Media literacy eMedia - eMedia (MEdia literacy and DIgital citizenship for All) is an Erasmus+ project (2018-1-FR01-KA201-048117) - Arci
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Media literacy
eMedia
eMedia (MEdia literacy and DIgital citizenship for All)
is an Erasmus+ project (2018-1-FR01-KA201-048117)
1Contributors:
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Martina AGNOLETTI
Arci
Daniele BIANCHINI
Arci
INTRODUCTION 4
Linda DANIELA
University of Latvia
THE INFLUENCE OF MEDIA ON YOUNG PEOPLE'S DEVELOPMENT 5
Santa DREIMANE Media influence on the Youth: cognitive, psychological
University of Latvia and moral development of a person 5
Critical thinking 7
The European Commission’s Aurélie GAUDIN
support for the production Ligue de l’enseignement
of this publication does not MEDIA LITERACY 12
Pia GROENEWOLT
constitute an endorsement ALL DIGITAL
What are we talking about? 12
of the contents, which Fake news, conspiracy theories and the “post-truth era” 14
reflect the views only of the Shandra LOURIDO
The role of new information technology in manipulating reality 16
authors, and the Commission SOS Racismo Arrazakeria
cannot be held responsible Fact checking 18
for any use which may be Loira MANZANI
SOS Racismo Arrazakeria Critical view of media 19
made of the information
contained therein. Emanuele MICHELI THE LEGISLATIVE FRAME 20
Scuola di Robotica
Licences and media ownership 20
Gianluca PEDEMONTE
Scuola di Robotica PRACTICAL EXAMPLES TO DEAL WITH MEDIA LITERACY IN CLASS 22
Activity 1 • Critical reading 24
Carla SCARAMELLA
Arci Activity 2 • Chronocards for Media 25
Julie STEIN Activity 3 • Let’s go surveying! 26
Ligue de l’enseignement Activity 4 • Info profiler game 28
Activity 5 • The conspirator game 29
Activity 6 • Images in social networks 31
Activity 7 • Advertisements 32
Activity 8 • Press 33
Activity 9 • Lyrics or videoclips 34
Activity 10 • The cropping workshop 35
SOME EUROPEAN GOOD PRACTICES 36
CONCLUSIONS 39
References 40
3INTRODUCTION THE INFLUENCE OF MEDIAS
ON YOUNG PEOPLE’S
Since the 21st century, the ever-growing stream
of information and channels of information have
The term “literacy“ was coined in the 19th century
to describe the possession of general and neces-
DEVELOPMENT
changed how people do socialise. People increasingly sary skills at that time, such as reading, writing and
use technology to communicate with each other. arithmetic (Pereira, Moura, 2019). But the digital
Nowadays, social media is one of the preferred era and the internet demand a new kind of literacy,
streams for young people, and also for adults, to where people need to be confident in their use of
share information, communicate, get acquainted, to technology, the internet and social media as well.
entertain themselves and to spend their free time.
The internet and social media are the new public
Essential component of this “new literacy“ is online
media, in which children need to be fluent and be
Media influence on the youth:
sphere. able to distinguish fact from fiction.
News media organisations have also evolved quickly The project “eMedia: media literacy and digital cognitive, psychological and moral
development of a person
and now struggle to find new distribution and citizenship for everyone” aims to promote edu-
business models that adapt to digital media envi- cation for all by producing educational guidelines
ronments and practices (Notley, Dezuanni, 2019). related to digital practices which consist of three
Digital media environments provide a key source of handbooks. These handbooks are supporting pos-
During his/her teen years and also at the beginning 1) the sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years;
traffic to the online websites of major news media sibilities for a new and innovative way of teaching
of his/her adolescence, a person is still forming his/ 2)the preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7;
organisations. Thus they receive a significant portion different subjects at school. The handbooks are
her personality, values, sense of morality and is devel- 3) the concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11;
of income from the advertising, that news media devoted to three aspects of digital competence:
oping his/her cognition. This is a time when a person 4) the formal operational stage: ages 12 and up, that
organisations once would have received (Notley, 1) Educational robotics: to develop computational
is easily influenced by others and also by the media. describes a period where, as a person grows, his/
Dezuanni, 2019). This results in a highly competitive thinking with hands-on activities
Technologies and social media are an indispensable her mindset and perception of the world changes.
media-sector and many media take the notion of 2) Media literacy: to understand the power and
part of young peoples’ lives, and because their crit- The logical foundations of the various processes
profit into account when they prepare news content, the risks of online media.
ical thinking has not yet entirely developed, content are seen. Man makes hypotheses to explain things
sometimes neglecting media ethics. Even if media 3) O nline expression: to promote wiser use of
creators may choose to deliberately influence them. and is able to look at the past, present and future
integrity and trust has risen as a global priority in social media, blogs, web radios and web TVs.
dimensions. The final stage involves an increase in
recent years, online fake news are now considered as Young people may evaluate the content of online
This handbook is addressed to teachers who are logic, the ability to use deductive reasoning, and an
a major problem (Watkins, al., 2017). The digital era media based on their previous experience, level of
interested in developing their media literacy skills understanding of abstract ideas.
and social media have made verifying and trusting knowledge and moral compass that is just devel-
news content more complicated (Notley, Dezuanni, and transferring this knowledge to students, in order
oping for most of them. It is essential that parents Erik Erikson’s theory of Psychosocial development
2019). The role of education is thus very important, to enhance their critical thinking, improve their
and teachers understand what the cognitive, psy- has been impacted by psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud,
as it can help people to distinguish reliable news understanding of fake news, and also to give them
chological and moral development of children and but Erikson’s theory centred on psychosocial devel-
from fake news. practical examples of media literacy in the classroom.
