National Research Council (CNR)
The National Research Council (CNR) is Italy’s major public research body, with a network of over 100 institutes nationwide. CNR has over 8200 employees, including 4000+ researchers in science and the humanities. CNR generates the bulk of Italy’s research publications, a body of work held in high standing internationally. CNR’s core mission is to further the generation, spread and transfer of knowledge in all sectors, thereby contributing to innovation in Italy. It provides technologies and solutions that meet emerging public/private needs, enhances the country’s human capital, advises the government and other public bodies on themes of strategic importance, and furthers the internationalization of Italian research.
In SuperRED, CNR is represented by the Institute for Educational Technology (Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche, CNR-ITD, www.itd.cnr.it). Based in Genova with a branch in Palermo, CNR-ITD has a core staff of 44 (among researchers and support staff), together with a dozen of research fellows. It is the only CNR institute dedicated solely to Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL). CNR-ITD is strongly interdisciplinary, with expertise in computing, educational sciences and psychology, as well as in disciplinary subjects like maths and physics.
The main research areas the institute addresses are educational technologies for educational innovation; online collaborative learning; self-regulated learning in formal and informal contexts; learning design; game-based learning; e-inclusion; tools, methods and innovative infrastructures for teacher education and training; ICT & disciplinary content (STEM, language and literacy, cultural heritage); new competencies for the knowledge society; models and methods for online learning; knowledge management and professional training.
CNR-ITD has a solid track record in European TEL research, with participation stretching back to the dawn of the sector in the late 1980s (the DELTA Exploratory Phase). It has played an active role in the framework programs FP4, FP5, FP6 and FP7, and has participated in a number of European Networks of Excellence (NoE) in TEL, including STELLAR, GALA, VMUST and ETNA. The institute has a strong presence in LLP-Erasmus+, acting as collaborative project coordinator on several occasions and currently coordinating the PLEIADE Erasmus+ projects.
Francesca Pozzi is Lead Researcher at the Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche (ITD) – CNR where she started in 1998; she holds a Ph.D. in “Cultures, Languages and ICT” (University of Genoa).
Her main research areas include: Learning Design; Collaborative learning; Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL); Teacher training and innovation in teacher professional development; Technology Enhanced Learning for healthcare professionals’ training; ICT in cultural heritage education.
She has participated in and led several international research projects in TEL. She has recently led a Sector Skills Alliance, named ENhANCE, on TEL in nursing professional development and is currently involved in PLEIADE, as Erasmus+ project on learning design, collaborative learning and gamification for the promotion of social inclusion in schools.
Pozzi has chaired a number of scientific events in the TEL research area and has been invited speaker at international conferences and seminars. She has published over 180 scientific papers in national and international journals, books and conference proceedings.
She is co-editor of Italy’s leading TEL journal, IJET-Italian Journal of Educational Technology, and is a member of several journal and conference boards.
She belongs to the “Collegio di dottorato” (PhD board) of the doctoral school in Digital Humanities of the universities of Genoa and Torino.
Donatella Persico is Director of Research at Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche (ITD) – CNR. She has been active in the field of educational technology since 1981. Her interests include learning design, e-learning, self-regulated learning, game-based learning and teacher training. She was research fellow at Bradford university, UK, in 1985 and at the university of Exeter, UK, in 1986, visiting scholar at the Glasgow Caledonian Academy, UK, in 2013, and at the Universidade de Santiago e Compostela in 2018. She has been involved in several teacher training programmes as a lecturer in educational technology. She is author of educational material and scientific publications of various kinds, including books, educational software, multimedia material and research papers concerning various aspects of educational technology. She is editor of IJET- Italian Journal of Educational Technology, sits on the editorial or scientific board of international and national journals and chaired conferences on Educational Technology. She has a long standing experience in the management of national and international projects and is currently coordinating PLEIADE, an Erasmus+ project on learning design, collaborative learning and gamification for the promotion of social inclusion in schools. She also sits on several professional boards and belongs to the “Collegio di dottorato” (PhD board) of the doctoral programme in Philosophy and Educational Sciences of the Ca’ Foscari university of Venice.
Marcello Passarelli holds a PhD in Psychology, Anthropology, and Cognitive Sciences (University of Genoa) and has worked at Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche (ITD) – CNR as a research fellow since 2017. His main research interests include statistical modeling and social cognition, with a strong quantitative focus. He was a visiting scholar at Coventry University in 2018.
At ITD-CNR, his research has mostly been focused on game-based learning, video games, and gamification. He has been involved in several international research projects, including Gaming Horizons – an Horizon2020 that investigated the impact of games and gamification from an educational, psychological, and ethical perspective – and PLEIADE, an Erasmus+ coordinated by ITD-CNR which focuses on learning design, collaborative learning and gamification for the promotion of social inclusion in schools.
He authored ~30 peer-reviewed publications in psychology and education. He also has an active collaboration with the University of Genoa, where he teaches data collection and statistical software to undergraduate and PHD students as an adjunct professor.
