Voices and Faces of the Teachers at the Scuola del Noi

In this new episode of Voices and Faces of the Teachers at the Scuola del Noi, we meet Paolo Aghemo, a teacher and trainer who has been committed to educational innovation and the educational use of digital technologies for over thirty years. His experience spans primary schools, universities and the training of future teachers, building a bridge between research, teaching practice and social innovation. In his view, the teacher is not an isolated transmitter of knowledge, but the hub of a network capable of connecting different generations, disciplines and contexts.

The community of teachers at the Scuola del Noi thus becomes a space for exchange and cross-fertilisation, where innovation is not an afterthought but a structural component of pedagogy. It is a place to share doubts and experiments, design collaborative activities and transform digital technology into a tool for citizenship, inclusion and participation. At the heart of Paolo’s reflection lies the teacher’s responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence: to help pupils not only to use the tools, but to ask the right questions, evaluate sources and develop critical thinking, creativity and empathy. Because, faced with increasingly immediate answers, schools are called upon above all to cultivate awareness.

THE INTERVIEW

What professional or personal need prompted you to join the community of teachers at the Scuola del Noi?
The fundamental need was to find a space for cross-fertilisation and genuine exchange. Those who have been working in educational innovation and digital technologies for many years – in my case, since the mid-1990s – sometimes risk becoming isolated within their own school context. I felt a professional need to engage with a community that spoke my language, where innovation was not seen as an ‘optional extra’, but as a structural element of cutting-edge pedagogy.

In what way has participating in the community changed the way you view your role as a teacher?
It has reinforced my conviction that a teacher should not be an isolated transmitter of knowledge, but a node in a complex network. Active participation has prompted me to view my role from an increasingly intergenerational perspective: I do not merely educate the children in my class, but I also bring the spirit of the community to bear in the training of future university lecturers, creating a direct bridge between academic research, school practice and social innovation.

What, in your opinion, is the most important objective of the Scuola del Noi?
The ultimate aim is the humanisation of technology through cooperation. The Scuola del Noi succeeds in dismantling the notion of digital technology as a mere technical tool, transforming it into an enabler of citizenship, inclusion and collective intelligence. Working for the ‘We’ means precisely this: putting the skills of the individual at the service of the democratic growth of the educational community.

How does the project help you prepare your pupils for the present, not just the future?
It is often said that we prepare pupils ‘for tomorrow’s world’, but children live in the here and now. The Scuola del Noi provides inspiration for designing active teaching methods (I’m thinking of podcasting or digital storytelling) that allow pupils to engage critically with the present. It helps them to understand digital media not as passive consumers, but as informed creators and active citizens already within the current context.

Have you adapted a teaching practice thanks to the community?
Rather than overhauling it, the community has broadened my scope for experimentation, particularly in opening up projects to the wider world.
Thanks to the inspiration from the Scuola del Noi, I have strengthened the integration of cooperative methodologies and Service Learning into my activities, also involving former pupils, graduates and colleagues in vertical pathways where technology becomes a means of solving real local problems.

How important is it to be able to share doubts and experiments with other teachers?
It matters immensely: it is the key to continuous professional development. Experimentation without sharing risks remaining a self-referential exercise in style. Being able to voice one’s doubts in a non-judgemental, welcoming and constructive environment allows us to validate practices, adjust our approach and co-design more effective and sustainable teaching solutions.

Do you feel better prepared to tackle complex topics such as AI, digital technology and citizenship?
Yes, definitely. Despite my years of specialisation and e-learning, the evolution of topics such as Artificial Intelligence requires constant updating that cannot be purely theoretical. The community provides the critical and pedagogical framework needed to avoid passively succumbing to technocentric innovation, instead channelling it into pathways of digital citizenship and computational ethics suited to schools.

What sort of school do you want to help build?
I want to help build a school that is open, inclusive, hands-on and connected. A school that is not afraid of change, capable of nurturing children’s creativity (including through new media) and that knows how to train reflective teachers, capable of combining a solid pedagogical tradition with the challenges of the digital transition.

What responsibilities do you feel you have today as a teacher in the age of AI?
I feel a responsibility to be a critical mediator. In an age where AI can generate instant answers, my role as a teacher is to teach pupils to ask the right questions, to develop divergent thinking, empathy and the ability to evaluate sources. The challenge is to help them understand that algorithms do not replace humans, but require an extra layer of ethical and pedagogical awareness.

If the Scuola del Noi did not exist, what would be missing from your career path?
I would be missing an vital source of professional inspiration. Without this network, my career as a trainer and tutor would be poorer in terms of external stimuli and opportunities for genuine networking. I would be missing that fundamental link that enables me to foster dialogue between primary schools, universities and the world of the technological third sector, as embodied by Fondazione Mondo Digitale.

What would you say to a teacher who thinks they ‘don’t have time’ to join a community?
I’d tell them that the community doesn’t take up time, but gives value back. Often, you waste far more time trying to find solutions on your own or replicating outdated teaching methods that no longer work. Joining a community means optimising your efforts, finding ready-made resources, sharing the workload and, above all, rediscovering that motivation and enthusiasm which are the best antidote to professional burnout.