UNIONCAMERE - Students and teachers at e-commerce school

1200 young people aged between 14 and 18 and 180 of their teachers involved in an e-commerce training project promoted by the Ministry of Economic Development and implemented by Unioncamere.

For a generation of adolescents accustomed to using the services that the web offers with ease, and always inclined to use the IWB (multimedia interactive whiteboard), the "Young consumers on the web" project will certainly have been appreciated, which has allowed them to disconnect from the normal subjects taught and to try their hand at an online game to verify the notions learned.
The initiative, promoted by the Ministry of Economic Development and implemented by Unioncamere, involved 1200 students between the ages of 14 and 18, coming from 50 different upper secondary schools in Italy, and 180 of their previously trained teachers. The learning path took place in several phases during the entire 2012-2013 school year, and had its fulcrum in the participation in an online game aimed at teaching children how to make the best use of their monthly "pocket money". The latter was configured as a real competition in which the students, organized into teams, had to administer a budget, manage purchase and consumption choices and deal with unforeseen events, including computer fraud attempts against them. Among the 50 participating classes, the winning team was class “V” A of the “A. Guarasci” of Rogliano (CS).
Instead, the teachers' commitment began earlier, with a training activity lasting a total of 100 hours, divided into 24 hours of online training, 4 hours of face-to-face training (25 meetings), 4 hours of practice, and 68 hours of individual study, and culminating in the recognition of university training credits for attendance.
The "philosophy of the game", as reported in an official press release, was therefore that of "educating teenagers to manage their economic resources wisely, warning them against the risks of using the web" and inviting them to reflect " about the future consequences of a purchase before it is made".
Unioncamere and the Ministry of Economic Development, continues the press release, "wanted to give a concrete response to the anxieties of many parents with a very practical and engaging initiative, aimed at making children - but also adults - more aware of the risks incur when they buy goods and services online and when they exchange information over the Internet.