On 2 March 2023, the second multiplier event of the Erasmus+ project My Smart School was held in Italy. The conference, organised by the lead partner VITECO in cooperation with the Liceo Scientifico “E. Majorana”, partner of the project, took place at the school’s premises in San Giovanni La Punta, in the province of Catania.
After the institutional greetings of the High School Principal, Carmela Maccarrone, and of VITECO’s CEO, Giuseppe Ursino, the MYSS project coordinator Antonietta Cucinella, took the floor and briefly introduced the context of the Erasmus + programme, the key actions, objectives and priorities, focusing on the topic of “digital transformation” as a strategic line of the new action plan for digital education (2021-2027), as well as the foundations of the My Smart School project.
The coordinator introduced the purpose of the project, the goals set and achieved, the methodologies and distance learning tools created by the consortium for the benefit of teachers, students and schools. Specifically, the online courses to improve teachers’ digital skills with an overview of how to approach online lessons and adapt a school curriculum to the needs of the 21st century, emphasising the importance of student psychological support and parental involvement. Professor Giovanna Cantone deepened some units of the training course, illustrating the new teaching methods and the most important ICT tools in support of distance learning.
Next, the second project result was illustrated by the coordinator, namely the e-learning platform and video tutorials produced to facilitate access to the use of the digital tools created, especially the more than 150 pre-set graphic templates, the various typologies of online tests as well as the software to support the synchronous and asynchronous video lessons, which had become ‘vital’ during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was followed by the introduction of the third project outcome, namely the teachers’ diary, a handbook with recommendations on best practice in the use of these tools. The topic was explored by professor Mariagrazia Musumeci who recounted the direct experience of Italian, Greek and Romanian teachers involved in the project activities. Video interviews of a number of local teachers were then screened and subsequently two female students from the Liceo also recounted their experience in the project during the pandemic period.
The event continued with the intervention of some guests who opened a debate on the potential of a hybrid school, defining its pros and cons and suggesting improvements. The last minutes were devoted to sharing Erasmus+ opportunities for schools introduced by Professor Licia Arcidiacono, Erasmus ambassador in Sicily.
