Costruire conoscenza geografica attraverso l’esplorazione in presenza, immersiva e digitale: uno studio comparativo in un quartiere multiculturale
Abstract
L’articolo presenta uno studio comparativo che esamina come differenti modalità di studio del territorio influenzino la costruzione della conoscenza geografica. Condotta nel maggio 2025, la ricerca ha confrontato tre approcci all’esplorazione del quartiere multiculturale Sarpi–Chinatown di Milano: una visita del quartiere in presenza, un’esplorazione immersiva in Realtà Virtuale (VR) con avatar guidato dal docente e una navigazione basata su webGIS. Sebbene le tecnologie geospaziali e di Extended Reality amplino l’accesso alle informazioni geografiche, la mediazione tecnologica configura attivamente l’esperienza spaziale, sollevando interrogativi pedagogici sulla capacità degli strumenti digitali di trasmettere la ricchezza multisensoriale dei luoghi. I risultati evidenziano specifiche implicazioni epistemologiche per ciascuna modalità. Le visite del quartiere in presenza hanno favorito un coinvolgimento multisensoriale più profondo e una comprensione spaziale incarnata. La VR ha supportato l’orientamento spaziale e l’esplorazione collaborativa, privilegiando tuttavia la percezione visiva. Il webGIS si è rivelato particolarmente efficace per il ragionamento analitico a diverse scale, a rischio di un’astrazione eccessiva della complessità territoriale. Piuttosto che considerare questi approcci come alternativi, lo studio li concettualizza come complementari. La loro integrazione — combinando esperienza diretta sul campo, ambienti virtuali immersivi e strumenti digitali di analisi — permette un apprendimento geografico più ricco e fornisce indicazioni empiricamente fondate per un uso epistemologicamente consapevole delle tecnologie nella formazione degli insegnanti di geografia.Riferimenti bibliografici
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