Teaching Cultural Heritage using Mobile Augmented Reality

open2noThe relationship between augmented reality, mobile learning, gamification and non-formal education methods provide a great potential. The AR-CIMUVE Augmented Reality for the Walled Cities of the Veneto is an original project in collaboration with Italia Nostra and other associations which deal with transmitting our cultural heritage and which teach primary and middle school children the cultural and historical importance of the Veneto’s and the surrounding territories’ walled cities. In this learning experience students will explore how our environment has developed across the ages using the mobile devices with the technical back-up of the AR App. This will allow them to see maps, examine data, 3D models and will enable them to judge and improve their skills. From a pedagogical and educational point of view the emphasis is on a constructivist social-cultural approach which helps students to become active citizens more aware of their historical identity.openPetrucco, Corrado; Agostini, DanielePetrucco, Corrado; Agostini, Daniel

Developing Critical Thinking in online search

Digital skills especially those related to Information Literacy, are today considered fundamental to the education of students, both at school and at university. Searching and evaluating information found on the Internet is surely an important competency. An effective way to develop this competency is to educate students about the development of critical thinking. The article presents a qualitative-quantitative survey conducted during a course in Educational Technologies within a five year Degree program. The outcomes of the survey reveal some interesting behaviors and perceptions of students when they are faced with the Web search process and the characteristics of their critical thinking processes: some aspects of critical thinking are generally well supported, but others are acquired only after specific training. Experience shows that if properly motivated by metacognitive reflections and a clear method, students can actually critically evaluate the information presented online, the sources, and the sustainability of the arguments found. Positive results also occurred when the evaluation process was done in a collaborative modality

Narrative digitali come attivit\ue0 di Service Learning nel territorio

L\u2019articolo presenta una esperienza di un laboratorio sperimentale all\u2019interno dell\u2019insegnamento di Tecnologie del Corso di Laurea Triennale di Scienze dell\u2019Educazione. Durante il laboratorio gli studenti hanno appreso come utilizzare gli strumenti ed i metodi del Digital Storytelling e al tempo stesso anche modelli progettuali operativi per realizzare attivit\ue0 di Service Learning attraverso la \u200bcreazione di brevi video per pubblicizzare e far emergere problematiche sociali percepite come importanti nel territorio di appartenenza. \u200bLe "narrative digitali" sono state strutturate con modalit\ue0 comunicative tali da di dosare in modo efficace la dimensione emozionale e quella dei contenuti/problemi proprio per stimolare l'interesse delle comunit\ue0 di riferimento. \u200bLe attivit\ue0 hanno coinvolto enti, associazioni ed istituzioni che hanno collaborato con gli studenti per definire i problemi e proporre soluzioni. Complessivamente si sono formati 26 gruppi di studenti che hanno scelto altrettanti temi differenti e individuato l\u2019area territoriale di riferimento. Le problematiche affrontate appartengono alle aree relative a\u200blla\u200b: 1) disabilit\ue0 (barriere architettoniche, famiglie con disabili, pet therapy, fattorie sociali), 2) volontariato (Caritas, educativa di strada, associazioni, case famiglia, famiglie affidatarie) 3) gioco, animazione giovanile, promozione alla lettura, 4) droga e dipendenze giovanile, 5) vandalismo, abbandono animali. I risultati ottenuti dagli studenti, sia per quanto riguarda l\u2019acquisizione di competenze digitali che per l\u2019\u200bacquisizione di competenze disciplinari\u200b inerenti il loro curricolo di studi\u200b, sono stati pi\uf9 che positivi\u200b e il progetto \ue8 stato percepito come estremamente formativo nella sua innovativit\ue0.\u200b \u200bLa realizzazione dei Digital Storytelling \ue8 stata anche l'occasione per stimolare una riflessione metacognitiva sui temi affrontati e sopratutto ha messo alla prova le abilit\ue0 degli studenti nella ricerca e applicazione di possibili soluzioni operative e concrete da attuare.\u200b Dal punto di vista delle comunit\ue0 del territorio\u200b,\u200b l'iniziativa \ue8 stata accolta con molto favore e ha contribuito a colmare il gap da sempre percepito tra Universit\ue0/Istituzioni educative e societ\ue0\u200b

Digital storytelling as a reflective practice tool in a community of professionals

This exploratory study is based on an ethnographic research about a group of food safety professionals (physicians, veterinarians, biologists, chemists, nutritionists and prevention technicians) that try to exchange information and solve critical work issues communicating their experiences in the form of digital stories. In fact they convey more detailed context than textual and verbal stories, facilitating tacit knowledge elicitation and reflective practices. The digital storytelling process helped the community to reach a higher level of awareness about their specific professional competencies and critical work issues, fostering high levels of commitment and motivation, transforming the community in a true Community of Practice

Student Response Systems come strumento per la valutazione formativa: la percezione degli studenti in un pilot study

