1,721,001 research outputs found
Figure del controllo. Jane Austen, Sherlock Holmes e Dracula nell’immaginario transemdiale del XXI secolo
No full textMythopoiesis and collective imagination in videogames
Full text linkAs videogames become more and more popular, their ability to generate and communicate mythologies (mythopoiesis) appears clearer. Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda, and Halo are just a few of the specific transmedial storyworlds created through (relatively few) years of reiteration. At the same time, recent examples of massively diffused products also picture remediations of heritage, folk tales, architecture, and other cultural elements, reaching users of any background.
Franchises like Assassin’s Creed, God of War, or Final Fantasy take large inspiration from various cultural heritages. By doing so, video-ludic remediations add to previously shared imaginary some peculiar interactive (ergodic) features: since video games have specific features that imply interaction by (and with) the user, the remediated cultural elements acquire properties that were not present in any previous representation. The interest of this study is to enlighten how it is possible for blockbuster videogames to build over previous archetypes and imaginaries, creating common knowledge about certain cultural objects, myths, and figures, among players on a global scale. The main focus of this research will be Japanese cultural heritage representation in recent popular videogames such as Nioh, Ghost of Tsushima, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. In a comparative analysis of these products, the study will try to underline the common elements of blockbuster remediations, while exploring the emerging interactive (ergodic) features that the mentioned videogames add to previously shared imaginary of portrayed cultural elements. Any emerging evidence will then serve to build a tentative framework or method to remediate and represent any given cultural element in future videogame projects that aim to properly communicate heritage on a large scale such as the global digital game market
Convergence between formal and informal learning practices: state of the art and historical heritage
No full textFor a long time, Informal learning suffered a mechanical and simplified defi-
nition, as a category opposed to formal learning: it was in fact intended at a
space-time level, as a complex of outdoor activities, carried out outside school
walls, and outside a certifiable path.
If in the field of vocational training validation systems have been arranged at
European level by CEDEFOP (2017) to test and to certificate skills and abilities
acquired through individual experience, however, many third sector initiatives,
volunteering, personal interests and creative activities usually are more prob-
lematic in being identified and formally attested, and require a substantial
change of didactics and educational perspectives. In any case a step change is
in progress at the moment: recognizing the informal learning formative basis
means, in fact, becoming aware of the profound changes technologies have
introduced in the educational world, to the point of blurring the borders between
informal and non-formal (the structured but not certified) learning paths, and
more generally between formal and informal ones
Videojuegos y aprendizaje: cuatro perspectivas para un replanteamiento de la didáctica
No full textNell’ambito della discussione che si sta incentrando sul rapporto tra pratiche educative e ambienti digitali, un posto di particolare rilievo è assunto dai videogiochi, sia come bersaglio privilegiato di critiche e anatemi, sia – al contrario – come araldo di una nuova concezione dell’insegnamento/apprendimento.
Da un punto di vista didattico, il videogioco può essere utilizzato in quattro prospettive differenti:
- come oggetto di analisi, in quanto medium specifico e processo culturale con una storia, un’evoluzione, un impatto sulla società e sugli individui che la compongono (esattamente come lo sono stati e, in parte lo sono ancora, la letteratura, il cinema, il teatro, l’arte figurativa, etc.);
- come strumento didattico, da utilizzare per insegnare altre discipline (nel presente saggio faremo esempi solo di discipline umanistiche). Inteso come grande ri-mediatore dei saperi precedenti, il videogioco può rappresentare un ottimo punto di partenza per introdurre gli studenti allo studio della Storia, della letteratura o dell’arte.
- come strumento metacognitivo, in quanto attraverso il suo utilizzo gli studenti devono imparare a coglierne le strutture profonde e i meccanismi che lo caratterizzano, ed eventualmente progettarne uno nelle sue linee generali, finalizzando così il processo didattico alla realizzazione di un artefatto cognitivo (ottica costruttivista/costruzionista);
- come elemento di instructional design, in quanto riferimento per una gamification dell’intero impianto didattico.
