The TRIS Project and the educational inclusion of homebound students

The spread of network and mobile technologies offers new dimensions for interpersonal interaction and for "spaces" in which this can take place. The "always-on" status has in fact blurred the clear-cut distinction between physical and digital spaces, introducing a new conception of space, known as "hybrid" space. Hybrid spaces are dynamic spaces generated by constant connectivity, which transparently integrates remote contexts into those we are actually experiencing at that moment. Thus the concept of "hybrid space" is clearly particularly interesting for those having to tackle daily the problem of social/educational inclusion, especially of students who are "homebound" because of physical and/or health problems. And it is precisely the concept of the hybrid learning space that the TRIS project is focussed on, its aim being educational inclusion of students who have difficulty in attending school regularly due to specific invalidating illnesses. One of the main results which emerged from the research is that teaching/learning situations which are developed in hybrid learning spaces due to the above force of circumstance, may also act as incubators of general educational innovation for the class/school, fostering experimentations in the didactic use of network and mobile technologies which can also be used as models for "normal" teaching.