Ferreira, Maria João
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Ferreira
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Maria João
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Maria João Ferreira
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Maria João Ferreira is Associate Professor and Researcher in the field of Information Systems at the Science and TechnologiesDepartment at Universidade Portucalense, Porto, Portugal. Graduated in Applied Mathematics and Computation at Portucalense University, she was awarded with a M.Sc. (1993) and a Ph.D. (2003) degrees in Computation by the University of Manchester. Currently, she teaches subjects in the areas of IT in Organizations, Information Systems, Requirements Engineering and Information Systems Development at undergraduate and master level while supervising M.Sc. and Ph.D. students. She is both a researcher at REMIT - Research on Economics, Management and Information Technologies at Universidade Portucalense - and at ISTTOS - Centro Algoritmi, a research unit in Information Systems and Technologies institutionally hosted by University of Minho. Her research focuses on Information Systems, Digital Transformation in Organizations (including Higher Education). She was coordinator during 10 years of the MSc in Information Technologies in Education. She is a co-author of several scientific publications with peer-review on national and international conferences, book chapters and journals and has been involved in several conferences as a program committee member, organizer committee member and local-chair member. She is also an Editorial Board Member of the IJADS and the IJAS.
5C16-639B-5E48
57193559489
O-3023-2015Research Projects
Organizational Units
REMIT – Research on Economics, Management and Information Technologies
Centro de investigação que que tem como objetivo principal produzir e disseminar conhecimento teórico e aplicado que possibilite uma maior compreensão das dinâmicas e tendências económicas, empresariais, territoriais e tecnológicas do mundo contemporâneo e dos seus efeitos socioeconómicos. O REMIT adota uma perspetiva multidisciplinar que integra vários domínios científicos: Economia e Gestão; Ciências e Tecnologia; Turismo, Património e Cultura.
Founded in 2017, REMIT – Research on Economics, Management and Information Technologies is a research unit of Portucalense University. Based on a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective it aims at responding to social challenges through a holistic approach involving a wide range of scientific fields such as Economics, Management, Science, Technology, Tourism, Heritage and Culture.
Grounded on the production of advanced scientific knowledge, REMIT has a special focus on its application to the resolution of real issues and challenges, having as strategic orientations:
- the understanding of local, national and international environment;
- the development of activities oriented to professional practice, namely in the business world.
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Publication Open Access The role of Project-Based Learning (PBL) to promote the development of student's skills for Lifelong Learning [abstract]2024-08-01 - Fernandes, Sandra; Albuquerque, Ana Sílvia; Ferreira, Maria JoãoThis study analyses the impact of Project-Based Learning (PBL) on the development of lifelong learning skills among first-year students at Portucalense University enrolled in the Social Education bachelor's program. [...]Publication Open Access Evolution and use of mobile devices in higher education: A case study in Portuguese Higher Education Institutions between 2009/2010 and 2014/20152017 - Ferreira, Maria João; Durão, Natércia; Santos-Pereira, Carla; Moreira, FernandoMobile devices’ popularity, particularly tablets and smartphones, has increased over the last years as a result of their versatility and multifunctionality. That consequently led to a wide daily use by everyone and especially among young people. Since 2010 the sales market for mobile devices has not stopped growing. This is justified by the fact that these devices present many advantages, namely usability, portability, versatility, adaptability and an ability to customize individual experiences. In the context of the teachinglearning process, mobile devices allow overcoming the temporal and physical boundaries of the classroom, since information is omnipresent and no longer limited to a specific time and place for learning, thus promoting the mLearning. In this way it is important to analyze the use of mLearning, particularly the acceptance rate and uses of mobile technologies devices in higher education Portuguese institutions. In order to answering this issue, this paper analyzes the evolution and trends in the use of mobile technologies in higher education institutions in Portugal (North region) between 2009/2010 and 2014/2015.Publication Open Access Towards the digital transformation: are portuguese organizations in this way?2019-03 - Santos-Pereira, Carla; Moreira, Fernando; Ferreira, Maria João; Durão, NatérciaDigital transformation is increasingly an element to be considered in the new paradigm of organizations. This transformation increases business opportunities and open a window for new approaches to the same business, both internally and externally, including changes in business processes and relationships with the organization’s stakeholders. Due of this, several concepts like digital transformation and