THE ROLE OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN THE ITALIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Just as water, gas, and electricity are brought into our houses from far off to satisfy our needs in response to a minimal effort, so we shall be supplied with visual or auditory images, which will appear and disappear at a simple movement of the hand, hardly more than a sign. (…) I do not know if any philosopher has ever dreamed of a society for distributing sensible reality to the home (Paul Valéry , La conquête de l’ubiquité » (1928). Aim of this preliminary work is to verify how the instances of digital literacy have been transposed in the Italian school, and particularly in primary schools. We must specify that, besides the introduction, at various levels, of digital skills in curricula and study plans, the Italian school has made a great effort, implemented in special programs, for digital literacy. The purpose, therefore, is to offer a brief report on both aspects (curriculum and special programs), in order to propose educational outlines in primary school. The technology is only one aspect of a system that, as such, must be addressed in its entirety: institutions, broadcasters, technology, languages and codes, narrative genres, specific cultures, target audience, use practices, impact on daily habits.In a didactic perspective, rather than technology in the instrumental meaning, we prefer to speak about digital literacy.