Teaching in the Knowledge Society: Between Technology and Competences

The Internet and all services on it have changed and are continuously changing mankind and human society, due to the effects they have on information management and communication; otherwise stated, they are influencing individuals’ learning, knowledge development and, more generally, interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships. The phenomenon has been widely analyzed since its origins, and many studies have confirmed that the IT/ICT provided deep changes on learning environments, either formal, non-formal or informal (Conner 1995, 2004); it is useful to recall here, that the influence of the above environments on the different stages of human development is changed too, together with the effects of digital technologies on intentional and unexpected learning. Furthermore, the Internet has been considered responsible for the differences affecting people in their access to information and its management. More specifically, the words “digital divide”, once identifying the lack of communication equipment in underdeveloped countries, are today used to describe a growing problem in the developed countries (Bindé et al. 2005; Guidolin 2005); they describe at least: