Redes Conectadas: a partnership that transforms
Redes Conectadas in action
Since 2024, Casa Hacker has been developing digital inclusion projects in partnership with four organizations: Casa Santana, CECOMPI, ADRA and Núcleo Calvariano. Together, these institutions formed Redes Conectadas, an initiative that is part of Casa Hacker’s Inclusão Tech program.
With funding from FEAC, each institution built its own computer lab. Casa Hacker provided technical support, methodology development and the delivery of the classes — with its own educators working directly within the institutions. Children, young people and adults over 50 took part in training focused on technology and digital safety — sessions rich in exchange, learning and hands-on application.
As the final stage of the project, a training session was held for the educators of the four institutions. The aim was to present the learning tracks developed for each age group and to deepen their understanding of the methodology adopted, so that each educator could carry the project forward in their own institution.
The gathering
In January and February 2026, a 24-hour training took place with the educators from the four institutions. The core themes were Project Pedagogy and digital inclusion.
Over the course of the sessions, topics such as the following were addressed: what digital skills mean for different age groups, how to apply pedagogical tracks, how to plan and assess projects through Project-Based Learning (PBL), and how to use different platforms in pedagogical activities.
What set the training apart was precisely the way these contents were worked on: through the PBL methodology itself. The educators investigated the topics, raised hypotheses, tested their knowledge, analyzed materials and created their own projects — all in exchange with their peers. In practice, they experienced exactly what they would be challenged to propose to their students.
The group of educators who took part in the training.
PBL vs. traditional methodologies: what is the difference?
What makes PBL different
Project-Based Learning places the student at the center of the process. Inspired by thinkers such as John Dewey and developed further by researchers such as Bender (2012) and Johnson & Johnson (1999), PBL values active participation, cooperative work and the construction of knowledge from real problems. Projects must be:
- Authentic: connected to reality and genuinely meaningful to the student;
- Realistic: applicable beyond the classroom.
When students see meaning in what they learn, engagement comes naturally.
In traditional methodologies, by contrast, the focus is on memorization and the repetition of content. The student takes on a passive role, without necessarily connecting what they learn to their real life.
In the context of teaching digital technologies, this difference is even more evident. It is not enough to know how to complete an exercise — you have to know how to apply it. And that is exactly what PBL proposes.
The results that endured
A shift in the educators’ perspective
During the training sessions, it was common to hear from the educators that, when they were nominated for the course, they did not feel prepared to work with digital technologies. Over the course of the process, however, many reported a significant shift in perspective.
This was because of a common misconception: the belief that teaching technology requires being a technical specialist. The training showed that the main goal is to develop in students a conscious, practical and responsible use of digital tools — and that is within reach of any committed educator.
A concrete example: days after the training, one educator got in touch to share that she had planned a lesson using the entire framework presented in the course. The result was very positive — the students participated actively, worked in pairs and brought the educator great satisfaction.
This account reinforces a central idea: guiding educators, presenting strategies and equipping them makes all the difference in enabling them to propose activities that truly meet — and motivate — their students.
As Paulo Freire said: “Critical reflection on practice becomes a requirement of the theory/practice relationship. Without it, theory turns into idle chatter and practice into activism.” (FREIRE, 1996). Thinking critically about one’s own pedagogical practice is what turns an educator into an agent of change — and that is exactly what Inclusão Tech seeks to awaken.
References
BENDER, W. N. Aprendizagem baseada em projetos: educação diferenciada para o século XXI. Porto Alegre: Penso, 2012.
DEWEY, J. Experience and education. New York: Macmillan, 1938.
FREIRE, P. Pedagogia da autonomia: saberes necessários à prática educativa. São Paulo: Paz e Terra, 1996.
JOHNSON, D. W.; JOHNSON, R. T. Learning together and alone: cooperative, competitive, and individualistic learning. 5. ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.