Engl. transl.: "Under the table". The influence of digital technology in the classroom

Digital technologies in today's school are not only a powerful engine of change for educational processes, but they also significantly influence the relational balance between the different actors involved in the educational relationship. Is there an influence of technologies on the relational dynamics between students and students and between students and teachers? Is there a relationship between relationships mediated by digital contexts and the social climate of a learning environment? How much do students depend on relationships mediated by digital contexts to meet their relational needs? What are students' and teachers' perceptions of relationship dynamics mediated by digital contexts? And how do they view the role of the school within this issue? In an attempt to provide an answer to these questions, this book is the result of research carried out in two secondary schools in Bologna and two Parisian colleges, aimed at investigating the relationship between relationships mediated by digital contexts and the social climate of learning environments from a phenomenological-qualitative perspective. The picture that emerges is characterized by a strong variety in terms of preconceptions, representations, practices, and critically brings out a phenomenon that most often remains hidden, hidden, "under the table". However, this phenomenon exists, persists, manifests itself forcefully and often catches teachers and parents unprepared, who find themselves having to manage situations of conflict when it is too late, through strategies close to prohibition and interdiction, when in fact digital technologies could represent new spaces for dialogue and unusual educational opportunities.

Among the most popular digital devices are Smartphones, Laptops, and Tablets. The percentage of students who do not own a phone device declines from school year to school year from about 16% in the first to 0% in the fourth. On the other hand, the percentage of boys and girls who have a data connection from their smartphones increases from 57% in the first year to 77% in the fourth [...]. To communicate with each other, young people in the research tend to use IM services (SMS, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Facebook Messenger) more, while for contacts with their families they prefer to use phone calls and texts. The use of audio messages is less widespread but still present and considered more convenient especially to communicate long messages. Another interesting fact is the use of smartphones in the evening before falling asleep, mainly used to chat with friends, check updates on social networks or watch movies on YouTube. network or watch videos on YouTube: a practice that is becoming increasingly frequent as people get older. age. For boys and girls, the loss of their devices is a disaster. firstly, because they will lose one of the main means of communication with their peers and Firstly, because they will lose one of the main means of communication with their peers, and secondly because they will lose that "personal diary" that contains all of their information. Secondly, they will lose the "personal diary" that holds all their most personal secrets and treasures. [...] the choices about parental control over access to devices and the www (with all that that implies for social (with all that follows about social networks, chat and other IM services) are polarizable into two macro behaviors in two macro behaviors: parents that implement control and parents that do not implement it. [...] There are parents, very competent from the digital point of view, who monitor access to and use of devices through the use of the technologies themselves, for example checking access times to WhatsApp or checking status and profile photos: an attitude this seems to be half-heartedly accepted by some students and perceived as an invasion of their privacy. Other parents, in order to exert more control, do not purchase a digital device for their children to use exclusively. Other parents, in order to exercise greater control, do not purchase a digital device for their children to use exclusively but share their own smartphones. [...] The use of personal devices at school is widespread and the percentage of students who said they use them during school hours increases year on year, from 58% in the first year to 86% in the fourth year. The main reasons listed by the students interviewed are mainly related to staying in touch with their friends and classmates, not getting bored during home-school trips or during the most boring hours, and keeping in touch with their friends and family. or during the most boring hours, or to safety issues: having a device with them they can with them, they can at any time contact family members to communicate about their movements, delays or problems. [...] The survey also revealed other issues relevant to the research. First of all, the theme of friendships in digital contexts: the percentage of students who stated that they have friendships that are born and develop exclusively in virtual environments increases from year to year, from 28% in the first year to 47% in the fourth. fourth. A further element of interest is the fact that this type of friendship can develop both through the most common social networks (especially through Facebook or Instagram) but also through the world of online gaming. It is important to underline how some of the virtual friendships narrated by the students have arisen from certain digital contexts, and then move on and extend to others. For example, relationships born from the chat of an online video game and then continued on a WhatsApp group created specifically to discuss team strategies and then used to exchange normal friendships. normal friendships. (Soriani, 2019, pp. 241-246, translated)