The purpose of this study was to compare different students' backgrounds and two different didactic methodologies to profitably teach computer animation in Italian schools of design and engineering. Teachers and instructors have long been engaged in discussions to define effective curricula for teaching computer animation. Various multidisciplinary and collaborative methodologies have been proposed. This manuscript assesses both the impact of a collaborative teaching approach and the curriculum. Two equivalent learning paths are compared; both of them encompass courses of photography, storytelling and computer animation and require prerequisites in 3D modeling and rendering. The learning path of the "Systemic Design" degree is taught by the collaborative Open Space Technology (OST) approach, whereas the path of "Cinema and Media Engineering" is taught more conventionally (independent courses). The results clearly show how effective teaching methodologies cannot completely compensate for a nontechnical background; on the other hand, as expected, students appreciate and can take advantage of collaborative forms of teaching.