L’articolo intende mettere in risalto le specificità di ogni prospettiva, apportando l’esempio di alcune sperimentazioni svolte negli anni e riflettendo sulle potenzialità e sulle criticità maggiori
Apprendere nell'atelier artigiano dei media
No full textIn quale contesto culturale si svolge oggi l’apprendimento? Una prima riflessione riguarda le strutture profonde (metalinguistiche, mediologiche e di potere) della nostra cultura. Già da qualche decennio il procedere analogico-aperto del barocco era tornato a parlarci, e ora è più chiaro il motivo: inattuali, insostenibili le norme definitorie e oggettivanti del razionalismo; al tramonto, o in “riserva” dai ’90, quel controcampo estetico anti-meccanicistico (scrittura saggistica, cinema autoriale, sperimentazioni poetiche, narrative e teatrali e delle arti visive) vocato a scoprire un “altro stato” delle cose sotto la loro apparenza di frammento. Con l’iper-accelerazione dei flussi e la globalizzazione dell’informazione e degli immaginari, a dominare la forma mentis delle reti digitali è un procedere ricorsivo e accumulatorio, incessante ed esplorativo che ricorda il barocco nel costruire conoscenze in modo artigianale, raccogliendo, compulsando, ripetendo, riorganizzando segmenti chiusi e frammenti esperienziali. Funzionale da un lato allo sfondo generale della serialità/virtualità ormai “naturale”, dall’altro alle potenzialità di una mente artigianale-imprenditiva, che sostituisce il taylorismo. Di fronte agli sviluppi imprevedibili, e oscillanti tra sviluppo e catastrofi, della “società del rischio” è necessario far ricorso - come ha teorizzato Richard Sennett - alle capacità tipiche dell’artigiano (se non dell’artista), che tende a monitorare e riconfigurare i fenomeni dal loro interno, a inventare e “aggiungere” costantemente elementi ai suoi prodotti, a tentare, quando è necessario, di modificare i suoi modi di agire. Una attitudine artigianale, tipica nelle pratiche dei laboratori di ricerca, come degli atelier di progettazione e di produzione, incompatibile con le asfittiche tradizioni scritte delle “discipline”: cosicché una acuta sofferenza (denunciata da McLuhan fin dagli anni ’60) riguarda il “cuore” del sistema educativo, ossia le basi cognitive dei sistemi di apprendimento, e di conseguenza i rapporti fra ciò che si vive nell’istituzione e il mondo esterno (tra apprendimento formale e informale).
Una inevitabile (ma urgente) riconfigurazione delle istituzioni educative non potrà che basarsi in questa fase sulla coerenza fra cinque “pilastri”: a) la consapevolezza (scientifica e professionale) di come procede l’apprendimento, b) la pratica consapevole e attiva delle tecnologie, c) una didattica partecipativa, d) la virtualizzazione come ambiente, e) la centralità degli skill che abilitano alla vita e al lavoro nell’ambiente dei media. In questo senso, la recente diffusione di esperienze sperimentali a partire dai paesi del nord-Europa - del resto eredi dell’impianto di lungo corso del “costruttivismo sociale” - potrebbe incrociarsi anche in Italia con un rilancio teorico, di cui si vedono segnali, e tentativi di convergenza, per esempio fra studiosi dei media, esponenti dell’officina creativa di Studio Azzurro, pedagogie avanzate, pratiche didattiche che utilizzano il cinema e l’audiovisivo, media education, sociologia urbana. Particolarmente interessante è il recupero e la rifunzionalizzazione di un concetto che ha attraversato l’ultimo secolo della teoria pedagogica e didattica: quello della relazione stretta tra l’apprendere e il fare. Dalla matrice del learning-by-doing (Dewey) all’elaborazione costruzionista del learning-by-making (Papert) il rapporto tra capacità di imparare e oggetto tangibile, tra artefatto e enhancement cognitivo, si ritrova nell’idea di cognitive artifact elaborata da Norman nei primi anni ‘90, ma anche in elaborazioni più recenti ed operativamente didattiche, come gli Episodi di Apprendimento Situato del di Rivoltella. L’oggetto concreto, co-costruito dallo studente o (più spesso) dal gruppo di studenti, diventa il precipitato sensibile del percorso di apprendimento, il traguardo di un processo esperienziale.
