Anna Dipace

Virtual realities and education

Abstract The purpose of this article is to highlight the state of the art of virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality technologies and their applications in formal education. We also present a selected list of case studies that prove the utility of these technologies in the context of formal education. Furthermore, as byproduct, the mentioned case studies show also that, although the industry is able to develop very advanced virtual environment technologies, their pedagogical implications are strongly related to a well-designed theoretical framework.

Teachers Induction and Digital Culture. The case of Southern Italy Teachers attending TFA

This paper aims at describing one of the possible Italian teachers induction paths, which is called “TFA”. Then, we grasp how Southern Italy participants in a TFA course aimed at educate to teach students with special educational needs shape their own digital culture. All of the participants are in an induction process related to teaching students with special educational needs; however, some of them are already experienced teachers about other teaching fields (different from the one related to special educational needs). So, we first run Principal Component Analysis to detect what factors compose the participants’ digital culture. Then we run independent samples t-test to observe differences between males and females, and experienced and not experienced teachers. Results show that two of the four detected factors are similar to those proposed by literature. The other two, instead, differ from them. Furthermore, it emerged that, on average, males have higher scores than females on the factors; these differences are significant on three factors. Last but not the least, experienced teachers have, on average, higher scores than not experienced participants. However, these differences are not significant.

Inclusive education: strategies and opportunities for preparing teachers through the use of ICT in the Italian compulsory school

The focus of this paper is on the importance of preparing teachers for inclusive education through the acquisition of disciplinary competencies and integrated and strategic use of educational technology. The inclusion is a crucial part of the school at the base of the principle of equal opportunities. The paper analyze the use of ICT in the italian scenario – to support the learning of learners with disabilities and special educational needs in inclusive settings within the compulsory school sector. The Article 40 of the Salamanca Framework for Action indicates “Appropriate preparation of all educational personnel stands out as a key factor in promoting progress towards inclusive schools”. This means that teachers need to learn the strategies to promote diversity and inclusion strategies in a learning environment for all students, including students with special needs to grow.