Turtles, fairy tales and
pen-friends: Background information
on the observation site Correspondence with the schools in Manchester (UK) and
Udine (It) Pedagogical
issues
E-mail address and contacts
See the Scuola
Media Statale Guido Reni site. last ver. 30.7.98; pdf
socialisation,
autonomisation and creativity through e-mail in a primary
school
The primary school "Mario Musolesi" is located in
the village of Panico, some 20 Kilometres away from Bologna,
in the municipality of Marzabotto. In the area, several
paper industries, farms and the railway crossing the fields
and leading to Porretta thermal baths, in the Apennine
mountains. It is a small school, a one-floor construction,
yellow walls outside (shabby!), a grassless courtyard and a
very steep slope, this one covered with grass. Inside, five
classrooms, for 6 to 10 years old kids, not very numerous,
ranging from a minimum of 4 (!) to a maximum of 18 pupils
per class. Pedagogical activities are sometimes organised in
mixed sub-groups. For lack of space, some of them often end
up taking place in some corner of the corridor. The main
subjects taught are: Italian, history, geography,
mathematics, English, sciences, education to images. Special
projects, integrated in the pedagogical curriculum, include
identity formation and sexual education, civic education and
several activities related to the use of e-mail and
computers, these latter being developed in the framework of
the Kidslink project.
Launched in 1990 by two researchers in astrophysics in the
National Council for Research (CNR) based in Bologna, on a
pure voluntary basis, Kidslink original aim was to link some
of the schools of the city and province of Bologna, through
the server of the CNR, to allow the kids to exchange
messages on themes that particularly interested them, with
kids all over the world. The success of the experience, and
the enthusiasm shown by a lot of teachers (and by the kids!)
made it possible to overcome the numerous financial and
structural problems: the experience is growing in number of
spontaneously participating schools and richness of
activities.
The technological
equipment available and its localisation in space
The technological equipment was rather poor,
until the recent donation of three additional computers.
There were only four computers for the whole school. Two of
them had been purchased with money raised through the
organisation of school parties by teachers and kids. The
computer and the modem for the connection was purchased
through a donation of the municipality of Marzabotto. Four
computers are now located in the fifth grade classroom and
made accessible to all pupils during normal school hours.
This means that, from time to time (i.e. almost every day),
the teacher and the kids in the fifth grade classroom "allow
the visit" of the children from other classes, while
continuing their regular class activities, to allow them to
answer to their correspondents. The three remaining
machines, including the one with the connection, are located
in a "special room" (1m50 x 1m50, windowless). Access to
that room is also allowed in normal school hours to kids,
with or without the teacher. Besides, the sub-groups and the
teacher in charge of sending via e-mail the messages and the
written works to the partner schools use this room.
Description of the
activities involving the use of
e-mail
A correspondence is organised with a class in Manchester, in
which a former teacher of the school in Panico is now
teaching Italian. Kids are free to write in Italian on
whatever subject they wish, and the letters they receive are
in English. Only if they feel confident enough, they can
write in English, with the help of the teacher. A
correspondence is also undergoing with a school in Udine.
The e-mail address is collective for the whole school, but
the correspondence is individual.
The Turtle
The kids read together with the English teacher some stories
in English, some of which are received via e-mail from their
correspondents in the UK. They decipher them, discuss them
and then re-write them in Italian, with the help of the
teacher of Italian. In parallel, they also prepare a
realisation of the story, building up a small "theatre"
maquette, with the main characters of the story, in hard
paper. Then, they perform the story in front of the teacher
of scientific subjects, animating the theatre characters,
with the help of a narrator, chosen among the kids. Finally,
the teacher ask them to draw the main characters on a
millimetre paper, before transferring the drawing the
computer, using Logo Writer.
The exchange of fairy tales with a high school in
Bologna
A high school in Bologna sends via e-mail some fairy tales
written by 15-16 years old students to the school in Panico.
The kids read the stories with the Italian teacher and then
illustrate them, by hand or on computer.
The "Fantasia" conference (or: the story "by several
hands")
This is an inter-schools activity. A school starts a story,
e-mails it to the other participating schools so that they
can develop and conclude it. The continuation is chosen by
the initiating schools among all those proposed by the
others. When the story is finished, another school takes the
lead and starts a new story.
The Journal
Seven groups in seven different schools participate to this
project. Each group is in charge of one page of the journal,
with a different theme, exchanged via e-mail. One group is
in charge of the final layout of the journal. Concerning
this responsibility, there is a rotation issue by issue.
There are obvious pedagogical objectives
underpinning those activities:
encouraging the production of texts
(correspondence with Manchester and Udine, the Turtle),
improving literary abilities and encouraging
the pleasure of reading (Fantasia conference, the exchange
of fairy tales, the Turtle),
improving the foreign language reading and
understanding ability (correspondence with Manchester, the
Turtle),
the acquisition of logical and mathematical
abilities (the Turtle).
But not only that: all those activities aim at fostering an
"active" learning approach and a learning approach "by
project". They aim at encouraging the autonomous initiative
of kids and the collaborative learning processes between
kids and their peers, kids and their teachers and finally
teachers among themselves, through the setting up of
interdisciplinary activities. They allow to stress on
learning methods instead of the subministration of
information and notions. They contribute to reduce the kids'
anxiety on school activities, linked to the fear of mistakes
and red pen marks on their exercise book and examination
sheets. This can contribute to improve their self-confidence
and facilitate the expression of their creativity. These
activities, finally, blur the border between working and
playing and strongly increase the motivation of kids and
their pleasure to learn.
For details on Panico, write to : panico@arci01.bo.cnr.it
Contact: Mrs Patrizia Zanasi