teenagers is, in order to know how to develop their opment rather than psychosexual. Erikson proposed
media literacy, enhance their critical thinking and that psychosocial development is a predictable,
Young people are more easily affected through the
help them to improve their understanding of fake sequential process through eight stages during a
internet because their environment is not controlled
news. person lifetime. Each stage is characterized by the
and there is no filtering of inappropriate content.
interaction between personality, developmental, and
According to the European average, children must Jean Piaget, the proponent of the theory of cognitive social processes. Culture and context can influence
not be left alone until the age of ten. Considering development as a basic function of life. He consid- how individuals meet challenges related with each
the function of the internet and social media, parents ered that human cognitive capacity lies in biological stage (Darling-Fisher, 2019; Chavez, 2016):
should not leave a child unattended on internet as and psychological aspects, which were divided into 1) Infant-18 months – Infancy;
well. All this guides a worldwide social debate about 4 age stages (Kivnick, Wells, 2013; Newman etc., 2) 18 months-3 years – Early childhood;
the need for digital media literacy education, both 2007): 3) 3-5 years – Preschool or Childhood;
in schools and at home.
4 54) 6-13 years – School age;
5) 1 3-21 years – Adolescence. It is described as
school age - Authority and order orientation). In
the post-conventional level, a person’s morality lies Critical thinking
Identity vs. Confusion – this stage is marked with in principles and values and in the belief that some
child’s rapid physical and psychosocial changes rules are unjust (teenage - social contrast stage Critical thinking is a crucial aspect that every cit- Achieving media literacy needs the development of
and search for a new sense of mutual regulation. when a person learns that morally and legally right izen needs to be able to do in order to take part critical thinking: the ability to analyse and evaluate
In this stage, a person is trying to find a sense of are not the same things and respect for rules and in a democratic and pluralistic society. The current critically with the aim to improve and engage in
self by self-exploration, that may lead to insecu- conventions in society as an adult). society, with its generalized access to information reflective and independent thinking.
rity about oneself and he/ she can become overly through Internet and with a constant bombardment
concerned with how they appear in the eyes of Nowadays, in the era of information and commu- According to the UNESCO’s definition, critical
nication technologies, it is important to reflect on of data, opinions and watchwords, demands new
others and identify themselves with certain groups competences. Among them, we would choose one thinking is a process that involves asking appropriate
or crowds. At the end of this stage, children have how the online space influences young people’s questions, gathering and creatively sorting through
behaviour online. That is, theoretical approaches that relates to the capacity of critical thinking and
reached the developmental level of an adult and to understand every kind of text to which it has had relevant information, relating new information to
develop only the mind and personality from there about development have to be interpreted in the existing knowledge, re-examining beliefs and assump-
online context that determines new ways to define access and that are related to subjects (Oliveras,
on. People who do not develop and reinforce their Sanmartí, 2013). tions, reasoning logically, and drawing reliable and
identity during this stage are likely to have unre- ourselves, communicate and relate to other people. trustworthy conclusions. Critical thinking calls for a
alistic work goals and suffer depression. Erikson In this sense, interacting on the Internet mostly does
also describes stages from 22 – 39 years as Young not involve “physical” interactions with another person
adulthood, 40 – 65 years as Middle Adulthood (i.e. face-to-face conversation), and therefore easily
and finally 65 years and older as Maturity. leads to a person feeling free to act differently online,
as well as unrestrained in civility and minimisation
Jean Piaget’s Cognitive development theory inspired of authority, etc.
the American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg. In
1971 Kohlberg introduced the Moral development People who are socially anxious are more likely to
theory explaining the moral development of a person, use electronic communication as their only means of
dividing it into 3 levels: Pre-conventional, Conven- communication. This, in turn, makes them more likely
tional and Post-conventional. Each one of them to disclose personal information to strangers online
include two distinct stages. The pre-conventional that they normally wouldn’t give out face-to-face.
level explains that a person’s morality is being con- The phenomenon is a likely cause for the prevalence
trolled externally and expressed by a person obeying of cyberbullying, especially for children who do not
and following rules (Infancy with punishment and understand “social networking etiquette.”
obedience orientation and preschool age that is Internet anonymity can also lead to online disinhibi-
self-interest stage). The conventional level extends a tion, in which people do and say things online that
person’s morality to personal and social relationships they normally wouldn’t do or say in person.
and the person obeys the rules to ensure positive
relationships and public good (school age - con-
formity and interpersonal accordance stage and
6 7
6Besides cognitive bias, social bias guides our selection biases, to avoid using critical thinking and arriving
of friends and indirectly affects the information we at a first solution. The important thing is to be aware
will see and manage. Social networks are efficient of the fact that we usually think in a simplified and
in the dissemination of information when they can somewhat coarse way. We have to “activate” critical
polarize and assemble at the same time. thinking in a conscious way, at all times in which
thinking well is essential, for us or for the effects of
In light of post-truth and manipulation in social net- our actions.
