D Scuola

Deascuola, one of Italy’s leading educational publishing houses and part of the Mondadori Group, presents the results of the research conducted in collaboration with Massimiliano Andreoletti – university professor in Educational Technology and Media Education in the field of technologies applied to learning at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan – on the use of Ross e la Sgrammanebbia, the innovative and inclusive video game, launched in September 2022 and aimed at teachers in secondary schools.

Ross e la Sgrammanebbia, designed by Deascuola in collaboration with teachers who are experts in playful education and developed by the software house, Tiny Bull Studios, was created to integrate and support classroom teaching by fully matching game levels and textbook topics, bringing teachers closer to a tool that students use every day and adapting the products developed for entertainment to different teaching needs.

Linked with the basics of Italian grammar, the video game presents a journey where narrative, education and play alternate. In order to progress and advance to the next stage, male and female students must face stimulating challenges and solve small grammatical puzzles in the form of mini-games that increase in difficulty.

In addition to reaching and supporting the teacher in the design of his or her own learning pathway, Ross e la Sgrammanebbia promotes the value of inclusiveness, with a view to guaranteeing equal educational opportunities and meeting the needs of students with special learning needs. Not surprisingly, the game opts for a highly readable font and mini-games with no response time.

The research conducted by Deascuola, in collaboration with Professor Massimiliano Andreoletti, analysed how Ross e la Sgrammanebbia was used by students and teachers after being included in the Italian language teaching programme from September 2022. It obtained a high popularity rating: all 185 students from the six secondary schools involved, from the Milan and Turin pool, stated that they enjoyed trying the game under the guidance of their teacher. At the same time, teachers noted a very high level of engagement by students: the video game not only increases motivation but also stimulates socialisation within the class, inviting reflection on the themes covered and encouraging them to create learning content that can be used as a tool to assess and reinforce skills.

Ross e la Sgrammanebbia also won a place among the finalists of the Italian Video Game Awards 2023, in the Best Applied Game category, dedicated to digital games or recreational resources with an educational purpose.

Click here to access the demo.

The full version is available for teachers and students who use one of the Deascuola grammar textbooks for secondary schools. In addition, teaching support materials for teachers will be provided to go with the game.

Discover Ross e la Sgrammanebbia on ross.deascuola.it.

Deascuola, one of the leading Italian educational publishers from the Mondadori Group, and TikTok, a digital platform with more than 1 billion global users, are launching “Social media and digital platforms: new learning environments”, an innovative course for secondary school teachers designed to learn and discover how to integrate traditional teaching with the common ordinary tools and languages of students.

The world of culture and information is increasingly growing on digital platforms, and schools are also requiring a growing number of teacher-creators capable of offering educational activities aimed at ensuring greater engagement and interest among scholars.

Deascuola and TikTok’s programme will start on November 8 and consists in 3 free online sessions, designed to explain how to best orient oneself or identify the positive and negative effects so as to transform such information into real educational supports usable both in and out of the classroom, and in a free teaching guide that can be downloaded at the end of the 3 webinars.

Registrations are managed via the following link: https://l.deascuola.it/TikTok/index.html

“More and more youngsters currently use digital platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram, to stay informed, socialise and follow innovation in a wide variety of fields. How can schools transform such tools into real educational supports to be used both in and out of the classroom and how can the same be transformed into new learning environments? The 3 meetings planned, and involving experts in sociology, neuroscience, pedagogy and education, were designed to respond to such question”, explains Luca Vajani, General Manager of D Scuola S.p.A.

“TikTok is also increasingly becoming both a primary reference for the world of education and the most popular medium used to share knowledge and train, by simplifying complex subjects and contents through its immediate language and inclusive approach, thus making them more accessible to all. Such project is very important as it allows us to support the scholastic activities of teachers and the education of their young students in a concrete way, by promoting intergenerational dialogue”, says Luana Lavecchia, Institutional Relations Manager of TikTok Italy and Greece.

The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 8, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m: Social media and digital platforms: perceptions and impacts.

Michela Balconi, psychophysiology and cognitive neuroscience professor at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan, Giovanni Boccia Artieri, sociology professor at the University of Urbino, and Valentina Ghetti, teacher and content creator, will delve into the social and cognitive aspects involved by analysing successful projects, so as to help teachers understand the mechanisms implicated in students’ use of social networks before finally addressing issues aimed at promoting a correct, safe and useful use of digital platforms. An insightful neuroscience, sociology and BookToker meeting.

The second meeting, Social media and digital platforms: teaching tools, scheduled for Thursday, November 23, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., includes the participation of Emmanuele Massagli, Education and Pedagogy researcher at Lumsa University, and Stefania Manca, researcher at the Institute for Educational Technology of the CNR, who will illustrate some successful projects on how to use TikTok for teaching.
Digital media modify learning by changing the way our body and environment perceive their effects: technology is absorbed by the user, thus becoming part of it. Both verbal (“new alphabets”) and non-verbal (social networking netiquettes) language is also changing. Various research projects were implemented by focusing on such elements, in particular, a project on the use of TikTok, based on studies of the educational and pedagogical aspects, will be explored to transmit the Shoah memory and to preserve the collective historical one. Users can share experiences, historical facts and personal reflections on the Holocaust through short creative videos, thus reaching a wide audience of young people and creating awareness on this tragic event.

The last meeting, entitled At TikTok School, will be held on Wednesday, December 12, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Secondary school teachers and content creators of different subject areas – humanities, science and foreign languages – will share their experience under the guidance of Elia Bombardelli, teacher, creator and author at Deascuola. This will be a unique opportunity to interact with the creators Federico Benuzzi, @federicobenuzzi, Norma Cerletti, @normasteaching and Alessia Giandomenico, @studiafacileconale, and to learn how to apply the videos and materials they make to the educational practice.

This course allows teachers to better understand and explore digital platforms so as to bring them closer to their students.

D Scuola S.p.A is one of the leading Italian educational publishing operators focused on schools at any level. Part of the Mondadori Group since December 2021, the company operates through the the following brands: Deascuola, De Agostini, Petrini, Garzanti Scuola, Garzanti Linguistica, Marietti Scuola, Valmartina, Liviana, Ghisetti & Corvi, Cedam Scuola, Cideb, and Black Cat. The University offer is entrusted to UTET Università, Città Studi and ISEDI. Deascuola is present online via deascuola.it (books, additional digital contents, eBooks, portals and study and teaching applications), formazione.deascuola.it (initiatives and courses on the most current educational issues for schools and teachers), garzantilinguistica.it (linguistic dictionaries) and blackcat-cideb.com (books and materials for learning languages) and has a widespread presence on the social media.

A MIUR-accredited Training Body since 2013, D Scuola organises courses for schools and teachers. The wide range of free webinars, seminars, conferences and courses developed in partnership with educational experts, internationally renowned neuroscientists, established science popularisers and leading authors, makes it possible to get acquainted with the various systems of paid training projects, which include customised programmes and online courses for schools and teachers, in line with the training priorities identified by the Ministry of Education.

TikTok is the leading environment for short videos from mobile devices. Our mission is to inspire creativity and liveliness. TikTok has offices worldwide, including in Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo. http://www.tiktok.com.