Bloco Gráfico, S.A. is a Porto Editora Group company that develops all editorial and technical aspects of the books, e-books, multimedia products, software components and online platforms provided by Bloco Gráfico. Porto Editora Group is the leading Portuguese Publisher and Educational Service/Products provider, employing over 1400 people and operating in Portugal, Mozambique, Angola and East Timor. Since 2005, Bloco Gráfico operates a learning management system under the brand “Escola Virtual”, which offers digital resources for teachers, self-learning tools to K-12 students (SCORM compliant “lessons”, using video, animations, simulations, several ways of learning assessment and evaluation, as well as multimedia enhanced digital textbooks), and communication and interaction points between students, teachers and parents. The development of these resources and platforms is lead and mostly attributed to Bloco Gráfico’s Multimedia Division, a 70-people unit composed of Web Development Managers, Instructional Designers, Content Managers (former teachers of different K-12 subjects), Sound, Video and Graphic Designers (the company owns video and sound studios), Training Specialists, Marketing & Sales Managers, and Customer Support personnel. The main goal of this unit is to create, maintain and expand all components of the current 200.000 users subscription-based services provided under the “Escola Virtual” brand. Video production for educational purposes is a significant part its activity, which importance has been growing fast.
The educational usage of video and the most recent technical developments in this area are the focus of Bloco Gráfico regarding ViSuAL. In the short term, Bloco Gráfico wants to add more relevancy and educational value to the video resources within the platform we operate. In the long term, Bloco Gráfico strives to develop their solutions so that their users adapt, modify and include video resources in their own learning and teaching narratives, increasing usage and learning outcomes. As an Educational Technology Designer (ETD), Bloco Gráfico offers solutions for learners’ online community; the video content sharing and group reflection can take place in hybrid and distance learning settings. The sharing of video recordings from real-world context, such as from practical training or work place help to bridge the education and work-life. At the same time, the collaborative reflection of the shared video content can enable a knowledge building process.