Abstract:

The laboratoriointercultura.it is an online learning environment for the development of intercultural competences (E. Palomba, A. Perucca, 2014). Although the wide use of ITC in education, rare is a learning environment that allows students to experience a self checking of their own attitudes and prejudices. The experiential paths are aimed at changing mental representations and social behaviors and to promote acceptance of differences.

A set of workshops, webquest and learning objects are available for learners. Some learning paths are here described briefly; objectives and learning tasks are also outlined.

The workshop "International Conference" proposes a learning opportunity to reflect on the development and preservation of the human-environment (Boulding, 1966). The online learning environment, designed according to the methodology of the webquest, invite the student to organize the conference relating with peers, experimenting problem solving activities, ecc. (Rossi, 2009). The tasks required are: a description of participant’s identity, the creation of a glossary, the production of a written text, comparing multiple sources.

In the workshop “Peace and Peace again” participants are required to deepen the thought of some Authors on the concept of peace and to negotiate the preferred theoretical position in a debate-confrontation strategy (Bruner, 1996; Wenger, 1998). Its goal is to start a process of awareness, allowing participants to experience, through interaction,
(a) the recognition of the authenticity and uniqueness of each individual,
(b) the active commitment to deconstruct conflicts,
(c) the multidimensionality of peace concept intended as a never ending process.

The difficulties of a multicultural society are often reflected in school disciplinary problems. In the workshop "A teacher in a bind", based on a webquest, the task to be addressed is to involve a second-generation problematic boy in class activities. Learners are at first required to investigate the origins of the boy’s malaise (analytic moment); secondly, learners are engaged in developing a hypothesis of didactic intervention, based on an a creative effort (synthetic moment).
In the workshop “The deceptive photos” learners are requested to develop a reflective activity on reality interpretation processes. Starting from a collection of web photos repository, students are engaged in the analysis of images related to discrimination and intolerance phenomena.

Learners are requested:
(a) to chose one or more images (explaining their choices) and
(b) reflect upon their own unconscious cultural, social and personal pattern in reality interpretation.

“I’m changing, help me…!” is an online workshop in which learner is required to:
(a) "change skin" (sex, culture, age, ...) and (b) give a self-description of his/her new identity. A selection of web resources are made available (biographies, photos, video, articles), in order to make learners able to (a) develop cognitive skills of decentralization,
(b) test the concepts of culture and identity,
(c) enhance critical thinking on stereotypes involved in social perception processes.