works, one of the essential functions in both, formal
and non-formal education, is literacy in the reading Once we activate it, we will have to ask ourselves
of the world in which we live. Media are strategic questions and look for answers, without taking
tools to foster conflict or coexistence. Although daily anything for granted. No questions, not even the
practice shows that they are going in the opposite most basic, should be neglected; we have to learn
direction to the desired one, they can be a magnifi- to answer them and develop our own mode of
cent resource in our favour. Therefore, it is essential thinking. Critical thinking is a thought with a high
persistent effort to apply theoretical constructs to thoughts and actions. The term, coined by Daniel to promote media literacy through critical thinking degree of originality. It is not just a matter of com-
understand the problem, consider evidence, and Kahneman and Amos Tversky in 1972, refers to a to vaccinate students of possible prejudices and paring sources, but of reaching a personal conclusion,
evaluate methods or techniques in order to coma to fast and intuitive way to judge or take decisions less confusions between facts and opinions. of which we are convinced and which we have also
a judgement. The cognitive skills of analysis, interpre- laboriously than an analytical reasoning that takes enriched with our ideas (naturally supported by
Understanding that the ultimate goal must be social sources).
tation, inference, explanation, evaluation, monitoring into account all the relevant information. In fact,
transformation, we identify six levels in the critical
and correcting one’s own reasoning are at the heart cognitive biases produce a deviation in mental pro-
thinking process: Taking into account the importance of promoting
of critical thinking. (Seel, 2012). Attributes such as cessing that leads to distortion, incorrect judgements
1) Identify the topic. It is the ability to raise vital critical thinking, the educational field is a privileged
curiosity and flexibility and a questioning attitude are and illogical interpretations based on incomplete or
questions and/or recognize a problem. environment to foster this purpose.
closely related to critical thinking, which is increas- illogical thoughts. This bias is a comfort zone which
2) Information thinking. Searching for evidence,
ingly referred to as a key competence/competency allows us to try and spend as little energy as possi- Currently, in many school systems we face a closed,
facts, or knowledge by identifying relevant sources
and 21st century skill. ble and saves us the effort of a complex reflection. standardized and imposed curriculum that is based
and gathering objective, subjective, historical, and
It arises as an evolutionary need for the immediate on a strong separation and hierarchical classification
We live in a complex democratic society where the current data from those sources.
issuance of judgments to assume a rapid position of subjects and knowledge areas, as well as on final
quality of our life and the one of what we produce, 3) Analysing. Identify and understand the different
towards certain problems or situations, due to the exams. This traditional pedagogy, that emerged
make, or build, depends precisely on the quality of arguments existing in relation to a particular issue
inability to process all the information that is filtered in the industrial era, is based on the paradigm of
our thought. Living and participating in a democratic and all the parts of a claim or problem, analyzing
in a selective and subjective way. This is the reason linearity and certainty, on memorization and selec-
society requires citizens able to think critically about and assessing the different points of view.
why the mass increase of information on the inter- tion of the right answer in which there is little space
social, political, economic issues in order to better 4) Logical reasoning (I deduce that...). Provides
net and social networks have reinforced the use of for creativity and that, nowadays, is quite far from
understand what is happening around us, take into structured reasoning and support for an argument
cognitive bias. An example of cognitive bias is that students’ complex reality and personal experiences.
account other people’s point of view and take part to that we support, overcoming prejudices we can
it leads us to overestimate the value of information
a democratic and public debate on issues affecting have on the issue we are dealing with. We live in a chaotic world, in constant change,
when it fits with our ideas and beliefs; on the other
ourselves and the hole society. 5) Conclusion. A conclusion must be reached gen- which poses continuous challenges to the existing
hand, this bias makes us underestimate and even
erating the solution of a problem or a belief knowledge. In this context, traditional, unidirectional,
In fact, critical thinking allows us to reduce the effect ignore the information that does not match what we
based on reasoned arguments and preparing for hierarchical and authoritative pedagogy doesn’t help
of our egocentric, sociocentric and ethnocentric vision think or believe. It is a filter through which we see a
an action. to understand this world. The digital world, with its
on our thinking and action, often biased, distorted, reality that fits our expectations. That brings us to
6) S ocial transformation. The skills displayed new communicative, information and knowledge
partial, uninformed or completely prejudiced. follow people, read newspapers and see programs
by critical thinking and the active paper critical building practices, demands greater creativity to
that fit our ideas and ignore the rest. The influence
It contributes to our own process of personal devel- thinkers have, should play an important role in which an innovative pedagogy that promotes digital
of this biases is multiplied in the digital world, since
opment and to take part with major freedom and realizing actions for social transformation from and media competences can help to respond.
the algorithms work like a cognitive bias, even repli-
autonomy to democratic society. the perspective of human rights.
cating our offline biases in the online world. Digital Professionals of the formal and informal education
When our brain is processing internal and external advertisements and timelines offer personalized It is important to remember that none of us think fields have to contribute to provide students with
information, its activity is influenced by cognitive content which matches to our data, recommending critically all the time. Critical thinking takes time skills and resources to develop critical thinking and
bias, psychological effects that lead to mistakes in content that fits us; if it fits better, we will click and and energy; the mind, which has to save energy, has to make it the basis of learning. We have to get stu-
invest time reading it. invented hundreds of “shortcuts”, called cognitive
8 9dents to be critical, autonomous and free citizens in a useful throughout their student, work and personal
democratic society and get them used to think about career, such as:
questions that don’t have a single answer, so that • Searching, processing, analysing, classification and
they have to reflect not just on what the problem is evaluation of information;
but also, why this problem exists and how they can • Creativity, curiosity and innovation;
solve it. Freire (1970) introduced problematization • Problem solving and approach;
as a technique or strategy for developing a critical • Decision making;
consciousness, allowing students to analyze and be • Effort, perseverance and overcoming errors or
critical with taken-for-granted truths. challenges;
• Search for accuracy, truthfulness and precision;
It is important to start from the close reality of stu- • Autonomy and capacity for collaboration;
dents and help them to wear the “critical lenses” to • Listening, understanding and empathy;
look at the reality surrounding them without believing • Oral and written expression.
everything they are told.
