videogames participation

Videogames and participation

You all know how much I am always trying to explore possibility to use videogames in educational settings, as a tool to improve participation, inclusion and learning. I was very happy when I was asked by the European resource center SALTO Information and Participation, based in Estonia, to collect and describe a few practices of...

Mastodon migration image

The Mastodon in the room

Mastodon is a distributed social media platform, based on free and open source software developed by a German group of hackers / developers. It is quite similar to Twitter on the external layer, but completely different under the trunk: it works as a federation of different servers (instances) that anyone could setup and connect to...

people of color in fantasy tales

Elves and mermaids of color. And more.

It seems that everybody is discussing about elves and mermaids of color these days. Until a few years ago instead, the controversies raising when some nerdish stories would reach mainstream and become a movie or a cartoon, were only confined in some dark corners of the interwebs.Star Wars fandom was usually the circuit where this...

stranger things and Metallica

Stranger Things – Master of (storytelling) puppets

Stranger Things season 4 streaming on Netflix brought back a lot of interest to the series, and this happened using many Convergence Culture elements and approaches. Since you all know that I am very fond of Henry Jenkins’ concept bringing together different layers of storytelling, pop culture, video games etc., I guess it was kind...

digital facilitation : keyboard, tablet and pencil

The noble art of digital facilitation – pt. 1

The idea of a post about digital facilitation has been growing in my mind for a while – then the European community of trainers involved in non formal education activities gathered online recently, during the event called Mini-bridges for trainers: a shorter, lighter version of the multiple days event called Bridges for Trainers, happening every...

digital transformation - pic by markus spiske / Unsplash

The year when we were nowhere: digital transformation

Digital transformation has been a thing for a while already, and this blog is the living proof of it. But during the pandemics, it had a incredible boost that moved everything 3 to 5 years forward, according to different analysts. So this is what happened to me in the year when we were nowhere (easter...

the GBU logo

GBU: hacking learning and having fun meanwhile

When you grow up in the late 70s and early 80s in Italy, what could possibly go wrong? Well, almost everything… So you, as a kid, look for what feels good, and what was better than a western movie, back then? Even better, a strange one, where those Arizona deserts look more similar to Spain...

media literacy image of a computer screen showing youtube videos

Media literacy: what were we talking about?

The UNESCO global MIL Week – their international campaign for Media and Information Literacy – is coming soon while I write, and it is an important chance to bring back some focus on media literacy efforts once again. I find the title of this year’s campaign, Resisting Disinfodemic, particularly well crafted. We face unprecedented times...

social dilemma

The social dilemma of surveillance capitalism

The Social Dilemma is a docu-drama movie available on Netlfix, which re-ignited the debate on the meaning, aims, hidden and inner mechanisms of social media platforms and their impact on youth, education, knowledge, and generally speaking, public behavior. The Social Dilemma has two layers: one is the story of a family where three sons and...

Fortnite vs Apple

Fortnite reminds Apple to think different?

Fortnite publisher Epic Games punched Apple quite strong in the jaw, when they made this video go viral online tonight with the hashtag #FreeFortnite : For who is a bit into Apple culture and lore (yes, me…) this is a blast. The video is a mockup of the most famous Apple spot ever, the one...

Summer camps? Sure, inside Minecraft!

Summer camps? Sure, inside Minecraft!

Summer means summer camps: it is the moment when non-formal education can finally have the chance to demonstrate its immense potential: thousands of proposals for groups of girls and boys where socializing, adventure, discovery, become the protagonists of days that many wait for months, and then remember for as many months. This year, the distancing...

online youth work tips

Inclusion and how to host online youth work / 4

Inclusion will be the main topic of this fourth and last post in of our series about online youth work. We will also discuss how to host online activities in an effective way. You can find episode 1 (about structure and approach),  episode 2 (about interaction) and episode 3 (more interaction: games and videogames) clicking on their names....

Digital storytelling online workshop: this is a first!

Digital storytelling online workshop: this is a first!

Digital storytelling can be declined in so many ways, but it basically is a way of telling stories which implies th use of digital media, and profits from digital media possibilities of interaction, immediate response, etc. I have been working on storytelling in several of my training courses and learning experiences, and posted often about...

online youth work tips

Online interaction: online youth work tools and tips / 3

More online interaction: here we are with episode 3 of our series about online youth work! You can find episode 1 (about structure and approach ), episode 2 (about interaction) and episode 4 (about inclusion, hosting) clicking on their names. Consider subscribing to the blog, to get updates whenever a new post is out, so...

online youth work tips

Online youth work tools and tips / 2

This is the second episode of a series of posts offering reflections, ideas and tools for moving youth work activities online, in an effective and meaningful way. You can find the first episode here, episode 3 and episode 4 here clicking on their names.If you want to be sure to never miss a post in...