Computer Science

The Master's degree in Informatics was designed to ensure high levels of adaptation to the individual context of each student, allowing them to pursue their studies at a distance and on flexible schedules.

The classes will mostly be asynchronous (when and where the student chooses) and less frequently synchronous (scheduled), as defined in the Learning Agreement established between the teacher and the students at the beginning of each semester.

Synchrono​us classes will always take place remotely, using the e-learning platform of the University of Maia and video conferencing systems, except for those that involve laboratory work or evaluation moments where the presence of the teacher and students in the same physical space is essential to achieve the objectives.

Considering the importance of familiarizing students with the technological devices that support the virtual environment where teaching and learning activities will take place, and the importance of acclimatizing to specific online communication and behavior modes, an online acclimatization module is organized at the beginning of each edition of the master's degree, mandatory for all students enrolled for the first time in the course.

This module will be organized in virtual groups and will be entirely online. The online acclimatization module is practical in nature, with a focus on "know-how." By the end of this module, the student should have:

• acquired skills in using the technological resources available in the online environment (know-how);
• acquired confidence and skills in online socialization (formal and informal) in the different modes of communication available in the virtual environment (knowing how to relate);
• acquired skills in different modes of online learning and work (independent learning, collaborative learning, learning with peers, learning with the support of resources);
• demonstrated social presence communication skills through interaction in informal contexts;
• applied general Internet usage skills (communication, research, knowledge management, and information evaluation) in the virtual environment where the course will take place (effective use of email, knowing how to work in online groups, knowing how to research and consult information on the Internet, etc.);
• applied the specific social coexistence rules of communication in online environments.​

• The Pedagogical Model of the University of Maia for 2nd Cycle distance learning programs is based on the following principles:

  • teaching focuses on the student as an active agent responsible for constructing knowledge and acquiring their competencies;
  • teaching values flexibility of access to learning, without temporal or geographical constraints, based on the availability of the student and an asynchronous communication model, giving time to the student to read and consolidate information, reflect, and only then, dialogue or interact (respond);
  • teaching is based on diverse forms of interaction among student-teacher, student-student, and student-learning resources, being socially contextualized and minimizing feelings of isolation.

  The following elements are vital in the context of the teaching-learning process:

  • Virtual Class, in which the student will join a virtual class along with the teacher and other classmates. Learning activities take place in this virtual space and are exclusively carried out online. The Virtual Class should be understood as a multifunctional space that brings together a range of resources distributed across various collective and/or individual work subspaces, where the interaction between teacher-student(s) and student-student(s) takes place. Communication is asynchronous, based on writing, and skills are enhanced.
  • Mixed Class, applied in some curriculum units that, in addition to the above, have synchronous face-to-face and/or online components for the presentation and demonstration of results or the development of practical artistic or workshop works. The scheduling of synchronous sessions is carefully delineated at the beginning of the semester, never exceeding 25% of the total hours.
  • Learning Contract is a document generated by the teacher proposing a guided and organized work path based on carefully scheduled activities aimed at ensuring the success of self-learning and collaborative learning processes, materialized in a set of milestones with very specific purposes. The Learning Contract is analyzed, discussed, and accepted by both the teacher who proposes it and the students who commit to carrying it out.

  The assessment can take place in two modalities:

  • Continuous Assessment, which takes place throughout the academic semester, includes different assessment items, foresees an online component with a weight of more than 60%, and has an individual nature in at least 50% of its weighting. If positive, this assessment modality exempts the student from the Final Assessment.
  • Final Assessment, which takes place in a single moment in time, may include different assessment items, is individual, online, or in person, and has a weighting of 100% in the final grade.
    

The Univer​​sity of Maia offers its students a Virtual Campus, which includes digital and completely dematerialized tools for carrying out administrative procedures remotely, such as registration and enrollment, payments, production, dissemination and management of schedules, grade posting, summary writing, attendance recording, exam schedules, submission of Course Unit Syllabi, Course Unit Reports, Cycle of Studies Evaluation Report, Theses, and Dissertations, etc.​​​​