enablers among others have emerged, and occurred in this new era. Being this in mind, it is fundamental to see if organizations in Portugal are already living in the aforementioned digital transformation or if they are aware of the need to adapt to this new reality. Thus, the objective of this research is to perceive the state of the art of Portuguese organizations in light of digital transformation.Publication Open Access Enhancing Higher Education in Portugal: Leveraging generative Artificial Intelligence for learning-teaching process2024-10-23 - Santos-Pereira, Carla; Ferreira, Maria João; Sobral, Sónia Rolland; Durão, Natércia; Moreira, FernandoRecent advancements in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) have revolutionized numerous fields, including higher education. This study focuses on the integration of GAI in Portuguese higher education institutions and explores its multifaceted implications and potential. Our research, conducted through a comprehensive survey between April and June 2023, engages with higher education faculty to understand their perceptions and utilization of GAI tools in teaching and learning processes. The potential of GAI to enhance personalized learning and interactive teaching methodologies is significant. It enables the creation of customized educational content, interactive simulations, and real-time feedback mechanisms, thus reducing the educators' workload and enhancing the learning experience. However, this integration is not without challenges. The study identifies critical ethical concerns around the use of GAI, including data privacy, intellectual property, and the potential for bias in AI-generated content. Additionally, our findings indicate varying acceptance and readiness among educators to adopt these technologies. While some express enthusiasm for the potential of GAI to transform educational practices, others remain cautious, highlighting the need for comprehensive training and support to leverage GAI capabilities fully. This paper captures the essence of the study's findings, illustrating both the promising opportunities and the complex challenges associated with using Generative AI in higher education. Higher education institutions can significantly enhance teaching and learning landscapes by addressing these challenges and fostering an informed and ethical approach to GAI integration.Publication Open Access Improving student engagement with Project-Based Learning: A case study in Software Engineering2021-02 - Veloso, Bruno; Morais, Paula; Ferreira, Maria JoãoIn the area of Information and Communication Technologies, in addition to the problem of engagement, students often have difficulties in learning subjects related to modeling and programming. The reasons for these difficulties are well known and described in the literature, pointing to difficulties in abstraction and logic thinking. Knowing that the value of flexible and personalized learning, teachers are changing the way they teach, using different active learning methodologies, such as flipped classroom, project-based learning, and peer instruction. This paper describes an experiment conducted to improve the learning experiences of the students enrolled in the Computer Science bachelor’s degree course, attending three curricular units: Information Systems Development, Data Structures, and Web Languages and Technologies. The approach followed by the teachers used project-based learning as an active learning methodology. This methodology allows us to achieve four main objectives: (i) improve student engagement; (ii) improve learning outcomes achievement (iii) increase the course success rate and (iv) allow students to experience the need for the software development lifecycle, feeling that software engineering is not a block-based process but depending on previous activity, often leads to the need to go back in the process. The results obtained with the use of the active methodology were well accepted by the students and allowed both teachers and students to reach the objectives set.Publication Open Access Integrating the is success model in the development of an Intranet project2024-03-10 - Magalhães, Tiago; Varajão , João; Ferreira, Maria João; Pinto , Carlos; Rodrigues, Luis SilvaIn recent years, several intranet implementation projects have been developed in organizations. These solutions have proven useful for improving communication and collaboration between departments and other organizational structures. However, intranet implementation projects are not without risks, and their adoption must be adequately managed to reduce deployment errors, resistance to change, and other problems that typically arise in information systems development projects. In order to contribute to improving success, this article proposes the use of Delone and McLean's Information Systems (IS) Success Model in the project management of corporate intranets and describes the case of a project carried out in a multinational business group. Our findings show that this model can be very useful in the context of practical processes informing the evaluation of project results.Publication Open Access Exploring the impact of Artificial Intelligence generative tools on research in Higher Education Institutions: A perspective from Portugal2024-10-23 - Sobral, Sónia Rolland; Ferreira, Maria João; Santos-Pereira, Carla; Durão, Natércia; Moreira, FernandoArtificial Intelligence (AI) generative tools have emerged as transformative instruments in