Introduction

Stemming from a series of experimental practices in the classroom, Lisa Sarti and Carmela Scala's contribution, Blogging Pinocchio: Reworking Culture in the Italian Classroom, explores the intersection of virtual learning tools, such as blogs and discussion boards, with the study of classic Italian fairy tales. The objective was twofold: to examine the usefulness of the traditional model, based on a teacher-centered class, in an educational context that is confronted daily with the ever-increasing role of digital technology, and the effectiveness of teaching methodologies that blend digital tools with foreign language instruction as a primary space of intervention. In his study, Bregni discusses the many applications of video gaming in the classroom but extends its applicability also to online courses, where preparatory and follow-up activities are developed to further student retention and interaction, while class discussion and face-to-face activities can take place via video recording and group conferencing software. To avoid the pitfalls that scholars have identified in the student-centered paradigm-impoverished content and diminished academic rigor-Rossi-Wagner invested time in the careful design of an oral history/digital archive project with emphasis on three main objectives: increased student autonomy in deciding the content and scope of the project, a new relationship between students, research materials, and primary sources, and improved use of available technologies.