During the school years 2023/2024 and 2024/2025, the DFA/ASP implemented ten workshops involving twenty sections of the Collina d'Oro municipal school and the entire teaching staff. The aim was twofold: to enable pupils to approach the digital world in an active and critical manner and, at the same time, to equip teachers with the tools and skills to be able to continue the workshop activities independently in the years to come.
"In its second year, the EDUCO project has become even more integrated with the school reality of Collina d'Oro, adapting to the rhythms of the teachers, who have been able to deepen their technical skills both in relation to everyday digital didactics and in relation to specific courses on media, IT and science," explains Luca Botturi, Professor in Media in Education at the DFA/ASP's Media Laboratory and MINT. "Children have become familiar with digital tools and have come to know them as useful tools for learning, not just as objects of entertainment or status symbols. This is a first decisive step towards a critical and conscious use of digital".
The workshops touched on different areas, from the development of computational thinking with the introduction of programming languages to educational robotics, via multimedia production to outdoor education to measure environmental parameters with digital tools. Some paths led to the creation of podcasts, animated videos, interactive games and environmental monitoring projects, with active and motivated involvement of the pupils.
The coding activity made use of the visual programming software Scratch, which enables students to write and animate their own names, create interactive stories or small educational video games. The projects realised can be integrated with skills from other disciplines, giving rise to broader paths, such as the group creation of applications to present geography or science content.
In open-air workshops with technology, the pupils monitored environmental parameters - air, water, soil and climate - using scientific instruments and digital probes. The collected data were then processed into interactive presentations, analysed and enhanced in the digital media lab.
Sara Canepa, Director of the Municipal School Institute, emphasises: "EDUCO has yielded very positive results in terms of involvement, training and the development of innovative teaching practices. The project will continue thanks to the teachers who, having been trained in key topics, will be able to continue the work independently and share the results with their colleagues. Further development of the project in relation to the didactic use of iPads is already planned".
During the presentation evening, municipal council member Livia Balmelli reiterated the importance of the initiative for the entire local community: "EDUCO is not just an educational project, but the result of a shared vision: to promote an education in step with the times, capable of consciously, critically and creatively integrating digital technology into everyday school life. The activities took place under the supervision of the teachers, who were supported by experts in the field, in an atmosphere of enthusiasm, discovery and learning. The Municipality of Collina d'Oro has believed in this path from the outset, aware that investing in the school means investing in the future of our community.
Thanks to the work of the municipality, the school institute and the academic and cantonal competence centres, EDUCO is a unicum in Ticino. Never before has a digital education course been offered that involves the entire municipal school: from the two kindergarten sites to all primary school classes. The next step will be entrusted to the skills, initiative and creativity of the teaching staff, who will have the task - and the opportunity - to take the path forward.