(ANS – Milan):  On 13th May the Publishing house MULTIMEDIA, organized a seminar at CASA Don BOSCO, Expo Milano, 2015. The chief organizer of the seminar was Sr. Caterina Cangià FMA, and it discussed the correlation between education and the use of the new technologies by the younger generation.

This is a very relevant issue and has a bearing on the time spent on the methods used for teaching, the education of the young and on the life of the young themselves. The question asked in this regard is about the role that the adults, the teachers and the families have to play in dealing with this important issue. Educators need to be aware of both the great possibilities offered by these technologies as well as the “traps” that they could lay to ensnare the young, and hence, those responsible need, of a necessity, to devise ways to liberate them.

Why do the children memorize the names of the “Pokemon” and not so much the illustrious historical personages? Sr. Caterina has made a study on this by following closely some youngsters who are passionate about the new technologies and video games. Going through the results of her study it has emerged that based on the success and the attractiveness of the new technologies it is possible to create social networks, which facilitate inclusiveness and sharing.

However the ”Tech Generation” is not free from risks: though the web is considered an encyclopaedia par excellence, its unrestrained use could affect one’s critical and objective thinking. Hence it is important that the teachers and educators understand the benefits and dangers of the new media.

The dream of the adoloscents is ”to be always on”: to be always connected and that with the technology close at hand. Sr. Cangià asserts: ”We need at least to undestand the technology in depth in order to appreciate its riches, but understanding also its dangers from which we want to liberate the youngsters with the aim of making them free and capable of constructive criticism. This demands a more indepth knowledge of the products used by the young: and this knowledge must be based also on ‘a listening to the youngsters’ who should themselves be invited to engage the actual situation, and to opt for a manner of living which is both concrete and practical.

The products which create greater interest on the part of the youngsters are those which allow them to engage in different activities: to watch movies, read books, listen to music ... Our brain is so structured and mapped that the movement of a part leads to the stimulation of others to do the same. Thus for example the success of the touch-screen technology, is owed to our sensorial ability to act on the basis of data collected even manually: it is not sufficient any more to listen, it is required today to combine the traditional with the interactive and multimedia modes.

There are more than one million successful Apps in every subject and topic since they permit to effectively manipulate the objects and stimulate thought. Thus for example e-books have had a great success since the new technology has given a value addition to books through, for example, the enlargening of the script or through its audio posibilities.