E-learning: a training experience for teachers.

The e-learning defines new ways of learning, characterized by the fact that, thanks to the web, it is possible to create collaborative environments and thus encourage interactivity. This is a new training methodology that uses the Internet as the main way of communication. This plan is a report of a training experience for teachers, in particular those of primary and secondary school. The on-line training has allowed 40 teachers, who wanted to strengthen their skills in creating a personalized way of teaching in the school where they taught, to conduct a series of training activities and learning experiences mainly based on the use of technologies, integrated with moments of self-learning and with on line group meetings, in order to support the exchange, the comparison and the acquisition of new knowledge. The experience mentioned above appeared as a new training methodology using the Internet as the main channel of communication and training. The presence of new tools to express and share ideas and to build new knowledge has simply allowed teachers to diversify their work. Multimedia technologies and information of the Internet contributed to enrich the learning content for teachers, thanks also to the access to multiple communications services and long distance collaboration, such as forums, chats rooms and e-mails. These elements made the course more engaging and attractive, enhancing the quality and effectiveness of the learning process. To implement a valid educational-didactic action, the teacher was supposed to have a greater knowledge of these technologies that could indeed help him/her out. For each activity that might be useful to propose in class, it is necessary to understand based on the context and the purposes of them, which might be the tools to be used and in which way use them considering how crucial its use might be in relation to the students' learning process. Many teachers prefer to be trained with this new e-learning method, however the lack of time and the few other commitments in the school afternoon hours do not allow them to regularly attend the refresher courses on campus. However, the desire to keep up with the times, to improve their own skills, to enhance their own educational work, have led teachers to choose an on line training course, where, 'moving' in the virtual space, each of them has explored knowledge, tested theoretical contents through virtual laboratories and lived experiences with others in shared areas of synchronous and asynchronous communication.