Digital technologies in the 0-6-year educational services: a Media Education experience in nursery school and preschool

Research on the use of interactive screens in early childhood is quite recent and often produces divergent results. The article presents the experience of the Municipality of Florence and the University of Florence aimed at designing and experimenting the perspective of Media Education in early childhood with the involvement of the municipal nursery schools and preschools

The professionalization of early childhood education, care educators and pedagogical coordinators: a key issue of adult education

This paper focuses on the issue of in-service training of personnel involved in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), in light of the most recent European and Italian studies and regulations and in line with the principles of lifelong learning and adult education. The paper then illustrates the main aspects of a survey of the literature on in-service training of ECEC personnel, indicating the most significant experiences in Italy. Finally, as an example of good in-service training practices at university level, the case of the Master in “Pedagogical coordination of early childhood education and care services” of the University of Florence is described, together with some reflections on the role and function of the figure of the pedagogical coordinator, also as a promoter of in-service training of ECEC personnel.La formazione degli educatori di nidi e servizi prima infanzia e dei coordinatori pedagogici: un tema chiave della formazione degli adultiL’articolo affronta il tema della formazione in servizio del personale della Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), alla luce degli studi e delle normative europee e italiane più recenti, nella prospettiva dei principi dell’educazione permanente e degli adulti. Presenta poi gli aspetti salienti di un’analisi della letteratura sulla formazione in servizio del personale dell’ECEC e indica le più significative esperienze realizzate sul territorio italiano. Infine, come esempio di buone pratiche di formazione in servizio a livello universitario, riporta il caso del Master in “Coordinamento di nidi e servizi per l’infanzia zero-sei anni” dell’Università degli Studi di Firenze, insieme ad alcune riflessioni sul ruolo e sulla funzione della figura del coordinatore pedagogico, anche come promotore della formazione in servizio del personale dell’ECEC

Virtual worlds and augmented reality: The enhanced reality lab as a best practice for advanced simulation and immersive learning

e-REAL is enhanced reality for immersive simulation. It is a system where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time, in a real place and not within a headset. e-REAL allows for an advanced simulation within a multisensory scenario, based on challenging situations developed by visual storytelling techniques. The e-REAL immersive setting is fully interactive with 3D holographic visualization, talking avatars, electronically writable surfaces and more: people can take notes, cluster key-concepts or fill questionnaires directly on the projected surfaces. Learners rapidly circle between deliberate practice and direct feedback within a simulation scenario until mastery is achieved. So far, the early findings show that visualization, if linked in interactive ways to the learners, allows for better neural processes related to learning and behavior change. Mondi virtuali e realtà aumentata: l’Enhanced Reality Lab come best practice per la simulazione avanzata e l’apprendimento immersivoe-REAL è realtà potenziata per la simulazione immersiva. E’ un sistema dove oggetti fisici e virtuali coesistono e interagiscono in tempo reale, in un luogo reale e non all’interno di un visore. e-REAL consente una simulazione avanzata all’interno di uno scenario multisensoriale, basato su situazioni sfidanti progettate attraverso tecniche di storytelling visuale. Il setting immersivo di e-REAL è pienamente interattivo con visualizzazioni olografiche in 3D, avatars parlanti, superfici sulle quali è possibile scrivere elettronicamente e altro ancora: le persone possono prendere note, raggruppare concetti-chiave, compilare questionari direttamente sulle superfici proiettate. L’applicazione della tecnica denominate Rapid Cicle Deliberate Practice (RCDP), basata su feedback diretti e mirati, consente di migliorare le performance già nel corso della simulazione. I primi risultati mostrano che la visualizzazione interattiva potenzia i processi neurali associati all’apprendimento e al cambiamento comportamentale

The Flipped Learning approach: quantitative research on the perception of Italian teachers

The Flipped Learning (FL) approach is attracting increasing interest in schools of every kind and level. Although the research results seem promising, they often appear limited, not particularly rigorous, and occasionally contradictory. An international quantitative research has been conducted to identify the perception of teachers who regularly apply the FL approach concerning the impact of their teaching practices. The results of the survey carried out in Italy, show that students can work at their own pace and with the materials they consider appropriate in relation to their learning style, according to the teachers’ perception. The cooperative approach and the use of educational technologies facilitate the development of relational and digital skills. While FL promotes students’ participation, as well as inclusive and experiential teaching practices, the results highlight critical issues inherent to the accessibility of educational technologies, consistency in planning activities, as well as the involvement of colleagues and students’ parents. L’approccio Flipped Learning: un’indagine quantitativa sulle percezioni degli insegnanti italianiL’approccio Flipped Learning (FL) riscontra un interesse crescente nelle scuole di ogni ordine e grado. Anche se i risultati delle ricerche sembrano promettenti, essi spesso appaiono limitati, non rigorosi e talvolta contraddittori. Una ricerca quantitativa internazionale è stata condotta al fine di identificare le percezioni degli insegnanti che applicano tale modello riguardo l’impatto delle loro pratiche didattiche. I risultati dell’indagine svolta in Italia, evidenziano come, secondo i docenti, gli studenti abbiano la possibilità di lavorare con ritmi e materiali che ritengono adeguati in relazione al proprio stile di apprendimento. L’approccio cooperativo e l’utilizzo delle tecnologie didattiche facilitano lo sviluppo delle competenze relazionali e digitali. Pur favorendo il FL la partecipazione attiva degli studenti, nonché la promozione di una didattica inclusiva ed esperienziale, si evidenziano criticità inerenti all’accessibilità delle tecnologie didattiche, il rilevante impegno nella progettazione delle attività, nonché il coinvolgimento dei colleghi e dei genitori degli studenti

Informal sustainability and adult education: towards the new construction of capability environments

