Module

Young people and ICT

Introduction
The two-day workshop focuses on the relationship between young people and IT.

It is very important to understand that the contents of this module have a special feature: generally young people have a wider knowledge of IT than youth leaders. This is possibly because young people are surrounded by IT tools and use them on a daily basis.

The Internet is a new means of communication and like all other means of communication, it has a great impact on society.
All the sessions of this module analyse different aspects of digital technology. Only by understanding all these aspects is it possible to understand the whole philosophy that lies behind digital technology. All these aspects have a global impact on human life, changing individuals and their way of understanding reality.
Such a change becomes more evident the more the tool is used. In present day society, young people may use digital technology more frequently and in different ways to adults Therefore it is young people who feel the consequences of the technology the most.
The module has a general aim which is the same aim as all of the single sessions making the youth worker aware of:

• the potential of digital technology,
• the way young people use digital technology,
• the changes that digital technology brings to our society and in particular to young people.

The youth worker does not need to become a technical expert but should act as a guide for the young people. In order to do this the youth worker needs to understand digital technology, taking an active part in its testing and use. After this module the youth worker will be able to speak a common IT language with young people, learning from them how to use IT tools with more creativity.

The training exercises of the module

1. Icebreaker - Do you like your neighbours?
2. Internet and Personal Identity: a) Avatar; b) Virtual socialisation; c) Virtual community
3. Icebreaker - The tangle
4. Possibility of editing the contents (Audio)
5. Icebreaker - Find the person who…
6. Possibility of editing the contents (Video)
7. Icebreakers - Blind date
8. Simulation of the experience

Module Summary

This module has the same general aim as all of the single sessions. This is to make the youth leader aware of:

• the potential of digital technology,
• the way young people use digital technology,
• the changes that digital technology brings to our society and in particular to young people,
• new tools for working with young people on IT

Marshal Mac Luhan wrote, “The Medium is the message�, that is to say, that the first information you get when using a communication tool is the information about the communication tool itself.

For example, before the birth of the written word there was an oral culture; in order to solve a problem it was necessary to speak with other people and find a collective solution. The birth of writing and the diffusion of books have contributed to the development of individualism because people were able to find solutions by themselves by reading books. In this way written communication tools have changed humans.

The Internet, and digital technology in general (Internet is only the most popular aspect of digital technology), are the most recent communication strategies. The aim of this module is to make the users understand the impact that all technological tools created by humans have had by modifying modify the reality around them. These have had and are having an important effect on humans in general and in particular on young people, who are the main users of Internet.

In order to understand how the Internet and digital technology change humans we need to analyse their features, which are:

1. Virtuality
2. Interaction
3. Simulation.

The module deals with 3 topics:

1. Internet and personal identity
2. Possibility to edit the contents
3. Simulation of the experience

• Back Up Material