RISULTATI RICERCA

Learntwist is a web-based software that aims to facilitate learning in adults. Developed by Susan Isenberg, the software is an electronic version of an apprenticeship contract. The article introduces the framework of andragogy and self-directed learning, presents the methodology of learning contracts, focuses on the principles of adult education applied to internet learning and describes a research conducted at the University of Siena. The research illustrates how students validated and used the Italian version of Learntwist. Participants have been engaged in a cognitive walkthrough to assess the usability of the software and in the planning of a personalized learning plan. Students evaluated that the learning experience can be improved by working on the different steps, the customization and the graphic interface of the software. The activities planned by the students are characterized by arguments and subjects related to students’ passions and interests, strategies based on research, collaboration with experts, learning evidence and methods of assessment. Limits of the experience and hypothesis for further researches are also discussed.

The historical problem of Italian terrorism has recently been brought back at the centre of the historical debate: a new wave of research has been carried out by a new generation of young scholars who have not directly experienced those years. We addressed them a few questions, focused on: the methodological aspects of the comparison, especially between the Italian and the German case; the relationship between the so-called «Black Terrorism», oriented by neofascist groups in the first half of the 1970s, and the second wave of terrorism led by insurgent groups of Marxist and revolutionary tendencies; the possibility to acquire new sources, in order to open new fields of research and gauge new interpretations; and finally, what they consider to be the main causes of the end of Italian terrorism. Our questions have been answered by Giovanni Mario Ceci, Guido Panvini, Luca Falciola and Monica Galfré.