Consapevolmente intelligenti: un’indagine esplorativa sull’uso dei social network nella scuola primaria

Abstract

Social Networks are a noteworthy opportunity to build a more caring and responsible society, a practice that is assimilated by learning to use the Web in a conscious way. The media competence takes the form of expertise both to active participation to the Web and to society. The focus is on the need to acquire the know-how to exploit the media, with particular reference to social networks, in a clever way so as to make them intelligent instruments. From an educational point of view, Social Networks offer a different potential because they are able to support the functions of socialization, of sharing and of coordination; to encourage dialogue, promote resources sharing and improve the development of communication skills; to support learning by facilitating peer support in the performance of tasks. The main critical issues arise from the contrast between the patterns of use of social networks in formal educational settings and their use within the informal educational settings. As to the relationship between social networks and the teaching/learning processes, on the one hand, there is an urgent need to use them to increase intelligence as well as to find the most effective solutions to complex problems; on the other hand, it is necessary to learn how to do so consciously, critically, with respect and responsibility. The present work documents an exploratory survey on the critical and conscious use of Social Networks at school. The survey carried out during the scholastic year 2016-2017, involved 2239 pupils, 100 teachers and 50 Head Teachers of 50 Sicily Primary schools. The research aimed to explore whether and how students actually use social networks; it explored on how future teachers and educators can guide the young towards a conscious and critical use of Social Networks. The tools used for the study are a questionnaire specially constructed and a semi-structured interview. The results reveal new avenues of research and interesting application areas.