Inclusion, connection and technology to set up laboratories and ICT networks at the schools in the Abruzzo region that had suffered damage after the earthquake
Following the Abruzzo earthquake of April 2009, FMD launched the ICT for Abruzzo: Inclusion, Connection, and Technology project to set up ICT laboratories and networks at the schools in the Abruzzo Region that had suffered damage.
Only very few children and adolescents were able to go back to school immediately after the event. The earthquake damaged 64 school buildings. Thorough assessments of the safety of the schools still standing were required and the use of emergency solutions such as tensile structures were first considered and then adopted to bring the school year to conclusion.
With the objective of accelerating the reconstruction process and resuming normal school activities while guaranteeing equal rights to study for all the students in Abruzzo, Fondazione Mondo Digitale issued a call to the ICT companies to assess their willingness to contribute –within the limits of their own skills and capabilities – to the creation of complete ICT laboratories (hardware and wiring) at damaged schools. These computerized classrooms featured workstations with advanced technical characteristics connected to a local network system and Internet, as well as the most useful peripherals (printers, scanners, webcams, masterizers, etc.).
FMD reached agreements with local authorities to assess the logistic necessities of the schools with greater precision and to coordinate the intervention plan with the “donor companies”. Instant and personalized solutions – even if only temporary – were also assessed in order to bring digital schooling to the tents and shelters using mobile units and wireless connections. The goal of the ICT project for Abruzzo, in fact, is to involve a range of different parties in enabling schooling rights and responsibilities even under emergency conditions.
A total of 4 multimedia tents and 2 computerized classrooms (in Poggio Picenze and San Demetrio Ne' Vestini) were set up.
In greater detail, the 40 laptops supplied by Gruppo Engineering and the software donated by Microsoft and configured by volunteer technicians permitted the set-up of four “multimedia tents” for emergency management.
The first multimedia classroom was inaugurated in December, 2009 in the school in San Demetrio ne’ Vestini thanks also to contributions from Toshiba (20 laptops) and Microsoft (software). In February 2010, the second multimedia classroom became operative at “Ignazio Silone” primary school in Poggio Picenze that had suffered great damage.
Grandparents on the Internet courses were held these two multimedia laboratories, which also permitted the A2/A4 – Family-size school projects for functional and digital literacy to be extended to the numerous foreign residents living in San Demetrio (over 12% of the population).