The use of video in educational research and teacher training in the digital classroom

Abstract The introduction of new technologies, video in particular, in educational and pedagogical research has not only changed how research is conducted in the educational field but has also brought about significant changes in teacher training. The advent of digitalisation, along with the miniaturisation of both video cameras and storage media, has led to a dramatic increase in the use of video, particularly in terms of video production. This has led to the introduction of new teaching practices and new training initiatives derived from the analysis of these practices. The use of video, at an educational and didactic level on the one hand, and as an instrument for field observation on the other, offers a variety of benefits, along with some critical issues. One of the advantages is the capacity to allow for an analytical vision of complex actions, which may be reviewed at different times, by a variety of interlocutors. The aim of this study is to present a reflection based on research conducted in nine digital classes, focussing on the use of video as both an instrument for recording, collecting and analysing data, as well as a training tool in the didactic practice of teachers

Editorial: Positive Technology: Designing E-experiences for Positive Change

While there is little doubt that our lives are becoming increasingly digital, whether this change is for the better or for the worse is far from being settled. Rather, over the past years concerns about the personal and social impacts of technologies have been growing, fueled by dystopian Orwellian scenarios that almost on daily basis are generously dispensed by major Western media outlets. According to a recent poll involving some 1,150 experts, 47% of respondents predict that individuals’ well-being will bemore helped than harmed by digital life in the next decade, while 32% say people’s well-being will bemore harmed than helped. Only 21% of those surveyed indicated that the impact of technologies on people well-being will be negligible compared to now (Pew Research Center, 2018)

Recensione: Maria Ranieri, Tecnologie per educatori socio-pedagogici. Metodi e strumenti, Carocci Faber, Roma, 2020, pp. 171.

Recensione del testo di Maria Ranieri " Tecnologie per educatori socio-pedagogici. Metodi e strumenti" edito da Carocci Faber, Roma, 2020

I Disturbi Specifici dell’Apprendimento: un percorso di autoformazione per gli insegnanti di oggi e di domani

Il lavoro affronta la tematica dei Disturbi Specifici dell’Apprendimento focalizzandosi sulla formazione degli insegnanti all’uso di strumenti compensativi informatici. Viene presentato il corso di autoformazione “DSA e strumenti tecnologici” progettato con l’Università degli Studi di Firenze e sperimentato su un gruppo di 139 insegnanti partecipanti ai Percorsi di Abilitazione Speciale (PAS) afferenti all’Università degli Studi di Perugia. Il corso approfondisce la tematica dei DSA in ambito didattico, favorendo la conoscenza/utilizzo di alcuni applicativi Open Source e Free, attraverso l’impiego di risorse educative aperte che si strutturano in un percorso formativo personalizzabile per contenuti e tempi di svolgimento

Smart welfare: the work of the educator at the time of Covid-19

The field of socio-educational services is focused on the value of relationships, proximity, support and intervention on site, at home or in users’ facilities, and all those elements are difficult to convert digitally. Nevertheless, during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, smart working also became part of the everyday life of social educators. This study discusses the role of technology in the work of the educator during the pandemic period and possible future developments. The study offers an insight into the influence of Covid-19 on socio-educational services, focusing on the function of technology both in maintaining contact with the users where the service was suspended and in reshaping the assistance that continued to be provided. The research study highlights that, despite the challenges and the initial disorientation faced by educators, digital technologies can constitute important working tools to assure the continuity of the pedagogical relationship also in the socio-educational and care contexts

Digital classroom and students with learning disorders: a study to improve learning processes and teaching practices

Abstract This study is an overview of the technologies used by students with learning disorder (LD) and has the purpose of investigating how and the conditions on which digital technology can be an integral part of a motivating and barrierless learning environment also for students with special educational needs. Classrooms of the 21st century could be equipped with a teacher's PC, student devices, e-board, Internet connection and a full suite of technological equipment, content, software and applications specially designed for education. The aim of this research was to observe whether the didactic work carried out in digital classrooms is beneficial to students with LD. By comparing data from the quantitative analysis and the observations carried out in the classroom, it is possible to affirm that the introduction of technologies in the classroom provides the benefits described by international works on this topic

