“It’s the school that changes the world” could be a stolen phrase from the novel The brilliant friend by Elena Ferrante, but actually heads the presentation of the R-Store digital teaching program. The well-known chain Apple Premium Resellerborn in Naples in 2008, today it is not surprising for its thirty-five shops scattered around the peninsula but for its strong commitment in the education sector.
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“We are a kind of amplifier of the values and concepts that Apple wants to express. Our guys in the stores have excellent preparation, because that’s where we can make a difference compared to the competition; the price is the same in every authorized reseller and in the Apple Stores. And then there is theeducational, which historically was part of Steve Jobs’ vision. He was a firm believer that accessibility and inclusion should be success factors“, he explains Mario PiacentiEducation Manager at R-Store.
In summary, Apple stimulates all authorized resale chains to help schools and academic institutions in the transition to digital education with programs that bring devices and especially training plans into play. R-Store, for example, has an ad hoc department with about twenty consultants who interact constantly with schools.
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“The iPad is not the subject of the question but the terminal to perfect an educational system. Apple is the only company that offers advanced applications totally free for teachers: Classroom e Schoolwork. Through these, the teacher has the possibility to see all the devices of his students at the same time, correct in real time, share third-party elements. Is iPad better than competing products? I do not know. Certainly the Apple module has no alternatives for this type of teaching method “, Piacenti explains.
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R-Store, like its national competitors C&C, Juice and Med Store, is an Apple-certified training specialist. In practice, in addition to providing the devices, it offers schools the possibility of organize free courses for teachers who will use the new tools. In this way the learning experience in the classroom should be more engaging and effective.
The so-called Teacher Program it is a stimulus to creativity and to deepen topics such as coding, robotics, augmented reality, storytelling and other key topics. “We guide schools in carrying out projects in accordance with the Pon (national operational programs) to allow schools to take advantage of the European Structural Funds”, underlines R-Store.
Over time they have completed a large number of projects. Consider for example the launch of the first Apple iOS Academy in Europe at the Federico II University of Naples and the realization of the Cl @ sse 2 project at the Morelli Colao Higher Institute in Vibo Valentia.
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Not to mention the collaborations with the Italian Parents Association, the Italian Dyslexia Association, the Association dedicated to people with autism spectrum disorders and the Biennial of Arts and Sciences of the Mediterranean. “I carry two projects in my heart. One in Scampia where some schools have created digital classrooms with iPads for all the first classes and another in Catania where in addition to this we have also managed to involve an Apple certified professor who has developed a coding project called The Journey of Ulysses. Electrifying how the latter was welcomed by children. If they had faced a text from Homer’s Odyssey, perhaps they would have been bored “, underlines the expert.
Campus Media to Rome
Last autumn, exactly at the end of October, R-Store inaugurated its first Campus Store in the Eur area in Rome. A large structure dedicated to schools and students under-12. In fact, it offers training, orientation and innovative projects. There is a team of digital training professionals who can count on Apple devices, collaborative robotics and virtual environments. In practice, lessons in various disciplines are organized and it is favored the laboratory activity following a Stem scheme in which children have to collaborate to define the engineering process of their inventions and perform improvement tests. In short, the goal is to identify a solution and create the real product or service using all the innovative tools and kits available.
Currently, in addition to an annual course called The Inventor’s Academy, where children “are free to learn and build their skills, activating different intellectual forms”, there are bimonthly courses and computer science courses for European certification Eipass Junior. Not to mention workshops for primary and lower secondary schools, after-school activities and weekend events.
“Apple has great creativity in inventing new courses and projects. They extinguish a lot in this activity and support us if the proposal comes to us. For example, recently we are working on a project dedicated to organic farming in schools: a garden with monitoring and digital management as well. I also say why sensors and devices are tools, not the ultimate goal of these formativ pathsi “, concludes Piacenti.