Time.news – Back to school but not for everyone. Italy remains at the bottom of Europe: over 12% of young people, in fact, are still in the middle school. Eurostat speaks for the accuracy of 12.7% and photographs a phenomenon whose name is ELET, Early Leavers from Education and Training.
Despite the fact that the figure has diminished in recent years (in 1992, school drop-out concerned 37.5% of the population), Italy is still the black flag in Europe, ahead only of Romania and Spain.
Among the various problems, certainly an offer teaching still too tied to the traditional e not very responsive to innovation, as explained by Pietro Dipalo, a manager with over 20 years of experience in the high-level training sector.
We are in the midst of a revolution that is completely redefining the present and the school is not excluded. But what has really changed?
“Digital innovation is very fast and technologies are constantly evolving. This transformation has had effects not only in people’s homes and private lives, but also in schools where digital tools complement or replace traditional learning tools. The daily life of people, and in particular of the new generations, is based on the use of digital systems: young people prefer the internet to TV, the digital format to paper, online banks to traditional ones. Compared to previous generations, not only have fashion and the way of speaking changed; digital has become an integral part of their lives: they are more ready to welcome and use innovations ”.
And this inevitably reverberates on the way of learning
“Of course, compared to previous generations, the way of reasoning, studying and above all the cognitive models of learning have also evolved: the way of obtaining information, of documenting oneself has changed; the level of attention has also changed. Let’s think, for example, of multichannel learning, or the ability to keep attention on multiple devices at the same time. We have entered a new era and the sooner the school system understands this the better.
An experience unthinkable up to 10 years ago, digital natives cross the training path bringing new needs.
“Up to now, the world of education has made reference to the classical model, adapting it to the digital model. There hasn’t been a real transition. Today there is a need in the first place to create content with the aim of maximizing student learning and improving his “user experience”. The request goes in the direction of flexibility, that is, the possibility of adapting training to one’s personal needs is sought. We are looking for a learning model capable of adapting the study method to one’s cognitive needs; the goal is greater study effectiveness and greater confidence in one’s abilities. In this context, digital is an effective response to the study needs of the new generations. For example, we have created one of the first completely digital schools in Italy, the Janus Institute, and studied a platform dedicated to high school students, but all of them at all ages now need a digital-oriented approach and the schools that are being born – designed for 5-year-olds like those designed for teenagers – they go in this direction.
Is it true that digital can increase and help inclusion in learning?
“The issue of inclusion is one of the most important in the Italian education system, in particular with regard to the categories of learners with physical, intellectual or sensory disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders or SLDs. In this particular case, distance learning is configured as a tool that is attentive to the specific needs of pupils, paying particular attention to tutoring activities. In any case, a didactic can be defined as inclusive when it takes into account the variety of characteristics of the students. In this sense, digital technology associated with teaching brings with it numerous advantages, such as the traceability of the activities carried out, the access to the lessons always available, the documents that can always be consulted, the advance loading of materials, the orderly archiving of the same, the scheduling of meetings and the flexibility of hours that eliminates problems relating to travel. It should also be remembered that digital didactic environments become psychologically safe and protected spaces where you can study peacefully, and this in certain circumstances can make the difference “.