Teaching Cartography to Children Through Interactive Media - Maps for the Future Children Education and Internet - page 198

16.1.4 Resources and Institutional Support
The project is implemented at the UFF's Institute of Geosciences, in its carto-
graphic laboratory, with the direct support of the Department of Geo-environmental
analysis and of the UFF's Board of Extension, where the project is registered.
The project is very ambitious and the financial resources are limited to the
scholarships awarded to the students. It has a great educational value as it makes
secondary students work together with university students. As a matter of fact the
project has begun through an exchange of ideas between the members of the team.
The data inserted in the project were provided by the students of the project team
during their researches and of course also by the authors.
16.1.5 Creating and Realizing Activities
This includes the design of the boards as well as the illustrations included in the
work, the supporting pictures, and the researches about the contents, the concep-
tion, the graphic programming, the animation, and the final arrangement.
16.1.6 Evaluation
The evaluation of results will be done in schools where the media will be tested.
The results will be presented in the academic agenda of the UFF during the Science
and Technology week of the University. The results will also (and mainly) be
presented to the teachers of the public schools network during a special seminar.
16.2 Development of the Media
The planning and execution of the project are based on the content of the media
with a special language adapted to the children of the first years of basic schools. A
special attention is given to the content and to the way this content can interact in
the education and in the learning motivation of geography and cartography. The
progress attained in this training leads the children to be more reflexive and clever
in the content games and in taking notes. The selection of themes is strongly
associated to the “fix points” located in the classroom space.
The objective of the media is to allow a constant dialogue with the “playing”
child, who will be able to play alone at home or in the school computer room with
the presence of a teacher who can intervene and orient him in the utilization of this
pedagogic tool.