The changes brought about by ‘Make the Most of the Internet’ in school life
How do you measure the impact of a digital education programme? Not just by the number of pupils involved or the skills they’ve learnt, but by observing what happens every day in the classroom: those who speak up for the first time, those who learn to question what they read online, and those who discover that artificial intelligence does not replace human thought, but makes it even more necessary.
This is the change that emerges from the feedback gathered from teachers who took part in Vivi Internet, al meglio. Their accounts describe a programme capable of influencing classroom dynamics, fostering inclusion and promoting more informed digital citizenship.
This evidence is also confirmed by the data collected at the end of the activities. Teachers rate the pupils’ active participation positively, with an average score of around 4 out of 5, whilst the project’s ability to reduce differences in participation linked to gender, background or skills achieves an average score of 3.5 out of 5. The same score is given to the increase in pupils’ confidence in the informed use of digital tools and artificial intelligence.
When digital technology shifts the balance in the classroom
One of the most interesting aspects to emerge from the questionnaires concerns the activities’ ability to bring to the fore pupils who, in traditional lessons, tend to remain in the background. The fact-checking, multimedia production and collaborative activities have, in fact, shifted the balance within the groups, bringing to light skills that are often overlooked.
As one teacher explains: “Projects based on fact-checking and multimedia tend to shake up the classroom hierarchy, often bringing to the fore precisely those pupils who remain on the sidelines during traditional lessons.”
For many pupils, having their digital skills recognised has been an important opportunity for personal growth. “Seeing their IT skills valued for the purposes of their marks has boosted their self-esteem, encouraging them to speak up and explain to their classmates how to spot a doctored image or a suspicious link”.
From content consumption to a culture of verification
One of the project’s objectives was to foster a critical attitude towards information circulating online. Teachers describe how, through practical activities involving source verification and content analysis, pupils have gradually moved away from a passive approach to develop what many teachers describe as “functional scepticism”: the ability to question before believing, sharing or commenting. The activities focusing on disinformation enabled the pupils to understand that even seemingly credible images, videos and content can be manipulated, and that verifying a news item is an act of responsibility towards oneself and others. As one teacher pointed out during a class discussion: “You mustn’t be fooled by appearances. You must always check who wrote those things.”
Learning to interact with artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence was one of the most stimulating new elements of the programme. Tools such as Gemini and NotebookLM sparked curiosity and interest, but also provided an opportunity to address a central theme: AI does not automatically produce knowledge; rather, it requires users capable of asking questions, interpreting results and verifying their reliability.
Many teachers report that pupils quickly realised that the quality of the answers depends on the quality of the questions asked, and that human oversight remains essential. As one piece of feedback summarises: “They have come to realise that AI is not an infallible ‘oracle’, but a statistical model. They have understood that the quality of the output depends on the precision of their critical thinking.”
Fostering responsible digital citizens
The programme also devoted considerable attention to the issues of privacy, online reputation and digital relationships. Many teachers emphasised how the activities fostered greater awareness of the consequences of one’s online actions. An anecdote shared by a teacher effectively illustrates this change: “A group of pupils spontaneously helped a classmate review the privacy settings on their phone after realising the risks of oversharing”. Small gestures that signal a cultural shift: digital safety is no longer perceived as a set of rules imposed by adults, but as a shared responsibility.
The concept of digital empathy also emerged strongly. Understanding that there is a real person behind every profile has helped pupils reflect on the value of the words, comments and images shared online. As one student wrote at the end of the programme: “From now on, I want to think more carefully before posting anything.”
The testimonies gathered show that the change extends beyond digital skills to the way in which young people participate in class life and interpret their role as citizens.
There is no shortage of challenges: teachers highlight just how difficult it is to counter the speed at which information is consumed online and how much more time would be needed to explore topics such as algorithms, privacy and artificial intelligence in greater depth. Precisely for this reason, many teachers state their intention to permanently integrate these activities into their Citizenship Education programmes.
