The use of tablets and digital devices in the school has several advantages: economic, since a tablet can be used for several years, while books have to be bought again, depending on the choices of teachers; didactic, because the students find it a more interesting way to study and to learn basic skills in the workplace; and health also, since students no longer have to carry a backpack loaded with books and dictionaries.
In the Salesian field in Italy, the Social Works of Don Bosco at Sesto San Giovanni were the first to take the lead in this experiment. This school was opened in 1948 to provide vocational training for young people and prepare them for jobs in local industry. This complex is now completely changed, with a wider range of subjects, pupils male and female from different backgrounds, and equipment that has been completely updated over the years.
The works of Sesto San Giovanni were in fact the cornerstone of the iCNOS project. The programme they launched in 2011, just over a year after the introduction of the first iPad, led the way for the use of the tablet in the classrooms and workshops of the Salesian institutes.
Today, in the iCNOS Project, thanks to the technological sponsorship of the "Apple" company through "Rekordata", there are 26 Salesian educational centres using the iPad and other digital tools. There are in total over 2,100 students and 600 teachers involved in a new and innovative type of education, which, with its infinite possibilities of hypertext and multidisciplinary connections leads to greater involvement and broadens the mind of the students.