Il “luogo” dell’esperienza di apprendimento è un ambiente multimediale e transmediale, ormai pienamente e profondamente vissuto, in cui la dimensione della manipolabilità è strutturale, sempre disponibile e reiterabile, da chiunque abbia anche una minima abilità nell’uso dei dispositivi digitali. La predisposizione alla manipolabilità si pone come elemento formidabile di sperimentazione, di elicitazione e coinvolgimento di competenze informali, artigianali, frutto di un approccio apprenditivo try and error, senza gerarchie tra dimensione teorica e pratica. Il dialogo tra learning-by-making, meta-medium digitale e competenze informali apre la strada a un concetto che già oggi possiamo considerare centrale: quello di artefatto cognitivo mediale, un prodotto co-costruito, frutto di sperimentazione, posto come esito di un progetto formativo, al fine di stimolare la praticabilità di premesse e analisi teoriche, ma nel quadro di una partecipazione attiva e diretta dei soggetti in apprendimento. È quanto si è messo a punto all’interno di diversi insegnamenti universitari (Sapienza, Tor Vergata, Cagliari) dove, sotto la guida dei docenti, gli studenti sono stati chiamati ad elaborare cognitivamente i concetti appresi attraverso la produzione di artefatti mediali: video pubblicitari, progetti di videogiochi, script e moodboard di serie tv, progetti di campagne di marketing. La dimensione simbolico-ricostruttiva è stata gestita formalmente dai docenti; quella percettivo-motoria è stata invece delegata alla capacità mimetica informale degli studenti, che hanno operato in autonomia nella bottega artigiana virtuale e in rete.With the hyper-acceleration of flows and the globalization of information and
imagination, a recursive and accumulative approach dominates the forma mentis of
digital networks, reminiscent of the Baroque in constructing knowledge in an arti-
sanal way. An attitude incompatible with the educational traditions of the “disci-
plines” and the distinction between formal and informal learning. A reconfigura-
tion of educational systems urges, based on the awareness of teaching/learning
processes and technologies at our disposal. Interesting is the concept of the close
relationship between learning ability and tangible objects. The “place” of the learn-
ing experience is nowadays a manipulable transmedia environment. Some exam-
ples in various university courses
Gli scenari evolutivi per la valutazione della qualità del Blended Learning
No full textThe issue is quality assurance in Blended Learning. Contrary to the widely approved definition of e–Learning, which is scientifically documented and indicated certain standards of quality, “Blended Learning” is still self–explanatory. Gradually, in e–Learning “classic” courses (time–independent learning, simultaneously distributed learning) a tendency to integrate
the paths has increased, leaving more autonomy to learners (Independent Study), encouraging interaction in real time, and using new technologies, in various ways, with different instruments and methods. However, crucial differences between e–Learning and Blended Learning concern “in depth” the educational models. Digital media have been enhancing “constructivist” tendencies: as the changed structure of communication cannot be anymore based on the
centrality of a closed text, the educational process is generally built hrough a network of relations, annotations, explanations, “commentaries” and referrals to many texts and experiences. Finally, time and ays of learning must be customized, acquiring the advantages of hared environments, where individual construction is enhanced though exchanges among learners. As result, methods and standards evaluating e–Learning, which have so far been based on the evauation of the infrastructure, are also changing. How to develope appropriate quality framework, as well as tools to evaluate the quality of Blended Learning? The European Union Project “Blended Learning Quality — Concepts Optimized for Adult Education " coordinated by the DigiLab of the Sapienza – University of Rome has been n important opportunity to develop research and discussion on this issue
Evaluation and emerging scenarios in Blended e-Learning
No full textThe evolution of blended e-learning it is influenced by the more general evolution of the field of education. Education systems in Europe - in a time of economic suffering and welfare crisis - must now face difficult challenges: they need to maintain high quality while they containing costs; they need to improve the design of the educational system and educational routes; enlarge the mission of lifelong learning systems to cooperation with business and to communication and dissemination of scientific knowledge;
There is a need to answer, in the not Anglophone Europe, to the American and English massive offer of online education; there is the need to meet the demand for more vocational training and related to the profession; and there is a need to meet the demand for quality assurance and customization and flexibility in building individual learning pathways
For this combination of problems, the development of learning and of courses in blended e-learning it is strategic, as it allows:
- To incorporate updated contents of research or collaborative tools with communities of research or research / action, and user generated contents;
- To reuse such contents and experiences for flexible reorganisation of educational systems;
- To reuse such contents and experiences for the Life Long Learning and the dissemination;
- To create systems, contents and multilingual services, suitable for non-English speaking Europe
- To meet the demand for vocational training based on “learning by doing”
- To better respond to the requirements and practices of quality assessment
- To respond to the increase of the skills of digital natives without sacrificing the dialogue between generations
Learning models and problems: being students in pandemic times at Sapienza University of Rome
No full textItaly was the first European country to be affected hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. The total country lockdown, proclaimed by the Italian government from March to May 2020, compelled schools and universities to quickly readjust their education strategies, taking advantage of network and digital technologies opportunities. There have been many difficulties, from the first and second level digital divide to the medium-low percentage of necessary digital skills in the population (as recorded in the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index Report 2020 - Human Capital). At the level of educational policies, many suggestions were offered about organizing online training paths, keeping interactivity and activating students: UNESCO launched the Global Education Coalition; the European Union proposed several initiatives on digital skills for education (EU-Code Week and The Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition) and encouraged the creative Europeana digital contents reuse as a support for remote teaching.