As mentioned above, one of the learning methods
In addition, promoting media literacy through critical for promoting critical thinking is cooperative learn-
thinking has the advantage of using a versatile meth- ing. Cooperative learning is a collective discipline
odology that can be applied and/or combined with which draws on the reflection of all team members
many other active methods such as project-based and at the same time promotes the development
learning, collaborative work or reverse pedagogy/ of critical and creative thinking. Since this requires
flipped classroom. Therefore, it adapts to different interaction, practice and reflection, it helps students
ways of teaching-learning and organizing the class- to be autonomous, to express themselves, to socially
room, promoting active learning, in which it is the mature and to learn based on results built by a social
student who must build knowledge, which is much research process (Barkley, 2005).
more motivating and effective, thus achieving deeper Cooperative learning is based on: Therefore this methodology fosters the development
and more meaningful knowledge. Three critical dimensions of cooperative learning can • Open discussion and participatory dialogue on of critical thinking as it allows learning from each
be identified: different issues other, taking a stand on the issue and arguing about
This method not only makes it easier for students 1) The need to think critically in complex situations. • News analysis it in a reasoned manner. In addition, mutual respect,
to understand and assimilate the contents, but also An open mind will be required to provide signifi- • Team work active listening, empathy and freedom of expression
teaches them to think, incites them to reflection cant contributions to the team. • Interactive exhibitions are encouraged. Skills that are essential for media
and encourages them to engage in a dialogue and 2) The need for innovative and coordinated action, • Dynamic development of activities. The theoretical literacy.
express their views collaboratively. In this process where creative thinking is applied with new ideas. explanations are introduced through participatory
they implement different strategies and acquire a 3) C ommunication between teams, encouraging dynamics and techniques and they are comple- Neus SanMartí proposes cooperative reading
multitude of thinking skills and abilities that will be reflective thinking and tolerance to share criteria. mented with practical work in groups. as a methodology to foster media literacy through
• Guided reflections for students to reflect, analyse, cooperation among students. The classroom is organ-
think and reach their own conclusions and tell their ized in groups of 4 students, individual work and
own narrative from autonomy and criticism. reflection are combined with sharing in the context
• Incorporation of subjectivity as part of the under- of the small group and afterwards in a larger group.
standing, reality transformation and promotion of Students understand a text and retain information
one’s own (and others’) emotional expression. better when it has been analyzed in a group than
• Constructive mediation of possible conflicts and when the text has been worked on only individually
discrepancies of opinions during the development (Dansereau, 1987; Colomer, 2002).
of the debat.
10 11MEDIA LITERACY
What are we talking about?
For the UNESCO, media and information literacy Today, digital and virtual world offers us the pos- and who is also able to disseminate and create and participate in the community. The problems to
“[…] enables citizens to understand the functions of sibility of actively participating, disseminating and quality content and distribute it in a variety of ways be solved can be in the family, the workplace and the
the media and other information providers, critically creating content. DIGITAL MEDIA LITERACY is to participate in a broader dialogue with society. community; participation in the community can be
evaluate their content and make informed decisions about media literacy applied to the digital sphere at a local, regional, national and international level.
as users and producers of information and media and the Information and Communication Technol- The following competencies are essential to digital
content.” It then includes the ability to recognize ogies (ICT). These media digital competences and media literacy (Chu, Lau, Chu, Lee, Chan, 2014): We live in a context of infoxication1, in the era of
how information have been produced, understand include different dimensions, taking into account 1) Access: it refers to finding and using media and post-truth and fake news. This is why it’s primordial to
the codes and languages of a message, have the virtual reality: technology tools skillfully and sharing appropriate understand how and why media can have an effect on
ability to interpret a story and identify the values and • Instrumental dimension: Knowing how to access and relevant information with others. us. Understanding them is half the process. The other
views of a message and the construction of reality. and search for information in different types of 2) Analyze and Evaluate: it refers to the process of half comes from being critical and asserting our own
It is about transforming information into knowledge. media and technologies. understanding messages in which a user critically thoughts, opinions and curiosities on how to view the
• Cognitive dimension: Knowing how to transform analyzes the message quality, veracity, credibility, media responsibility.
Therefore, media literacy can be defined as a set information into knowledge. and point of view. It is done while considering
of knowledge, attitudes and sum of the skills that potential effects or consequences of messages. Therefore, from the educational field we have to take
• Communicative dimension: Knowing how to express into account the importance of teaching young people
are useful to know when and what information is and communicate through multiple languages and 3) Create: It refers to composing or generating
needed; where and how to obtain that information; content using creativity and confidence in self-ex- to read critical analogical texts but also to use social
technological means. networks and the information received and produced
how to evaluate it critically and organize it once it is • Ethical dimension: Knowing how to use information pression, keeping in view the purpose, audience,
found; and how to use it in an ethical way. In general, and composition techniques. in an ethical, responsible and critical way.
ethically and democratically.
media literacy is essential to reflect on society and its • Emotional dimension: Developing emotional empa- 4) Reflect: it refers to application of social responsibility 1. It refers to the excess of information to which we are subjected
environment, understanding political, social, scientific, thy in virtual spaces. A media literate person is and ethical principles to one’s own identity and lived that brings to the difficulty or impossibility of taking a decision
cultural phenomena, etc. that occur in society. someone who understands the meaning behind the experience, communication behaviour and conduct. or keeping informed about a particular subject, due to the end-
messages he/she encounters in the digital context 5) Act: It refers to individual and collaborative work less amount of data and content that exists on the web (Alfons
by a person to share knowledge and solve problems Cornellá).
