Digital tools represent a great educational resource and an opportunity not to be missed for teachers, parents and students. For this reason, the STAND project has inaugurated a period of intense activity at the I.C. “Cassarà Guida” in Partinico and in many other schools in Europe, involving teachers, students and parents in a journey of learning and awareness about the opportunities and risks of the Web.
Throughout the two years that are drawing to a close, the STAND project has aimed to support teachers, students, and families in dealing with the rapid digital transformation that has hit the school world at the outbreak of the COVID pandemic.
In the spring of 2023, numerous training sessions were held with primary and secondary school teachers, who learned through STAND’s e-learning platform how many opportunities and benefits the use of digital tools in the classroom can bring to teaching.
The last months, on the other hand, were dedicated to reflecting more deeply about the risks of the Internet, for raising awareness about digital threats, data protection, privacy and online behaviors that may have also legal consequences.
In fact, the Internet is not synonymous with absolute freedom, absence of rules and detachment from the real world. The behaviors adopted in digital environments, in fact, have effects and implications on real life as well, with psychological, emotional, physical but also legal consequences, and often people-especially minors – are not aware of them.
Moreover, the use of digital tools can pose problems of accessibility and real inclusion, creating discrimination and inequality, if we consider children and youth with special educational needs, such as dyslexia, or the digital gap in access to technological resources in some areas or for some families.
Finally, although digitization encourages less paper waste, and decreases travel in the case of distance meetings, the environmental impact of digital tools is not yet a subject of serious debate, especially in schools; however, the use of electricity, CO2 emissions, and disposal of technological devices certainly has significant environmental impact, which must be taken into account.
More than 20 teachers, 120 elementary and middle school children, and more than 40 parents have been involved in recent months in in-person and online meetings, discussions, activities, and hands-on workshops to raise awareness of these issues.
The STAND project’s e-learning platform is already available and open to anyone who wants to train in the use of digital tools for education, while the final products of the project – a Methodological Guide for Teachers and an Handbook for Educators and Families – will be published very soon on the project website: https://standproject.eu/
Visit https://standproject.eu/, follow us on https://www.facebook.com/standeuproject or write to antonella.alessi@danilodolci.org.
Learn more about STAND: visit https://standproject.eu/, follow us on https://www.facebook.com/standeuproject or write to antonella.alessi@danilodolci.org.
STAND – SUPPORTING CONTINUED ACCESS TO EDUCATION ENHANCING SCHOOLS’ DIGITAL READINESS is a project financed by the Erasmus+ program, KA2: Cooperation Partnerships in the field of school education.
Partners
- Coordinator: CSC Danilo Dolci (Italy)
- I.C. Cassarà – Guida (Italy)
- Stimmuli for Social Change (Greece)
- Aristotelio College (Greece)
- Blue room innovation (Spain)
- Escola la Bobila (Spain)
- Danmar Computers Sp Zoo (Poland)
- Szkola Podstawowa im. sw. Jana Kantego w Bedziemyslu (Poland)