When "going digital" in the field of education one possible optiontypically adopted in higher and adult education-is, so to speak, to "enhance the real world" through technology. Course materials are provided in digital format, face-to-face interaction is replaced by forums or social spaces, exercises and activities are remotely performed and scored, etc. Another option is to create "innovative learning experiences", that without technology would not be possible nor conceivable. Innovative learning experiences are more difficult to conceive, and also riskier to introduce in an established learning environment: they are also more difficult to explain and to evaluate. Innovative learning experiences, however, have also a great potential: they can generate "excitement" (something new!) and non-traditional educational benefits (still alongside with the "traditional" ones), like increased media literacy, professional skills and attitudes and more. In this paper, we will present two real-life innovative learning experiences for schools: collaborative 3D environments (for high school students) and digital storytelling (for pupils of all school grades, including kindergarten). We will discuss how they were designed and deployed (involving more than 20,000 students, from 3 continents) and what educational benefits they brought about.
FaTe -Favole e Tecnologia (Tales and Technology) is a project carried on by Politecnico di Milano which is composed by an on-line course for teachers and threeCD-ROMs for pupils from 4 to 8 year old. The blended solution proposed comes out from a previous edifying collaboration between university and primary school teachers: their huge passion for the use of NT in didactics and their aptitude for systematically thinking about their own experience made interactive tales come true and truly didactic. The present paper highlights the importance of a dialogue with schools to understand learning and teaching needs in order to help research on the relationship between ICT and education to advance; it proposes the results of several focus group with teachers, which guided the interactive tales' CD-ROMs and the on-line course production, promoting a conscious and creative use of informatics.
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