12 13Fake news, conspiracy theory
and post-truth era
False information, conspiracy theories and facts the conspiracy and an absence of evidence for it are A social and emotional dimension is also involved in digital reality worsens an already complex mental
becoming opinions complicate media literacy re-interpreted as evidence of its truth, whereby the the construction of our beliefs and representations. processing based on different cognitive biases, like
approaches. Traditionally, attempts have been made conspiracy becomes a matter of faith rather than We adhere, or often claim to subscribe to discourses confirmation bias, that leads us to take into account
to manipulate the truth, but nowadays, truth manip- something that can be proved or disproved. of conspiracy because they are shared by those solely information that fits our ideas and confirms
ulation can be done easily and reach more people, around us (family, friends…). The social environment our preconceived ideas or hypotheses. It also leads
due to the power of dissemination of internet and One of the technologies used to promote fake in which an individual evolves, considerably influences us to give less weight to hypotheses and information
social networks. information is the deep learning technique that his vision of the world and the way he thinks he that work against our ideas. Fake news exploit these
appeared in 2016: an artificial intelligence which should position himself ideologically and in society. biases we have, our brains use mental shortcuts to
Fake news are news created with false information makes it possible to create “Deepfake” (fake videos Depending on his/ her background, and regardless of safe energy and simplify decision making.
and shared in a massive way to make content viral featuring famous characters). By using a multitude the social, cultural or educational level, any individual
and spread disinformation. They can be created on of photos and videos of a celebrity, it is possible to can subscribe to a conspiracy theory. The emotional We live in the era of postruth, a term named by the
purpose or by the dissemination of information that create a video in which the celebrity says things or and affective nature of a conspiracy theory or mis- Oxford dictionary as the word of the year in 2016,
have not been checked before. acts in ways that she or he never said or did. information also influences our beliefs. A conspiracy that refers to information that appeals to people’s
theory which plays on an individual’s sensitivity or emotions, beliefs or desires instead of objective facts.
Social networks allow users to be producers and The authors of fake news take advantage of different
consumers of content at the same time, and have factors to disseminate false information and manip- imagination is more likely to be believed. Media and digital competences may help people to
facilitated the dissemination of deceptive, false or ulate public opinions, taking into account cognitive In addition to the social and emotional dimension, check information they receive, avoiding that emo-
manufactured content. This creates a vicious circle and emotional mechanisms and tools offered by new fake news and conspiracy theories use thought mech- tion and manipulations end up dominating the truth.
and fake news are replicated thousands of times technologies. anisms such as cognitive biases. Cognitive biases
within seconds. (also called psychological biases) are forms of think-
According to Posner, Russell and Peterson, (2008),
Conspiracy theories are explanations of an event all emotions can be classified based on two axes: ing that deviate from logical or rational thinking
or situation that involve a conspiracy by sinister and how much they push us into action and what reaction and tend to be systematically used in various situa-
powerful actors, often with political motives. They they produce. Anger is one of the emotions that tions. They are quick and intuitive ways of making
are often used in a context where other explanations most incites us to act, along with excitement. Fake judgments or decisions, and are less laborious than
are more viable. The expression has a pejorative news are often based on people’s interests. Their analytical reasoning, which would take into account
connotation, implying that the appeal to a conspir- creators often select popular topics and manipulate all relevant information (definition from the Psycho-
acy is based on prejudice or insufficient evidence. them so that the reader is invited to click, read and media site). The massive increase of information
Conspiracy theories resist falsification and are rein- comment: they incite the reader to act. Readers’ produced on the web has reinforced the expression of
forced by circular reasoning: both evidence against actions generate money for the creators of the news. cognitive biases. Everyone has their own world view,
depending on the beliefs to which they adhere. This
14 15The role of new technologies in distorting
reality
Many people report being overwhelmed with the companies, personalities, etc.). We thus come across
information found in today’s media landscape: fake information “by accident” without having really
news, alt-media, truth, propaganda. Many terms are searched for it. On the other hand, social networks
tossed around, and users have less and less grasp on encourage internet users to interact directly with
how to view the media in a responsible and sober- information and to take a stand by “liking”, shar-
ing perspective. Understanding how headlines are ing or commenting on it. These interactions allow
crafted, recognising the way headlines are designed algorithms to identify the contents that make the
to make you feel and your reactions to them can internet user react. That is why, as the internet user
help one understand how to approach the media navigates, the algorithm will suggest similar con-
and social media landscape responsibly. But how is tents. It is therefore our interactions, our data and
this done? the information we give to social networks and web
search engines that constitute our “filter bubble”.
