O WhatsApp ® como Ferramenta Pedagógica M-Learning em um Programa de Prescrição de Exercícios Físicos

Abstract

The tools of Information and Communication Technologies - ICTs are changing the way we behave and how we learn, and these new learning environments are challenging educators. There is a need to learn about the rational use of this information and the tools available for accessing and replicating it. Due to the need to insert these technologies in education, M-learning emerged as a teaching modality in which mobile devices are resources for learning. There are few scientific studies on the pedagogical and training potential offered by mobile learning in Physical Education, especially with the intermediation of mobile technologies. Thus, the present study was prepared with the purpose of analyzing how the pedagogical relationship was established during the teaching-learning process, using the multiplatform WhatsApp application as a tool, in the M-learning mode, for the application of an individualized prescription of exercises programs. with an emphasis on postural education aimed at adults. As it works with subjective data, originated from dialogues established between teacher and students in private chats, this investigation presents itself as a case study of a qualitative nature, through the analysis of data with pre-defined categories. Fifty people participated in the investigation, 39 women and 11 men, self-employed professionals belonging to the middle class, with ages varying from 21 to 61 years old, with a majority between 30 and 40 years old. The activities, for analysis purposes, started on 2017, and ended on 2020. This research reveals that M-learning and the WhatsApp tool can be effective alternatives to help in overcoming the needs of certain groups of students and there is immense educational potential.