A Collaboration between Industry and University Focusing on the Making of Edutainment Apps

The massive diffusion of mobile technologies, distinctive of the latest years, has commanded to reflect upon the educational and social impact which such systems are able to have, especially on an audience of youngsters. Alongside questions trying to establish which features make to a good app for children, there is a debate upon which educational principles should be a guide to the use of these media, having in mind a world increasingly founded on equity and sustainability. This paper presents an Italian experience of collaboration between private industry and university planning and implements apps for children between 3 and 6 years old. The first part contains an analysis of the various assumptions on which the collaboration between the two partners is funded, with a highlight on the sharing process of the cultural and social goals to achieve. The attention then moves on to the collaboration process with a focus on the work organisation and the assigning of roles. Special concern is given to the products’ evaluating and certificating process, conducted through the identification of a range of quality principles of the apps. The final part concentrates on the relationship between sustainability and media education, considering the future diffusion of a technological culture marked on ethics