Various terms such as echo chambers, filter bubble
and algorithm will be defined and explained so that Thus, the spaces where information can be found
users can get an idea of how media articles can and produced on the Internet are often perceived
influence our emotions, perspectives, and thoughts. as spaces of freedom and objective information,
far from the influences and lobbies of which the
Filter bubbles media would be victims. Actually, nothing on the
web can guarantee, just like in any other media,
The concept of filter bubbles was first advanced by a total objectivity in the processing of information:
Eli Pariser who argued that filter bubbles create the use of algorithms in digital media influences the
personalised experiences for internet users by sug- construction of our opinions, leaving little room for
gesting content which reflects their own interests and openness to other points of view.
opinions and, in this way, stops them from interact-
ing with content that is new to them. It refers to the
state of intellectual isolation provoked by a website
Echo Chambers Many people feel comfortable in echo chambers
because it is easy to agree with the views and per-
sions can be based across a wide range of identity
characteristics such as race, religion, gender, class,
algorithm that selectively guesses what information Echoes are the repetition of sound waves. Echo spectives presented. However, they are harmful nationality, and political views. It can also be created
a user would like to see based on information about chambers are a metaphor where one’s existing views, because they reduce exposure to opposing views, around sports, music preferences, modes of transpor-
the user, such as location, past click-behaviour and or beliefs are reinforced because they are expressed alternative opinion, perspectives, people who dis- tation or dietary preferences. It’s easy to scapegoat
search history. As a result, users become separated or exist in a closed system. One benefit of the inter- agree with you and would challenge them. Echo and label others behind a computer screen a place
from information that disagrees with their viewpoints, net and today’s media landscape is that people have chambers can reduce the capacity of individuals to where your opinions and beliefs can be reinforced
effectively isolating them in their own cultural or ide- more access to hear, see and read a pluralistic set of understand why people may hold the opposing view by echo chambers and filter bubbles, rather than
ological bubbles. It can be helpful for people to have view than ever before. However, there is a risk that or even empathy for those who hold them, reinforcing challenged and contradicted. It is important to take
an online experience which is tailored to their needs many people and users have the chance to find more the “us vs them” mentality. The term of “us versus this into consideration when participating in online
and interests but it does not reflect the plurality of sources which just reinforce their views. Part of the them” is used quite often, even unconsciously. Many forums, groups, or when liking certain pages.
everyday life and how people are usually exposed to phenomenon of echo chambers is created because of people may end up trying to speak or refer to their
a wide variety of views. how one’s online identities are created with accounts group as “us.” While understanding a definition of “us”
being linked to one’s IP address and search history. can be valuable for constructing our identities and
Social networks are neither a source nor a producer Moreover cognitive bias help us unconsciously build creating a shared narrative, there is a darker side to
of information. They just disseminate the contents our “echo chamber”: we tend to follow people, read this dichotomy. An “us vs them” is divisive. It divides
created by actors who are dealing with information newspapers and see programs that fit our ideas and the world into negatively viewed, stereotyped groups
(institutions, state agencies, press organizations, ignore the rest. (them), and a positively viewed group (us). Divi-
etc.) or other types of actors (users, commercial
16 17Fact checking Critical view of medias
Fake news and fake media generate a strong Errors. News containing spelling or writing errors When we face media, the development of a critical Why?
confusion among users and foment a culture of dis- may be false too. perspective implies to wonder about the following Why this message has been sent?
information that manipulates personal decisions and questions in order to avoid manipulation, be critical Most media messages are built to gain power. That
attacks democracy, interfering in people’s right to Format. Be aware of unusual formats and large and and reach true information. is why it is important to ask:
look for and receive information, increasing hostility capitalized titles, designed to appeal to emotion and What is being said in the message? Is it trying to
and hate against vulnerable groups in society. arouse attention. Who? convince us of something?
Who created the message? Media messages are What do they want us to grasp or understand? Who
As citizens we have to be aware that fake news Date. Actual news comes right after the event while always produced by someone.
false news are written days later, undated or timeless. benefits from it? (Individuals, institutions, private
affect democratic integrity and that they have to Who is the author of the document? Who is the interests, citizenship). Who controls the production
be approached in their political, social and cultural We often receive or forward news form months or source of the information (website, blog…). Is he/she
years ago, thinking that they are new or fresh. and transmission of the message?
dimension. identified? Can we contact him/her? Is he/she an
URL. Check the web address and contrast it with expert in the issue? Does he/she speak in the name To who?
This is the reason why it is important to detect dis- of an institution? Or from a personal/ individual What is the targeted audience? Different people
information and fake content. other media. Don’t rely on URLs similar to known
sites as fake news websites often simulate the web perspective? can understand and perceive the same message dif-
How can we detect them? or media URL. It is a strategy used by websites that ferently, according to our knowledge, values, ideas,
What? interests, age, gender, social and economic status,
spread false news to confuse the reader. What is the message? Media messages are not a
Signature. Don’t rely on news that are not signed, education.
associated with an author. Fake news is usually Audiovisual resources. Fake news may contain reflection of reality, they are constructions of reality. In fact, we consume the messages that reaffirm our
anonymous. images or videos manipulated or taken out of context. When someone communicates something, his mes- ideas and reject what questions them.
Current technologies make it easier to manipulate sage implies what that person thinks, believes, feels. We have a central role in interpreting media content
Origin. It is important to verify the sources that the images and videos (deepfake). A photo or a video In the same way, the messages reflect the interests
news has, analyze the “about” section of the page and not just being passive consumers.
is not necessarily a proof and that is why its source of the media, often in an unclear way. That is why Do I see what the other person sees?
that disseminates the news, contrast the links and and creation process must be questioned. The angle it is very important to identify the points of view,
citations mentioned and perform an inverse search at which a photograph is taken can also give a values, judgments and ideas that are reflected in When?
of images, to find out that no use has been made of different meaning or interpretation. Thus, even if a this message. When was the information produced and
photos out of context. photo is real, it can be manipulated and then serve What does the message mean? Is it different or sim- published? In which context? It is important to
Contrast. If no other media reports the news, it is a specific discourse. ilar to other messages dealing with the same issue? understand and analyse in which context the infor-
possibly false. Which differences and similarities? Does it bring mation is produced and shared.
something new? Does the information have the date? Which is the
What values or ideas does it communicate? date? Does the document need to be updated?