various domains, including research and academia. It is important to see what is positive and what is not. This study focuses on the integration of GAI in Portuguese higher education institutions and explores its multifaceted implications and potential. Our research was conducted through a comprehensive survey between April and June 2023, garnering 77 responses. To this purpose, the analysis will have several insights into the research process, namely, to assess the frequency of use and objectives of using generative AI for higher education research and to explore possible trends and future directions in the adoption and application of generative AI in this field.Publication Open Access How Does Learning Analytics Contribute to Prevent Students’ Dropout in Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review2021-11-04 - Oliveira, Catarina Félix de; Sobral, Sónia Rolland; Ferreira, Maria João; Moreira, FernandoRetention and dropout of higher education students is a subject that must be analysed carefully. Learning analytics can be used to help prevent failure cases. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the scientific production in this area in higher education in journals indexed in Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science and Elsevier’s Scopus. We use a bibliometric and systematic study to obtain deep knowledge of the referred scientific production. The information gathered allows us to perceive where, how, and in what ways learning analytics has been used in the latest years. By analysing studies performed all over the world, we identify what kinds of data and techniques are used to approach the subject. We propose a feature classification into several categories and subcategories, regarding student and external features. Student features can be seen as personal or academic data, while external factors include information about the university, environment, and support offered to the students. To approach the problems, authors successfully use data mining applied to the identified educational data. We also identify some other concerns, such as privacy issues, that need to be considered in the studies.Publication Open Access O direito à educação e o contributo das novas tecnologias2018-10 - Alves, Dora Resende; Silva, Maria Manuela Magalhães; Ferreira, Maria JoãoPublication Open Access What contribution by the new technologies in the right to education?: An institutional European approach2019 - Alves, Dora Resende; Ferreira, Maria João; Silva, Maria Manuela MagalhãesThe importance of the right to education as a fundamental right and an instrument of democracy is underlined by the latest documents of the European Union (EU). Legally consecrated the right to education both at the level of national law of member States, in constitutional texts and at the level of international law, is with the documentation of the European Union that results in emphasizing the importance of education for the whole Democratic and economic system. The right to education, as well as the right to vocational and continuing training – long life education –, as mentioned, deserve the attention of the most recent documents of the European Union which, many of them although they do not possess the dignity of legislative acts, shape Member States ' guidance in their performance. Thus valued, the right to education arises as a conditioning factor in the most varied subjects. Educational systems, possibly using the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), will be facilitators and promoters of the acquisition of competences, namely knowledge, skills and attitudes, essential to the exercise of Democratic ideals. However, it raises the problem of access to these same technologies and its possible use in training to articulate, participate and shape, in the future of a Europe characterised by democracy, solidarity and inclusion. And what contribution can the aforementioned ICT ensure for a more effective realising of the constitutionally recognised right? The discussion is still recent. Digital technology enriches learning in a variety of ways and offers learning opportunities but how to guide it? The value of the rule of law is maintained today as a priority. But it turns out that, in it, the realization of the right to education is not yet achieved in its fullness. It will also be through the policy of education and training that the common values and the general principles of law remain. The focus of intervention by the State and the international community has also been a necessity and priority. The research intends to focus on the legislative documents which devote the question of valorising the use of ICT in achieving this right. The theoretical-academic penchant is consolidated through systematic normative interpretation and has as pure intent the expansion of knowledge in research in a qualitative and exploratory approach without presenting quantitative data, the aim is to bring to discussion and debate the role, value and capacity of the use of ICT in enforcing a positive right that depends on the state's actions for its implementation. Being certain of the importance of education as a vehicle of promoter of democratic values and for the realization of other public policies, the adequacy of the teaching system to new technological demands arises as a challenge and a Need for which there is still a long way to go, which is the way of the mere documentary consecration by the institutions of the European Union.