Learning by construction camps: a model for informal science and technology education in developing countries

To achieve a true technological transfer in developing countries it is necessary to identify the needs in communities and develop technological solutions to them rather than using technologies designed elsewhere. This is not enough, communities must also be active participants in this process and technological universities can help by reaching the communities with innovative but simple technologies. We present a model of informal education for developing a strategy that joins students and professors in a constructionist environment to support the communities. We focus especially on the discussion of pedagogical perspectives applied in the camps and on the results obtained from the camps we have run.