At the ATEE Spring Conference 2024 I presented, as part of a research team coordinated by Prof. Marco Lazzari of University of Bergamo in collaboration with Prof. Cazzaniga, Prof. Dondi, and with the secondary school teacher Raffaella Giacobbi, a study on distance education in Northern Italy during the health emergency of 2020–2021.
Our research investigated the infrastructural limitations of schools, challenges in adopting digital tools, and the efforts invested in redesigning educational content for remote teaching. Drawing on surveys conducted with teachers and students, we examined issues such as network stability, device accessibility, and overall technological readiness.
Particular attention was given to the experiences of educators, who often had to rapidly adapt to new digital tools and reconfigure their teaching methodologies to sustain student engagement and comprehension during the lockdown.
The study also explored whether these innovations persisted beyond the emergency, highlighting both the difficulties encountered and the transferable digital competencies acquired in the process. The findings emphasized the importance of supporting schools in strengthening their technological preparedness and in leveraging the lessons learned from this period to enhance resilience and inclusivity in future educational contexts.
