Second year of the ASAP Collaborative Editorial Board in Bresso, Milan
The Collaborative Editorial Board at the school in Bresso, Italy, as part of the ASAP project, has recommenced its activities last October 2023.
The board, comprising kids, teachers, and experts, focused on creating, discussing, learning and managing digital content, emphasising responsible social media use.
Participants learned from each other to analyse information, question assumptions, and also to formulate questions, gaining essential skills for navigating the digital world.
The diverse backgrounds of the students (coming from second and first grade) enriched the content created, making it more engaging and relevant to their peers.
Highlights this year’ programme:
- Introducing the ASAP project and Question Sessions (06/12/23): The journey began with an introduction to the ASAP group, focusing then on how formulating questions can make the difference. The students revised their initial queries and delved into the nuances of words. This session culminated in an exercise on analysing and observing student drawings (about social media uses), leading to student interviews and the creation of Instagram posts – their first foray into journalistic reporting.
- Small Editorial Teams and Video Production (13/12/23): In a subsequent session, students were divided into small editorial teams to create short videos. They took on roles like cameraman, interviewer, and expert to explore questions raised by their peers in the previous meeting.
- Exploring Emotions through Digital Media (20/12/23 and 10/01/24): Two sessions are dedicated to understanding emotions triggered by digital and social media content. During the first meeting, we started with exercises ourselves on talking about emotions using newspapers. Highlighting the titles on the newspapers with colors according to our emotions and then talking about the impact that news can have on our emotions and lives; then using the Lego we have created avatars expressing how do we feel online.
The next meeting (10/01/24) will focus on group activities to produce mood boards and videos to describe emotions linked to social media and digital content.
These activities represent a significant step in educating young minds about the digital world.
The students are not just passive consumers of digital content; they’re learning to be critical thinkers, content creators, and responsible digital citizens. This holistic approach helps them understand the impact of digital media, develop a critical mindset, and gain valuable digital literacy skills. As the ASAP Collaborative Editorial Board moves towards the end of its first cycle, it’s clear that the program is not just about creating content – it’s about shaping a new generation of conscious digital users.
We are now nearing the end of the first cycle of this innovative programme.