Student Response Systems (SRS) are increasingly used in Universities and schools around the world. In Italy, they have only been in use for a few years, but are spreading rapidly thanks to the fact that they can be used as simple, free Apps on students’ smartphones. SRSs have had positive feedback from both students and teachers, especially in terms of enhanced engagementand attention, peer interaction, and potential for formative assessment. The results of a pilot study in a university Educational Technology program have shown that students greatly appreciate SRSs. Above all, they would like to use SRSs as a “learning check”. In particular, they stated that they have a very positive perception of the feedback provided by the teacher, which help them gain a better understanding of the most important concepts of the topics covered. This interaction process helps the teacher to develop a formative assessment process that must, however, be managedand prepared with care.Gli Student Response Systems sono sempre più utilizzati nelle Università e nelle scuole in tutto il mondo. In Italia sono presenti solo da pochi anni ma si stanno diffondendo velocemente anche grazie alla possibilità di utilizzarli come semplici App, senza costi sullo smartphone degli studenti. Nella letteratura di riferimento gli SRS hanno avuto dei feed-back positivi sia da parte degli studenti che degli insegnanti soprattutto in termini di engagement e miglioramento dell’attenzione, peer interaction, e la possibilità di fornire una valutazione formativa. I risultati di una ricerca esplorativa effettuata all’interno di un corso di Tecnologie Educative, hanno dimostrato che gli studenti apprezzano molto l’uso degli SRS. In particolare preferirebbero utilizzarli alla fine di ogni lezione come controllo sulla comprensione dei contenuti trattati. Dichiarano inoltre di avere una percezione molto positiva del feedback fornito dal docente che commenta le risposte perché li aiuta a capire meglio i concetti più importanti degli argomenti trattati. Questo processo di interazione stimola il docente a sviluppare un processo di valutazione formativa che va però gestito e preparato con cura

Insegnanti in formazione e integrazione delle tecnologie in classe: futuri docenti ancora poco \u201csocial\u201d?

The purpose of this exploratory study is to collect data about teachers\u2019 practices and beliefs related to digital technologies, in order to develop a teachers training program that is more effective in improving technology integration in classroom. A survey has been administrated to 805 prospective or novice secondary teachers attending TFA and PAS courses in Italy. The main result of the quantitative data analysis reveals how teachers still have little consideration for the potential of interactive and collaborative technology. The implications for teacher education and suggestions for teacher belief change and technology integration are discussed

Drawings as a tool for assessment of cultural heritage understanding: A case study in a Mixed Reality Learning experience

Drawings often are for younger pupils a crucial way to express themselves but are seldom used as a tool of assessment and evaluation. We decided to use them to understand the impact of AR and MR technology heritage education on 132 students of the fifth primary school grade in Verona. We developed a way to analyse students’ drawings based on the frequency of the subject and on Jonassen’s rubrics for assessing system dynamics models which helped us in support and better understand the other quantitative data we gathered during the research

An Exploratory Study on Perceptions and Use of Technology by Novice and Future Teachers: More Information and Less On-Line Collaboration?

The article discusses the factors that affect the choice of teachers to integrate technology in their teaching and presents the results of a questionnaire administered to 805 teachers attending professional development training courses (TFA and PAS) in the Veneto Region (Northern Italy). The research is aimed at collecting data for the development of a teachers training program that is effective in motivating them to a broader and more effective use of technology. The study reveals how teachers still have little consideration for the potential of interactive and collaborative technology, preferring to use technology for searching information and materials rather than for discussion and participation in on-line communities with their peers, in order to improve their teaching and towards a collaborative construction and sharing of knowledge. The study also confirms the findings in the literature on the subject relative to a number of factors (internal and external) that are perceived as obstacles to the decision to integrate technology in education and proposes specific training activities that are useful in order to remove them

Partecipazione e condivisione di conoscenza negli apprendimenti on-line

Participation and knowledge sharing on-line takes place today in any contextof life and is a particularly critical point because it is undermining thestrict separation between the formal learning context and informal ones ofeveryday life. New technologies – especially those of mobile- favored widespreadand spontaneous participation to Community of Practice.Although new interfaces have simplified the construction of collaborativeknowledge, many research show that the human factor, i.e. the intrinsic motivation,is still essential to support any learning process. School and educationalinstitutions can take advantage of the opportunities of social networksand mobile device in informal settings, reconfiguring their curriculumtogether with social, businesses and local communities, through activitiesthat provide a shared understanding.La partecipazione e condivisione della conoscenza negli apprendimenti onlineavviene oggi in ogni contesto di vita ed è un fattore particolarmentecritico proprio perché sta mettendo in crisi la rigida suddivisione tra gli ambitiformali della scuola e della formazione e quelli informali della vita quotidiana.In particolare, le nuove tecnologie – soprattutto quelle del mobilehannofavorito la partecipazione diffusa e spontanea a vere e proprie Comunitàdi Pratica. Sebbene nuove interfacce abbiano semplificato lacostruzione di conoscenza collaborativa, da molte analisi emerge che il fattoreumano, nella dimensione della motivazione intrinseca, sia ancora fondamentaleper supportare ogni processo di apprendimento. Le istituzionieducative e formative possono sfruttare le opportunità dei social network edel mobile in ambito informale, riconfigurando la propria progettualitàassieme ad enti sul territorio, aziende e comunità locali, attraverso attivitàche forniscano una cornice di senso condivisa

Wikipedia in university courses: teaching practices and educational benefits

Abstract The academic world initially regarded Wikipedia with misgivings for a number of reasons, including the uncertainty concerning the reliability of its content, its anonymous authorship and the fact that students often use it as an easy way to cut and paste material for their coursework. In recent years, however, university instructors' perception of Wikipedia has changed significantly: it is seen as a useful teaching resource, as well as a promising environment for learning and collaborative knowledge building. It can be used for teaching purposes by assigning students to create and edit encyclopaedia articles. Such assignments can have many benefits: in addition to improving students' understanding of content, the assignments have been shown to increase their intrinsic motivation to learn, develop digital competences and build cross-cutting skills in online communication and interaction. Lastly, in connection with universities' institutional role, editing Wikipedia can be an interesting channel for the public communication of science