Our 34th instalment on “Our School” Professors brings us to Naples, where Olimpia Amoruso teaches English at the Liceo scientifico linguistico A.M. De Carlo in Giugliano, in the Province of Naples. Prof. Amoruso is holds courses on innovative and inclusive didactics, with a focus on virtual and augmented reality, coding and robotics. She also is an emotional intelligence coach. She has participated as a speaker in various events dedicated to didactic innovation at the Rome Maker Faire and the Naples City of Science. She collaborates with “Our School” on the creation of new methodologies and strategies for blended didactics.
As usual, we share a short self-presentation video and then the interview with researcher Ilaria Gaudiello, who coordinates the works of the open source community of professors and educators.
INTERVIEW
Olimpia, what is your point of view on innovation in school?
First of all, we must separate this issue from easy rhetoric. Sometimes, we believe that the introduction of technology is tantamount to innovation, but that’s not how it works. In other cases, barricades erected in defence of tradition by those who believe that novelty is a threat to tradition. And this is completely wrong, too. The correct route, as indicated by Pier Cesare Rivoltella, is to walk down the middle, understanding that the only way to safeguard and relaunch the traditional is by innovating.
This year, you collaborated with the FMD “Our School” to create new synergies and develop new courses. What can you tell us about this experience?
I joined this important project on innovative didactics with great enthusiasm. Together with other innovating teachers from around Italy, we have created courses that employ digital solutions to make teaching a more participatory and transformative experience, one that solicits knowledge, skills and values that are central to the Life Education Model. The fruit of this teamwork is accessible didactic resources that are divulged by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale.
What do you expect for education in the future?
I am certain that the future of education also depends on digital skills, which will become an enabling factor for the entire educational system. Both students and teachers will need to significantly improve their practices to fully meet the digital era. We must shift from a traditional approach to a new vision of didactics that we could synthesize as Education 4.0. The Coronavirus upset our lives. We have terrible memories, but it is also true that this experience stimulated fundamental change. We learned to alternate proximate and distance teaching, and it is important not to let go of the opportunity provided by this emergency. We must promote a different model of school, investing in training, promoting human capital. This is a strategic challenge that we must grasp and win for the future of our country.
