Fake News in the Fake News Age: Cultivating Media Literacy in the Educational Community Erasmus Project

Project Title

Fake News in the Fake News Age: Cultivating Media Literacy in the Educational Community

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

Context
The advent of the Internet has rendered the spread of information easier than ever. Nevertheless, undermining the truth is also undoubtedly effortless.The phenomenon of fake news is more pervasive and poignant than ever, since news can be posted and shared by anyone online. The speed with which such news can spread is truly impressive, and so is the global reach that fake news stories might effortlessly attain; all ideas appear equally reliable on the internet, even when they are blatant lies. The danger of growing fake news stories can be seen under a whole new scope, due to the youth’s growing inability to differentiate between fake and real information. The European Parliament has acknowledged the severity of the issue, taking steps towards limiting the spread of fake news. Indicatively, the European Parliament issued a resolution in June 2017, asking the Commission to take on a thorough analysis of the current situation and a detailed examination of the legislative framework concerning the issue.
Objectives
It is our conviction that digital literacy should be the fourth pillar of a child’s education, and should therefore be resourced and taught accordingly. Our project is based on the partners’ mutual interest in addressing the issue of fake news dissemination online. The project is focused on topics related to social media propaganda and the role critical thinking plays in identifying and combating instances of malignant information. Our common goal as partners is our will to assist students, teachers and parents to think critically. By participating in the project, students are to develop their critical thinking competences and the ability to analyse and verify the information value of the text. Our intent is to provide students and teachers with practical activities and realistic scenarios that aim to initiate discussion among students, teachers (and even parents).
Participating partners
Coordinator: Greece. Partners: Lithuania, Portugal, Norway, Poland, Romania
Activities
• The identification of guiding principles for possible self-regulation based on shared good practices and coordination of relevant policies and activities at EU and national levels.
• The assessment of the effectiveness of the voluntary measures implemented so far by online platforms and news media organizations to counter fake news and assess any improvements to existing voluntary measures.
• The production of a set of teacher guides. The main aim of this resource is to educate young people on inaccurate and pervasive information that they might encounter online.
• The creation of a toolkit that provides practical activities and realistic scenarios with an aim to stimulate discussion among students and challenge them to think critically about what they see on websites and social media, as well as on their online communication with others.
Methodology
Participating schools will have the chance to collaborate with local, national and international institutions and organisations. Cross-curricular approaches are strongly encouraged when designing the relevant activities.Staff will interact effectively with each other, creating thus international teams and sharing experiences while providing the opportunity for partners to input their own expertise and learn from their peers. Moreover, combining blended learning methodology with content-based learning methodology will not only improve collaboration among participants, but it will also enhance the access, participation and performance of the wider educational community.
Results
There will be both tangible results (concrete products, namely the educational toolkit and teacher guide) and intangible results (including the new content acquired by the participants, improved learning in relevant subject areas and new skills that will be acquired while implementing the project).
Impact
The partnership will also impact the participating institutions by building an educational community with a strong commitment to raising digital awareness. The planned tasks and activities work towards preparing students to become tolerant, respectful and culture-conscious citizens as well as competent travellers.The project focuses on addressing one of the aims for a Strategic Partnership, as this is set out in the Programme Guide, as it strives to enhance the quality and relevance of the learning offered in education, by developing new and innovative approaches and supporting the dissemination of best practices. In adherence to the philosophy of all Erasmus actions, results and deliverables produced throughout the duration of the project will become available in the public domain under an open licence, ShareAlike 4.0.

Project Website

https://fakenewserasmus.wordpress.com/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 19261,3 Eur

Project Coordinator

FIFTH LYCEUM OF IRAKLION CRETE GREECE & Country: EL

Project Partners

• I Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace im. Stefana Zeromskiego
• Agrupamento de Escolas Romeu Correia
• Northern Lights International School AS
• Scoala Gimnaziala “Alexandru Ioan Cuza”
• Viesoji istaiga Panevezio profesinio rengimo centras