Digital and inclusive environment

The paper presents, regarding to the actual legislation on the special educational needs (SEN), a search conducted by the University of Perugia, inserted in a pilot project that has involved ten schools in Umbria and Lazio. The work describes the instructional aspects associated to the introduction of the new technologies in classroom and helps us to understand as they influence the processes learning and reinforce those of inclusion.   Ambienti digitali inclusivi Il contributo presenta, alla luce della normativa attuale sui bisogni educativi speciali (BES), una ricerca condotta dall’Università degli Studi di Perugia, inserita in un progetto pilota che ha coinvolto dieci scuole in Umbria e Lazio. Il lavoro di ricerca descrive gli aspetti didattici legati all’introduzione delle nuove tecnologie in classe e ci aiuta a comprendere come queste condizionano i processi di apprendimento degli alunni e rafforzano quelli di inclusione

Required competences and specific training for learning tutor

The present contribution wants to start a reflection on the evolution of the professional educator role given the recent normative interventions and some new circles of intervention. Starting from a synthesis of research about the courses that in Italy are proposed today for the formation of tutor learning, the following job proposes a pedagogic reading of this new profile. It appears a well-defined frame of functions that however needs a more suitable definition in terms of formation and professional identity, not always so anchored to educational knowledges and postures. Il tutor dell’apprendimento tra competenze richieste e formazione specificaIl presente contributo intende avviare una riflessione sull’evoluzione della figura dell’educatore professionale alla luce dei recenti interventi normativi e di alcuni nuovi ambiti di intervento. Partendo da una sintesi di ricerca sui corsi che vengono proposti oggi in Italia per la formazione di tutor di apprendimento, il seguente lavoro propone una lettura pedagogica di questo nuovo profilo. Ne emerge un quadro di funzioni ben definito che necessita però di una più adeguata definizione in termini di formazione e di identità professionale, non sempre così ancorata a saperi e posture educative

Digital and inclusive environment

The paper presents, regarding to the actual legislation on the special educational needs (SEN), a search conducted by the University of Perugia, inserted in a pilot project that has involved ten schools in Umbria and Lazio. The work describes the instructional aspects associated to the introduction of the new technologies in classroom and helps us to understand as they influence the processes learning and reinforce those of inclusion. Ambienti digitali inclusiviIl contributo presenta, alla luce della normativa attuale sui bisogni educativi speciali (BES), una ricerca condotta dall’Università degli Studi di Perugia, inserita in un progetto pilota che ha coinvolto dieci scuole in Umbria e Lazio. Il lavoro di ricerca descrive gli aspetti didattici legati all’introduzione delle nuove tecnologie in classe e ci aiuta a comprendere come queste condizionano i processi di apprendimento degli alunni e rafforzano quelli di inclusione

Learning to learn: comparing learning and teaching style

The essay concerns a survey that has been made with the students and teachers of two secondary and high schools in Città della Pieve (PG - Italy). The aim of this survey is the knowledge comprehension and comparison of the students’ learning styles 1and the teachers’ teaching styles. In the educational environment the relevance of individual differences is unquestionable; the knowledge of students’ learning styles allows the teacher to take advantage of individual abilities. Two different questionnaires have been submitted and the results have been examined to analyse the students’ learning styles and to study the teachers’ teaching styles. The obtained data concern the fundamental themes related to the learning and teaching process.Imparare ad imparare: stili di apprendimento e di insegnamento a confrontoIl contributo descrive l’indagine, condotta in due classi delle scuole secondarie di primo e secondo grado di Città della Pieve (PG), volta a rilevare e comparare gli stili di apprendimento degli studenti e gli stili d’insegnamento dei loro docenti. L’importanza di considerare le differenze individuali è per l’ambito educativo indiscutibile, dal momento che solo conoscendo le modalità attraverso cui gli studenti apprendono, un insegnante può riuscire a valorizzare le attitudini di ognuno. I risultati emersi dalla somministrazione di due distinti questionari, sono stati esaminati con il duplice scopo di: approfondire la conoscenza degli stili di apprendimento e avviare una riflessione sugli stili di insegnamento dei docenti. I dati raccolti toccano aspetti fondamentali delle tematiche legate ai processi di apprendimento e di insegnamento.