Quality of the learning environment in digital classrooms: an Italian case study

Over the past three years, a growing number of Italian schools have launched digitalization projects, integrating new technologies into their classrooms. There is a tendency for project leaders to acquire as many technological tools as possible for each classroom, based on the belief that this will significantly enhance the quality of the learning environment.The aim of the current contribution is to investigate the implications of this trend, using as a case study three classes at an Italian primary school. This school was selected for analysis because it had invested in a broad range of technological devices (electronic whiteboards, one netbook per child, interactive tables etc.), although starting out from a traditional scenario in which none of the teachers had experience of educational technology.Qualitative research methods, specifically student focus groups and teacher interviews were used to explore the students’ perceptions regarding the change in classroom setting. The findings appear to suggest that technology is not critical to achieving a higher quality learning environment.