Read Text V and answer the question that follows.

Three out of four teachers in Brazil show support for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as a teaching tool. They also say that the technology has impacted education both positively, with faster access to information, and negatively, as students lose their focus.

The data can be found in an unprecedented survey by Semesp Institute, an organization that represents higher education providers. The study was carried out between March 18 and 31 with 444 public and private school teachers from kindergarten to high school located in all regions of Brazil.

In the study,74.8 percent of respondents partially or totally agree with the use of artificial intelligence in teaching. Despite this, just over a third (39.2%) of them said they always use it as a teaching tool.

Even though educators believe it is important to use AI, they also report structural and pedagogical problems that prevent or hinder its employment. Further issues were reported in connection with its excessive use, especially by pupils. Among these problems are the lack of internet at school, the lack of training for teachers and also greater difficulty in holding students’ attention.

“I sense students have become more dependent on research tools and immediate answers and have a hard time having resilience and patience and acting as problem solvers, ” an anonymous teacher who took part in the survey said.

Another one said: “Technology has advanced, but sometimes access to it at school is not satisfactory. Poor internet connection. The computer lab is a restricted space. No Microsoft Office in the mobile lab. The use of cell phones is impractical as students have no internet. Now, even the internet is restricted to teachers.”

Just under half of the teachers (45.7%) declared that both teachers and students have access to computers and the internet where they teach. Another seven percent answered there is still no access to technology in their schools.

Teachers also report that technology has made students lose their focus. “The school can’t keep up with the use of new technologies at the speed that the students can, which leads to a mismatch between the lesson taught and the lesson that the students want. The unbridled use of social media and the high level of exposure of young people to these networks have undermined teachers’ contact with students, ” one of the teachers stated.

From: https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/en/educacao/noticia/2024-05/three-outfour-teachers-brazil-advocate-ai-teaching-tool

Read Text I and answer the question that follows.

Text I

We increasingly engage with texts that draw meaning beyond written words from other sources. Images, sound, video clips and gestures (alone and in combination) all play central roles in how we communicate and interpret content.

This multimedia approach is especially evident in online platforms and social media, where a single piece of content may blend written language with videos, graphics, photos and other visual elements. This change requires us to rethink what we mean by literacy.

Nearly 30 years ago, a group of scholars, the New London Group, recognised the need for a broader understanding of literacy after observing a growing gap between the literacy needs students faced outside of school and the print-based practices still dominant in classrooms.

They introduced a concept of multiliteracies which acknowledges that we now engage with texts that use multiple modes of communication. We engage with these texts in different media environments, each with their own practices and strategies.

The concept incorporates the literacy skills needed to acquire, interpret, produce and evaluate the multimodal and multimedia texts we encounter today.

For literacy education, this shift means updating classroom aims, content and activities. The group developed a pedagogical framework to help schools respond to the growing inequalities and rapid changes in technology and the textual landscape.

The process starts with examining pupils’ everyday literacy practices and experiences together. Then these practices are approached analytically by introducing a metalanguage for discussing the resources they use to create meaning. Students can use this metalanguage to critically evaluate their literacy practices which helps them understand how different modes of communication work and how to use them effectively.

The pedagogy of multiliteracies also emphasises the design and production of multimodal texts and collaborative learning in linguistically and culturally diverse groups, rather than individual reading activities. […]

Multiliteracies are already included in many European curricula, and the European framework for key competencies for lifelong learning defines literacy in a way that aligns with the concept of multiliteracies. These policy documents and guidelines provide a foundation for integrating multiliteracies into literacy education.

Yet, research shows that there is still work to be done to incorporate teaching multimodal literacy practices into mainstream literacy education. While many teachers do include multimodal texts in their classroom activities, tensions between multimodal and traditional practices still exist.

Studies point out the huge challenges teachers face when they adapt their teaching to the redefined literacies, and there are concerns about teachers’ preparedness to teach multiliteracies. They need support with training and appropriate materials. Teacher educators and policy makers must ensure that teachers have substantial and concrete support.

Adapted from https://school-education.ec.europa.eu/en/discover/expertviews/multiliteracy-new-basic-skill-21st-century-classroom

Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a potentially life-threatening illness caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. About 6-7 million people worldwide are estimated to be infected with T. cruzi. The disease is found mainly in endemic areas of 21 continental Latin American countries, where it has been mostly transmitted to humans and other mammals by contact with feces or urine of triatomine bugs (vector-borne), known as kissing bugs, among many other popular names, depending on the geographical area.

Chagas disease is named after Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas, a Brazilian physician and researcher who discovered the disease in 1909. Chagas disease was once entirely confined to continental rural areas of the Region of the Americas (excluding the Caribbean islands). Due to increased population mobility over previous decades, most infected people now live in urban settings and the infection has been increasingly detected in the United States of America, Canada, and many European and some African, Eastern Mediterranean and Western Pacific countries.

Chagas disease’s transmission is caused by T. cruzi parasites, which are mainly transmitted by contact with feces/urine of infected blood-sucking triatomine bugs. Normally they hide during the day and become active at night when they feed on animal blood, including human blood. They usually bite an exposed area of skin such as the face (hence its common name, kissing bug), and the bug defecates or urinates close to the bite. The parasites enter the body when the person instinctively smears the bug’s feces or urine into the bite, other skin breaks, the eyes, or the mouth. T. cruzi can also be transmitted by consumption of food or beverages contaminated with T. cruzi through, for example, contact with feces or urine of infected triatomine bugs or common opossums. This kind of transmission typically causes outbreaks with more severe cases and mortality; passage from an infected mother to her newborn during pregnancy or childbirth; blood or blood product transfusion from infected donors; some organ transplants using organs from infected donors; and laboratory accidents.

Internet: <who.int> (adapted).