What opinions and views appear? Which ones have
been omitted?
How? A useful questionnaire used with this purpose is
Which creative techniques are used to catch C.R.I.T.I.C., adapted from Bartz, 2002. This question-
my attention? Messages are made with a creative naire tries to promote the students’ ability to identify
language which has its own rules. In order to deci- the main affirmations of the discourse, the interests
pher the message, we have to understand how the that moved the author to create it and the point of
content creators are trying to catch our attention. view that he adopts. Moreover, students can assess
Textual message. Look at the font size: what are the solidity, reliability and validity of the evidence
they trying to highlight and how (bold, uppercase, and arguments provided and detect inconsistencies,
attached photo)? inaccuracies, errors and / or contradictions in order to
Image or video. Look at the colours, shape, sounds, realize a meaningful and critical reading (Oliveras,
the focus of the camera. Sanmarti, 2009).
How is the story told? Through which elements do
the content creators make us believe the story they
are telling us? Are they trying to persuade us? Do
they try to provoke any emotion, positive or negative?
18 19THE LEGISLATIVE FRAME
Licences and media ownership
• Freedom 2: the freedom to redistribute and make
How can you share contents with your students What about creating content that is meant to copies so you can help your neighbour.
and how can you help them to use materials with be shared? • Freedom 3: the freedom to improve the program
the right citations? and release your improvements (and modified ver-
Licenses are often used to protect intellectual prop-
sions in general) to the public, so that the whole
Why should teachers and students be concerned erty. Software developers, authors and teachers may
community benefits.
about copyright? often protect their outputs applying for a copyright
license. However, while the use of copyright allows These freedoms and the licensing that grants these
Copyright is a right that a creator gets when he cre- the creator to profit from his/her work, the burden on provide the foundation for software freedom, which
ates an output. When a student or a teacher creates improving the outputs often lies on the creators and is free not free of charge.
an output, they have the right to own it and profit the holder of the copyright or license. Some creators
from it. There is no formal registration procedure choose to have open licenses when sharing their work
needed to get a copyright so long as the work you with the intention of improving the work they have
create counts on being an original. Legally, original- created, through open collaboration.
ity is developed when something is developed with
ones’ own skills, labour and judgement. There are Licenses provide a lot of background to understand
copyright registration services which are available for the basis of free software. One of the reasons why
a fee, but this is less and less necessary these days. people use free software is that people have the
freedom to use software the way they want to, not
However, in education and in many projects, there the way the owners of the copyright may wish for
is often a need to share and collaborate. Teachers the user to use it. Examples to illustrate this are
often rely on previous or historical sources, or new formatting and compatibility issues when sending a
OERs and it is important to know how you can use document from a windows device to a Mac, or the
content from different sources in your classroom. availability of some programmes on some online
Similarly, students should also know how to legally app stores with some devices. A license is an official
source, adapt and modify work so they can also permission or permit to do, use, or own something.
include it in their classrooms. Copyright is a legal right that grants the crea-
There are cultural artefacts which can be freely tor of original work exclusive rights for its use and
used without worrying about the copyright assuming distribution while copyleft is a strategy of utilizing
the author/original owner of the artefact has been copyright laws to pursue the policy goal of fostering
deceased for over 70 years. The logic behind this is and encouraging the equal and inalienable right to
that artefacts are considered to be part of the public copy, share, modify and improve creative works of
domain. There is also creative commons licensing. authorship.
Such licensing allows for works to be distributed Free software tries and makes use of copyleft, the
freely so long as attribution is given to the creator. Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License
It is possible to search in google for works licensed and the General Public License (GPL). Users can
under creative commons, youtube also has a search use the 4 freedoms:
filter that enable to identify videos which can be • Freedom 0: the freedom to run the program for
redistributed. Furthermore, there are websites like any purpose.
pixabay and europeana, collections where you will • Freedom 1: the freedom to study how the program
find reusable resources. works and change it to make it do what you wish.
20 21PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF MEDIA
LITERACY IN CLASSROOM Cultural
Basic
Literacy
Diversity Digital
Literacy
The role of the educator in promoting media literacy 5) T ake advantage of previous vernacular prac- News ICT Literacy
shifts from teacher to project manager and moder- tices. We call them vernacular (to distinguish Literacy
Media and Internet
Literacy
ator, helping the students to organize the work and them from academic ones) and we can use them
to stay focused on the objective of the project. The to connect the class to the outside world and to Information
educator will guide students in the learning process, encourage a more complete and useful teaching. Literacy
and learn himself /herself about it at the same time. 6) Avoid single answer or convergent correction.