The paper proposes a rereading of the guidelines and theories related to the relationship between adults and the educational-training dimension also in reference to what was emphasized in the fourth (lifelong learning) and eighth (decent work) goals of the 2030 Agenda. Adult education is now an area that requires reflections and research hypotheses to foster the definition of informal paths based on the value of practice and agency. The paper proposes, therefore, an analysis of the pedagogical categories (work, training, learning) that are necessary to cultivate capacitive environments and, through the transversal reading of the results of a focus group, it proposes points of attention and ways of working useful for the installation and the realization of a learning system for the capacitations for adults and adults of the future. Sostenibilità informale e istruzione degli adulti: verso la costruzione di nuovi ambienti capacitantiIl contributo propone una rilettura degli indirizzi e delle teorie relative al rapporto tra adulti e dimensione educativo-formativa in riferimento a quanto sottolineato nel IV (apprendimento permanente) ed VIII (lavoro dignitoso) obiettivo dell’Agenda 2030. L’educazione degli adulti costituisce oggi un ambito che necessita di riflessioni ed ipotesi di ricerca per favorire la definizione di percorsi lifelong basati sul valore della pratica e dell’agency. Il contributo propone, dunque, un’analisi delle categorie pedagogiche (lavoro, formazione, apprendimento) che si rendono necessarie per coltivare ambienti capacitanti e, attraverso la lettura trasversale dei risultati di un focus group, propone punti di attenzione e piste di lavoro utili all’impianto ed alla realizzazione di un sistema di apprendimento alle capacitazioni per gli adulti e per gli adulti del futuro.

‘This is their profession’ Greek merchants in Transylvania and their Networks at the End of the 17th century

This article explores the commercial network of a Greek merchant from Transylvania at the end of the seventeenth century. Based on various archival material, it unfolds the extent of business interests and contacts of a trading network, spanning a wide territory in the Balkans and Central Europe as well, extending our prior knowledge of how the early Greek diaspora communities operated. Established in the Transylvanian juridical system with the specific role of providers of Ottoman products, Greek merchants swiftly extended their commercial activities as intermediaries of trade with Central European markets as well. The article also touches upon the difficulties of identifying individual merchants in different sources and languages

Greek as Ottoman? Language, identity and mediation of Ottoman culture in the early modern period

The scope of the paper is to examine the role of Greek as a conduit for the flow of cultural models between the Ottoman centre and the Christian periphery of the empire. The Danubian principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia witnessed throughout the early modern period a number of linguistic shifts, including the replacement of Slavonic literature with the one written in vernacular. Modern Romanian historiography has portrayed cultural change was a teleological one, triggered by the monetization of economy and the rise of new social classes. What this model fails to explain, though, is the partial retrenchment of vernacular as a literary medium in the eighteenth century, as it faced the stiff competition of Greek. The aim of this paper is to look at the ascendancy of Greek in the Danubian principalities and corresponding socio-economic and political changes through Ottoman lens. Rather than a departure from the developments that facilitated the victory of Romanian over Slavonic, the proliferation of Greek can be interpreted as their continuation, reflecting the growing integration of Moldavian and Wallachian elites into the fabric of the Ottoman Empire at the time when a new socio-political consensus was reaching its maturity. By its association with Ottoman-Orthodox Phanariot elites, the Greek language became an important conduit by which the provincial elites were able to integrate themselves within the larger social fabric, while also importing new models from the imperial centre

Cosmic Rays: the salt of the star formation recipe

A three-day workshop entitled “Cosmic Rays: the salt of the star formation recipe” was held at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Florence. The proposed workshop had the goal of bringing together experts in theory and simulations of cosmic-ray propagation, astrochemists, and observers to share ideas, discuss recent and present results, and identify the key challenges regarding the chemistry and physics of cosmic rays in the near future.A three-day workshop entitled “Cosmic Rays: the salt of the star formation recipe” was held at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Florence. The proposed workshop had the goal of bringing together experts in theory and simulations of cosmic-ray propagation, astrochemists, and observers to share ideas, discuss recent and present results, and identify the key challenges regarding the chemistry and physics of cosmic rays in the near future

The mimetic creation of the Imaginary

Young children learn to make sense of the world through mimetic processes. These processes are focused to begin with on their parents, brothers and sisters and people they know well. Young children want to become like these persons. They are driven by the desire to become like them, which will mean that they belong and are part of them and their world. Young children, and indeed humans in general are social beings. They, more than all non-human primates, are social beings who cannot survive without the Other. In mimetic processes the outside world becomes the inner world and the inner world becomes the outside world. The imaginary is developed and the imaginary develops ways of relating to the outside world. In a mimetic loop, this in turn affects the inner world of the imaginary. These processes are sensory and governed by desire. All the senses are involved which means that the imaginary has multiple layers. Since there is an intermingling of images, emotions and language, these processes are rooted in the body and at the same time transcend the body as they become part of the imaginary. Human beings create images of themselves in all cultures and historical periods. They need these images to understand themselves and their relationship to other human beings and to develop social relations and communities. Images of the human being are designs and projections of the human being and his or her relationship to other people and to the world. They are formed to visualize representations of individuals or aspects of them. They arise when we communicate about ourselves. They support us to live with diversities and to develop similarities and feelings of belonging with other people. They are the result of complex anthropological processes, in which social and cultural power structures play an important role

L’edizione antica delle opere di Archiloco

The article investigates the ancient edition of Archilochus’ works. It argues among other things that P.Oxy. 2311 (fr. 48 W.2) represents the first column of the Trimeters and that the Epodes were organised according to metre, from the most iambic (beginning with frr. 172-181 W.2) to the least iambic (ending with the new fragment preserved by BKT X 11, which was probably entirely dactylic)