COVID-19: turning a huge challenge into an opportunity

Over the last two decades, educational institutions at all levels have been struggling to make “good use” of digital technology (Henderson, Selwyn, Finger, & Aston, 2015). Even in those countries where the infrastructure is sufficiently developed, the features of emerging technologies are not always exploited. Instead, many teachers make limited use of technology and merely relocate part of their teaching online (Sansone, Cesareni, Bortolotti, & Buglass, 2019) without fully appropriating the technology (Ritella, Ligorio, & Hakkarainen, 2016). As a consequence, technology-enhanced learning is not the first choice when it comes to planning learning paths, both at school and at university level. Suddenly, in February 2020, the COVID-19 crisis forced the Italian educational system to embrace distance education after the forced closure of schools and universities. Since then, the widespread efforts of the teaching community have been summoned to resume the scholastic or academic year. The results, however, are variable, depending – for instance – on the educational level of the institution and its geographical location. The general impression is that teachers are facing the complex issues rising from this crisis on their own, without clear coordination and sufficient information, nor the support of the academic community.