With the start of the new year, Scuola Don Carlo San Martino enters the heart of the annual project ON AIR: Linea alla Rete, officially launching the workshop phase dedicated to the secondary school. A journey designed to guide students in discovering communication as a conscious, creative, and responsible tool, especially within the digital context.
A workshop between science, theater, and communication
The protagonists of this first phase are the experts from the BioPills association, a group of young science communicators specializing in biology, biotechnology, and natural sciences, primarily active online. Their experience in the world of digital science communication makes their contribution particularly significant and in full harmony with the theme of the year.
The meetings, scheduled for parallel classes between the end of January and mid-February, have been designed as a workshop divided into three sessions:
- two one-hour meetings, with theoretical moments alternating with practical activities;
- a final two-hour meeting, structured as a large practical workshop with a predominantly theatrical focus.
The goal is to guide students in understanding the mechanisms of communication and outreach, making them conscious promoters and communicators, in line with the spirit of ON AIR: Linea alla Rete. This journey also represents a fundamental and preparatory step for the final podcast production, the centerpiece of the annual project.
First meeting – January 30, 2026
“What is communication?”
The first session opened with a seemingly simple question: what is communication? Through theater workshop experiments, skits, interpretation exercises, and communication simulations, students were guided to reflect on what communicating truly means.
Starting from practical activities, the session moved to the analysis of the five axioms of communication, supported by video examples from famous TV series selected by BioPills experts. The central concept of the meeting revolved around the idea that one cannot not communicate, and that communicating effectively requires awareness.
During the meeting, key themes were addressed such as:
- the need to prioritize communication;
- the importance of communicative perspective;
- the distinction between verbal and non-verbal communication.
Students were thus encouraged to ask themselves fundamental questions: Who are we? Why do we want to communicate something? What do we want to communicate? To which audience are we speaking?
Second meeting – February 6, 2026
The value of jargon and word choice
The second meeting will be dedicated to the theme of jargon, with the aim of understanding how much the choice of words is decisive for effective communication. The work will start from the students’ daily jargon, then progressively expand to the analysis of technical terminology from various fields.
A particular focus will be reserved for “magnitudes in science”, useful tools for simplifying complex concepts and making them understandable to a wide audience. Through a theater workshop, the students, divided into subgroups, will be asked to:
- simplify complex concepts using appropriate and accessible language;
- perform the reverse exercise, devising complex concepts to propose to the rest of the class, calibrating the level of terminological detail.
This double perspective will allow students to experience firsthand the importance of correct and functional jargon for communication goals.
Third meeting – February 18, 2026
Getting involved: the final theater workshop
The third and final meeting will be entirely focused on an experiential theater workshop, in which the students will be active protagonists. Organized in groups, the students will work on designing a theater scene, consciously choosing:
- body language;
- tone of voice;
- the most suitable jargon based on a hypothetical target audience.
At the end of the construction phase, each group will perform their work, testing the communicative effectiveness achieved. The themes the students will work on will be agreed upon along the way between teachers and BioPills experts, ensuring consistency with the educational path and the overall project.
A journey to communicate with awareness
Through this cycle of workshops, Scuola Don Carlo San Martino renews its commitment to promoting active and engaging teaching, capable of combining scientific knowledge, communication skills, and creative expression. ON AIR: Linea alla Rete thus confirms itself as a precious opportunity to help students become conscious digital citizens, capable of communicating in an effective, responsible, and authentic way.
