the work of teachers and consequently stimulates students' interest in Geography classes. As for the methodological procedures, bibliographic surveys were initially made regarding the teaching of Geography in the initial years of Elementary School I, teacher training and the use of Geotechnologies in Geography classes of the initial years. After the theoretical study and due approval of the research in the Ethics Committee, the fieldwork was carried out in the school environment, which was based on the distribution of questionnaires for teachers from the 1st to 5th year, analysis of the textbooks of Geography and development of activities with the proposed Geotechnologies. The activities were applied in the computer lab with the use of two free software programs, Tux Paint and KGeography, the latter being a unique feature of the Linux system. These programs made possible the practice of the activities concomitant to the planning of the Geography classes. As a result, students experienced different Geography classes, with digital map productions, educational games, satellite image analysis, and Google Earth and Google Maps searches of topics contained in textbooks. In view of the above, it is considered that there is the possibility of inserting Geotechnologies of Digital Cartography and Remote Sensing in the Geography classes of the initial years, since the researched school has the adequate resources and it is possible to plan classes that use these Geotechnologies, as well as teachers' interest in exploring other spaces beyond the classroom, providing more interactivity for their students. In a way, the research contributed to the discovery of new knowledge to students, teachers and researchers.