C&C, Apple Premium Partner and a leading European provider of devices and services for educational support in schools of all levels, will also be participating in the 7th edition of Didacta in Florence, from March 20 to 22.

The Education team will hold 70 training events (register here) at stand K15 in the Spadolini Inferiore Pavilion at Fortezza da Basso. Together with its international partners, C&C will also exhibit all the solutions related to contemporary education in an area of over 300 square meters.

Here is a preview in the interview with Antonello Magaletti, Education BDM of C&C, who talks about the great innovations of this year and the main themes that C&C will bring to Didacta.

At Didacta, C&C will be focusing on some of the most important topics in education today: Artificial Intelligence, Next Generation Classrooms, and Next Generation Labs. How does C&C intend to support schools in implementing projects dedicated to these topics?

C&C aims to support schools in implementing innovative and high-quality projects focused on these three major themes, by supporting teachers in a process of didactic and methodological renewal. Our goal is to help teachers explore the potential of new frontiers in education, which can integrate and enrich their teaching, without adding to their workload. And not without promoting a reduction in the generation gap, by proposing tools and languages that are appropriate and stimulating for students. In this way, the bond between teachers and students is strengthened and the educational, formative and didactic relationship is enhanced.

As a teacher, on the one hand, and a C&C trainer on the other, what do you think is missing in today's school?

The Italian school has long been on a path of renewal, in line with the projects and guidelines coming from Europe. This has required central governments, teachers and all school staff to question themselves and rethink themselves, in order to respond to the new training, cultural and didactic needs. While on the one hand I appreciate the spirit of adaptation that the school has always shown in the most disparate situations, on the other I believe it is necessary to carefully analyze the real needs of the different school realities and propose targeted interventions, with more flexible and less constrained investments. I refer to the lack of attention to the structural conditions in which hundreds of institutes operate throughout Italy, even though we know that the organization of the context has a positive influence on training. It is also important to highlight the teacher training courses that are imposed and not motivated by a bottom-up reading of the needs, which weigh down and intensify their work, which is already poorly recognized. Finally, the scarcity of figures that support teachers in their action as educators towards increasingly fragile and inexperienced young people affects their profession, which sometimes becomes a burden, given the many difficulties they have to face. But which, I proudly say, they still face for the well-being of the students.

There is a lack of well-equipped and spacious classrooms, versatile and more engaging learning environments, but I believe that what is most lacking is a return to the concept of a school that puts a positive educational relationship at the center. Because we can propose a thousand projects, hundreds of innovative and dynamic paths, but if we lose sight of the importance of the relationship, everything is reduced to a race for novelty, to being on the crest of the wave, without everything then being spent fruitfully in the lives of students, citizens and future workers.

When we talk about integrated teaching, we touch on topics such as coding, eco-sustainability, creativity, virtual reality and robotics. Do you think these have now become reality or are there still limits that hinder their implementation?

Integrated teaching is now a reality in many schools, but not without difficulties and obstacles. In fact, it requires a change of paradigm, languages and methodologies, which can create resistance and uncertainty, especially among more traditional teachers or those with more seniority. However, this is not a fixed rule, and there are also teachers who are open and available to innovation.

One limit that is often encountered is the somewhat distrustful attitude of some teachers, who see integrated teaching as a source of stress and additional work, and not as an opportunity for growth and enrichment. This is also linked to the difficulty of adhering to the idea of continuous training in this sense, which, however, as already mentioned, weighs down the work of teachers. Many refuse evolution because it involves continuous study, time, application and curiosity.

We must not forget, moreover, how even schools with inadequately equipped environments can slow down this innovation process, limiting the possibilities of experimentation and involving students.

Another great keynote theme of this edition of Didacta for C&C is music. There will be some surprises at the stand. Can you give us a preview?

C&C is always attentive to new developments and trends in the field of music and technology. For this reason, at Didacta, it will present some surprises dedicated to music, which will involve visitors in innovative and stimulating experiences. Among these, there will be the possibility to attend virtual concerts in 3D environments, thanks to the collaboration with some metaverse platforms that host internationally renowned artists. There will also be the possibility to experiment with music creation with artificial intelligence, using apps and websites that generate rhymes and notes in a few seconds.

In addition, there will be the possibility to discover the new electronic and digital instruments that have revolutionized the world of music, such as turntables with Bluetooth, HD vinyl, assisted composition software and many others. C&C will show how technology can integrate and enrich music, without losing the value of the educational relationship and creativity.

Register for C&C workshops at Didacta Firenze 2024: https://bit.ly/cec-didacta24