Education. Appeal to companies for Open Schools 3.0, delivery of the first Lenovo devices to schools
Education. Appeal to companies for Open Schools 3.0, delivery of the first Lenovo devices to schools
An exploratory notice has been published for companies that want to donate tools to encourage distance learning
Milan, March 25 2020 - At a time when the digital divide risks magnifying differences, particular attention goes to children and their ability to continue learning even with schools closed. A challenge, that of the digital school, that Milan wants to take up, to unite and not to divide. In fact, the Administration has been promoting digital transformation for years now and, through the work of the Department led by Roberta Cocco, has launched the public notice "Alliance for #Milanodigitale” to encourage the process of donating and sharing technological tools and projects by private individuals to the Municipality. A process that takes on even more importance in this historical moment.
“The schools – wrote the councilor for Education and Instruction Laura Galimberti in one letter sent to the school managers of the comprehensive institutes of Milan - they were the first to experience the difficulties that have affected the whole country: the closure or in any case the suspension of teaching activities, in the places where we are used to experiencing them, has destabilized families and forced a rethink of the educational relationship that accompanies the learning process. An unprecedented situation that deserves to be explored. The confirmation that the school is not (just) a building, but (above all) a community created by teachers and students, in relationship with families. Confirmation that teaching can make use of new methods and new spaces. We still like to talk about open schools, in a 3.0 version in which the territory is virtual."
Has been an exploratory notice was published to collect offers and donations from companies, foundations and third sector bodies. The Municipality will ensure that the requests of the schools meet the offers of the donors, to help make the schools truly open and particularly support the most difficult situations.
“We wish – continues the councilor – that everyone can experience this complicated school year satisfactorily, in particular we are thinking of secondary school students in third grades, who are completing their studies”.
The objective to be achieved with this initiative is that schools remain "open" despite everything. Many Milanese teachers and school directors are already doing so, maintaining constant contact with their children, inventing remote activities, experimenting with online teaching, also drawing on the opportunities offered on the website www.scuoleapertemilano.it which collects proposals from Milanese schools and not only.
The School and Educational Services Area of the Municipality of Milan, once the offers have been evaluated, will take care of putting the proposing party in contact with the comprehensive institutions whose needs correspond to the offer received. To benefit from the donation, schools must have sent the questionnaire published on the site to the Municipality www.scuoleapertemilano.it or, alternatively, the questionnaire published on the MIUR website.
Various entities have already come forward to make tools and skills available: Lenovo, the world's leading manufacturer of personal computers, for example, has proposed the donation and started the delivery of as many as 150 laptops which will go into a dozen schools in the various municipalities of the city, especially for middle school children, as well as at the CIA - "Manzoni" adult and adolescent education center which has already started forms of distance learning for several weeks. Furthermore, through its volunteers, the IBM Foundation will support schools in digital transformation, including training teachers, and Cisco will make its online platform for distance learning available free of charge.
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Updated: 25/03/2020