Reading assignments that pursue a single answer,
Nowadays, we read new texts and in a different way: correction or preset by the teacher (the book text Media
we read in new situations, with other formats and Literacy Information
or canonical tradition) kill personal interpretation Other Literacy
other discursive genres. We read images, videos and and transfer the false assumption that there is a Type of
virtual diagrams, in addition to letters. We read texts single meaning in the text, that we all read in the Literacy
from anywhere on the planet. Considering all these same way and whoever has understood something Library
changes, it is really important to provide the teaching different is because he misread. Literacy
of reading with a more social and critical dimension, 7) E ncourages dialogue between students,
learning not just to understand a text but also to exchanging points of view during the reading.
interpret that text. 8) Ask about the author’s purpose and point
Interpreting is being conscious of the type of text we of view.
read, the ways in which it is used, the effects it pro- 9) Encourage rereading and analysis of rele-
vokes on people; of the status that its author acquires vant points. According to the UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Assessment
with it, of opinions and attitudes it generates in us, 10) Help students to relate reading to his world. Framework activities proposed below will allow students to develop skills like:
the readers, etc. This chapter includes 10 time-based activities to work
Daniel Cassany offers ten simple and exemplified on media literacy in classrooms. 10 hours of activities
guidelines that teachers can use to foster the practice to challenge the students to reflect on information and MIL Component 1 MIL Component 2 MIL Component3 Create
and teaching of reading from a more critical dimen- medias. The activities are proposed in a progressive Access Evaluate
order, following the theoretical contents developed in Creation, utilization
sion, promoting contextualized interpretation. Recognizing the demand
this booklet. Understanding, and monitoring
1) Work the interpretation with all kinds of text. for, being able to search for, assessing and evaluating of information
In order to understand the author’s point of view In the classroom, every solution proposed by the stu- being able to access and information and media. and media content.
and to create our own opinion about it. dents is evaluated positively. The main goal remains retrieve information and
2) Use authentic texts, from the learning envi- the development of critical thinking and digital media media content.
ronment or from the students topics of competences.
potential interest. Articulation/
3) Use parallel, opposite or related texts on Definition Access Understanding Evaluation Creation Participation
the same topic, so that the students compare
them, realize their relationships, similarities and
differences, and they may experience the social
effects of language.
4) Include multimodal texts.
Search/ Retrieval/ Assessment Organisation Communication Monitoring
Location Holding
22 23Activity 1 Activity 2
Critical Reading Chronocards for Media
Activity duration Activity progress Activity duration Activity progress
1 hour The teacher has to choose a topic to talk about (for 30 minutes The teacher has a timeline (quite long) with the key
example recycling). After that, he/ she has to look dates of the game(in blue). Then, he forms groups
for two (or more) different positions on that topic, of 4 people. Each group must, as soon as possible,
What do you need? for example: What do you need? arrange the cards in chronological order. Once the
• Articles on the same topic from different sources. game is over, the teacher initiates a discussion with
• A computer or another device connected to the They can be different newspapers or sources of • 1 timeline with key dates for each group of students. the young people, so they can justify their choices.
internet. different register (a newspaper and a blog/ a news- • Paper and pencil. Finally, the teacher presents the answers. He or she
or: paper and a facebook post). can then give more explanations on some of these
• Printed information, provided by the teacher. • Radio program on the topic with different people historical facts (why the arrival of a female speaker
interviewed... Introduction on television came later than for men, for example)
and put into perspective the rapid evolution of media
Introduction Knowing how to be informed implies knowing how
The teacher, through the methodology of coop- development and information consumption patterns.
to find your way in the media field. First of all, the
erative reading, has to guide students in the
Critical reading is one of the ways to promote crit- teacher can exchange with the students, define with • Invention of the printed press: 1450 (Gutenberg)
analysis of the texts following the tools provided
ical thinking. Indeed, it is not enough to read and them what a media is and which ones they use to • First illustration in a newspaper: 1843
in this booklet (3.5):
understand a text, but it is necessary to be able to inform and entertain themselves. He can then ask • Invention of the telephone: 1876
• Who is the author of each article? Where has it
read it critically and interpret, for example, the cred- them about the evolution of information consumption • Invention of the cinema: 1895
been published?
ibility of the data and arguments it provides. From practices, for example: in their parents’ time? In their • Invention of radio: 1895
• Do you foresee the intention of the reading?
this perspective, reading means recognizing that the grandparents’ time? Have these practices changed • First radio broadcasts for the public: 1914
(alarmist, pessimistic, sensationalist, informative...).
text is a cultural instrument, with values and located and if so how? • First use of the radio in an election campaign: 1925
Why?
in a historical era. In other words, its author is not • Invention of television: 1926
• Which arguments does he provide to defend his The goals of this activity are:
a neutral person, but has knowledge, a culture, and • Invention of colour television: 1928
position? Are they scientific arguments or are they • to know how to identify different medias.
intentions that are reflected in the text and that the • First TV studio and start of the broadcasts: 1928
opinions? • to discover the evolution of the history of the press
reader has to interpret. Thus, in a text it is necessary • First TV report: 1937
• Think about other arguments different from the and media.
to recognize the ideology and the status and degree • First video game: 1947
author ones.
of certainty of the scientific arguments that appear in • First TV news: 1949
• What do you think about that topic? Provide argu-
it, differentiating between affirmations, hypotheses, • First presidential address
ments and discuss with your classmates.
speculations, predictions... (Cassany, 2006). • First woman speaker in a TV news in Europe: 1961
• Start of the Eurovision network: 1964
The goals of this activity are:
• Creation of the arpanet (former internet): 1968
• to develop critical reading and thinking.
• Launch of personal computers: 1970
• to compare different positions and arguments on
• First music show with clips: 1974
the same topic.
• Creation of the first blog: 1994
• to create students’ own opinion on the topic.
• Creation of the first search engine: 1990 (Netscape)
• Creation of Wikipedia: 2001
• Birth of the social web (Web 2.0): 2004
• Creation of facebook: 2004
• Creation of YouTube: 2005
• Creation of Twitter: 2006
• Creation of the replay: 2006
• Creation of Netflix: 2007
• Creation of Instagram: 2010
• Creation of Snapchat: 2011
• Creation of TikTok: 2017
24 25You can also read
