Abstract:

The need to move teaching in the online space and the technological development of recent times has helped to create many digital tools not only intended for distance learning but also the technology that was created for another type of user but could be exploited for the school.

The modern world is developing towards the inclusion of technology in daily life. This inclusion brings with it the need to develop digital skills in an increasingly younger age. The first step of our work was an analysis of statistical data. According to official data from Istat (National Statistical Institute, Italy), in 2019 almost all 15-24 year olds surf the Net (over 90%), There is still a strong digital divide between families, mainly due to generational and cultural factors. Almost all families with at least one minor have a broadband connection.

In this way, we can better read the Istat survey data than digital skills. 29.1% of 16-74 year old internet users have high digital skills, while 25.8% reach basic skills.

Within school processes, the preparation of staff and children must also be taken into consideration. The training of school staff in digital skills aims to ensure an effective and full correlation between educational and organizational innovation and digital technologies. In this context, the Plan is the main tool for implementing all the actions of the National Digital School Plan on the basis of the principles contained therein.

But one can almost say with the certainty that the events between January and April 2020 can influence the growth of these data: we speak of the need for all pupils of Italian schools to move to the virtual space to attend live lessons online, to be able to download homework or watch films or training videos, online teaching platforms, etc. We also talk about adults who have found themselves having to manage smart working from home.

Preparation of future teachers is of particular importance, also because they will be the ones to carry out the digital development of the school in the future.
The aim of this research was to understand how well some digital tools are known to boys and girls of different ages, and how digital skills are developed in the use of these tools. The other goal was to develop educational projects with the use of the tools best known to children to increase their knowledge and competence. To achieve these objectives, statistical data were analyzed, the observation method was used. An observation checklist has been created. Based on the observation results, digital tools were chosen for the didactic planning. The observation sample contains 72 children from 3 to 14 years old.
With the students of the Education sciences (University of Macerata), we analyzed the level of digital skills of boys and girls in kindergarten (3-6 years), primary school (6-11 years) and first grade secondary school (12-14 years) using the observation card as the instrument during the UX tests. Some digital tools were analyzed and didactic projects for pupils were developed. The aim is to help the growth of pupils' digital skills presented in the European Key Competences Framework and the National Plan of the Digital School.

Keywords:

Digital tools, digital education, digital skills, school education, didactic planning.