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Relevant initiatives

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RELEVANT INITIATIVES FORM

Title of Initiative / Project
Essediquadro – SD^2
Name of Organiser
Istituto per le Tecnologie Didattiche (Institute for the Didactic Technologies)
Start and ending date of the Initiative
1999
Level
National
Was the initiative carried out in the framework of a funded project?
No
Type of deliverables
Teaching Methodology, On-line Game, Didactical resource
Thematic area
Maths, Physics, ICT, Science
Language of the deliverable
Italian
Target Group
Teachers
Description of the initiative
Essediquadro is an experimental online service that provides comprehensive, up-to-date information on educational software, together with support for integrating software into teaching and learning. The service was established in 1999 by the Institute for Educational Technology (ITD) in conjunction with Italy's Ministry for Education and Research.
The Essediquadro web site is principally designed to meet the needs of teachers undergoing Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Registered users can consult a database that provides full descriptions of over 3,500 software titles covering all school levels and disciplines, with particular attention to special education needs. The site also provides support for the effective adoption of software in teaching, with in-depth studies of software available in particular subject areas or for specific purposes, teaching modules based on the use of educational software, teachers' reports and an online help desk. The products listed in the database include commercial, free and open source titles, which in this last case can be downloaded directly from the site.
More Information
This initiative turns out in line with the purposes that were determined by the authors: to review software that can be used free as didactic support.
The materials are located both in the “Banca Dati”[database]section (didactic software, applications, video lessons, a selection of interesting websites) and “Approfondimenti”[in-depth analysis] section (didactic paths, sector analysis, experiences and reflection sparks).
Entering in the sections “Ricerca strutturata” [Structured Research] will be helpful for a focused research on more interesting material for the user.
On the chemistry sphere, for example, the portal makes available a thorough examination of cell (http://www.sd2.itd.cnr.it/index.php?r=site/approfondimento&id=58&tipoapprofondimento=2) or software reviews to draw in two-dimensional way the structure of organic molecules. (http://www.sd2.itd.cnr.it/index.php?r=site/scheda&id=4681 )
Teachers’ Opinion
This portal is graphically delicate and relaxing. I think it is very useful for a teacher tanks to the many topics dealt with in the “Banca dati” (database) making also reference to the literature. The texts are also briefly commented, even if they are not available for downloading and this is a limit for their usability.
There are many one-topic-focused contents in the field of several disciplines, even if Chemistry is not well represented. Firstly some software looked much interesting (like “che2draw” or “che cos’è la chimica”), but finally I found them hard to be used.
All things considered, this portal fits better for an individually searching teacher than for in class activities.
Students’ Opinion
At first the website looks interesting, graphically pleasant and also amusing thanks to the wide set of colours.
Nevertheless, this initial perception went worse: its accessibility is not immediate; there is only few interesting contents; the pages structure is not clear. You must download all the resources and the materials are often long texts (even if they are easy to be understood). So the interactivity is a matter for implementation.
The reference to the sciences is not so clear.
Our overall perception is that this website is not easily usable by students.

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