Many criticalities have been found in Italy for the web infrastructure inadequacy and the insufficient teacher preparation in e-learning. Despite it, online courses have been planned in a short time, and the University has also been called upon to test new teaching formulas. In this regard, which were the practices actually ensuring the learning quality? How did students perceive them? Innovative and efficient e-learning paths have been adopted, or have they been limited to a frontal lessons transposition on online video conferencing systems? How deep were the identified gaps in course delivery and learning process? Which aims have transversal skills and collaborative learning, among other things, being addressed to?
This paper reviews the results of a questionnaire administered to more than 400 students at the University of Rome La Sapienza (History of Art, Tourism, Communication and Entertainment, Linguistic Mediation) in their second year of attendance in 2020/2021. It reports the learning experiences they had in the second semester of the previous academic year, 2019/20, in the middle of the first pandemic wave.
Students were asked to answer questions on seven macro-areas of the survey, evaluating with 4-point Likert scale: the frequency and organization of the didactic delivery, the support given to students by teachers and tutors, the assessment procedures and contents, the technical problems that arose, the transversal skills acquired, the general distance learning impact on individual training. Based on the results, which the main strategies and criticalities emerged from, it is possible to identify useful elements to refine and make online activities more flexible, not only to face the epidemic but to design different teaching and learning methods
WHAT DO STUDENTS EXPECT FROM LEARNING? A RESEARCH ON SKILLS AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY
No full textWhich competencies do students expect to achieve by attending University? How deep is the gap between School and University concerning skills and competencies provided and requested? Are school programs and usual methodologies able to prepare them properly to enter Higher Education studies? Which role can play Informal learning in Formal education to reduce this gap? Answering these questions firstly means focusing on both the main competencies students should have acquired and the learning paths they have to follow for improving and developing them. According to international agencies like UNESCO, EU, and OECD, and from our standpoint, students need basic skills like: Media and Information Literacy skills, not only such as ICT competencies and coding, but as the ability to understand media languages and to reuse creatively media contents; Cognitive skills, as the opportunity to rework knowledge in a transmedial and multidisciplinary way; Soft skills, as the chance to cooperate, to encourage resilience and self-management attitudes. On an international indicators basis a questionnaire was designed to test student trends and needs on different learning aspects and dimensions. Since 2017 this survey has been addressed to students attending “Mediology” at Art, History, Theatre and Spectacle Department in La Sapienza University of Rome. At the moment more than 1000 participants have responded, allowing an analysis of the results of a sufficiently large sample. From the first data and results examination, it is possible to identify the skills students generally consider essential among those that the University has listed as useful. It shows a widespread technological demand and psychosocial skills request that should be faced in order to increasingly transform teaching methods at school and university: for example, by fostering project and collaborative activities as well as by supporting the Third Mission and Cultural Heritage preservation. Besides, one issue arises: how teachers may improve their competencies in the sectors considered crucial by students? Might a learning agency or inner organization be an adequate learning infrastructure for their training? Is it necessary to offer other professional development forms? Or to imagine new teacher figures
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