Abstract:

“Oltre lo Specchio dei Desideri” (ed. note: “Beyond the Wishing Mirror”) is a broad educational project targeting teachers and students of schools in the Italian town of Cecina. The project proposed courses on new media literacies, with special focus on key ethical issues for digital citizenship such as identity, privacy, participation, credibility, creativity and authorship. The courses took place in the classroom, but were also carried out online using a social networking platform for learning and communication. Contrary to the prevailing rhetoric about “digital natives”, the project has highlighted how young people tend to overestimate their digital competence and actually have a limited capacity for self-reflection about their digital practices. This confirms the need for a public policy of mediation and promotion of correct, aware and creative use of the web.

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