aiMOOC

Media literacy

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Introduction

Media literacy brings together understanding, evaluating and creating media. A photograph, news story, video or social post presents choices about what to show, omit and emphasise. Building on the German article, this course connects media criticism, production and safer participation. You will check a claim, explain a framing choice and plan an original media item. Examples use public or invented material; no task requires sharing personal details or publishing a real person’s private information.

How media represent information

Media communicate through words, images, sound and design. Their producers choose an audience, purpose and format. A report may inform, entertain, persuade or sell, and a single item can do several of these things. Distinguish a checkable factual claim from an opinion or interpretation. A stated opinion can contain a factual premise that still needs checking. Neither professional appearance nor strong emotion establishes accuracy.

Compare how two reports frame the same public event. Examine headlines, image crops, quotations and details that receive attention. Selection is unavoidable, but you can ask what important context is missing. In lessons and work, use different forms of representation to examine meaning as well as technical operation. A convincing presentation is not automatically a well-supported explanation.

Checking sources and following information

Before accepting or sharing a striking claim, identify the publisher and the evidence. Trace a quotation, photograph or number to an earlier context. Read beyond the headline and check dates: an old photograph can be genuine yet misleading when presented as a new event. Investigate unfamiliar organisations using independent sources rather than relying only on their own account of themselves.

Compare reporting that draws on separate evidence. Many reposts of one unsupported story do not establish its truth. Notice the difference between an honest error, a disputed interpretation and deliberate deception; intention cannot always be known from the item alone. Search and recommendation systems select what you see. Consider what you have not encountered and deliberately seek relevant, credible perspectives beyond your usual feed.

Creating and participating responsibly

Plan your own media item around a clear audience, purpose and message. Build a short script or storyboard, separate established facts from your interpretation and keep a source record. Use material you created or whose stated permission allows your planned use, and provide the required attribution. Check the actual licence rather than assuming that anything visible online is free to reuse. Use fictional names and data in practice projects.

Protect private information and ask before including another person’s identifiable image or words. Account security involves sensible passwords, available protective settings and caution with suspicious messages. If an interaction becomes harmful, avoid escalating it and use suitable support or reporting channels. Review a draft for accuracy, accessibility and unintended disclosure. Sharing can be a private demonstration; public publication is not necessary to show what you have learned.

Optional video in English. Compare one idea from the video with the course text; the explanations and tasks remain usable without watching it.

Interactive Tasks

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

What does media literacy combine?

(Understanding, evaluating and creating media)

(!Using as many apps as possible)

(!Believing visually polished posts)

(!Sharing before checking)

What is a framing choice?

(Selecting an image crop and headline that emphasise certain details)

(!Making every possible detail visible)

(!Removing every interpretation from a report)

(!Guaranteeing that an article is accurate)

Which statement is a checkable claim?

(The meeting began at nine o’clock)

(!The meeting was the most enjoyable ever)

(!The poster is beautiful)

(!This design is my favourite)

Why check the date and original context of a photograph?

(A genuine old image may be presented misleadingly as new)

(!Every old image is false)

(!A date proves every caption true)

(!An image needs no source if it is widely shared)

What should you investigate about an unfamiliar publisher?

(Its identity and evidence using independent sources)

(!Only its own promotional description)

(!Only the number of animated graphics)

(!Only whether its slogan is memorable)

What do many reposts of one story demonstrate?

(That the story circulated, not that it has independent support)

(!That every detail is confirmed)

(!That no original source is needed)

(!That all readers checked the evidence)

What is a useful first step in media production?

(Define the audience, purpose and message)

(!Publish before deciding what to say)

(!Collect private details from strangers)

(!Copy any image without checking permission)

How should you assess reusing an image?

(Check its actual licence and the conditions of your planned use)

(!Assume every search result is free to reuse)

(!Treat a missing credit as permission)

(!Ignore any stated conditions)

What protects people in a practice project?

(Using fictional data and asking before including identifiable people)

(!Publishing every participant’s contact details)

(!Collecting account passwords for the script)

(!Assuming that classmates want public exposure)

What belongs in a final review?

(Accuracy, accessibility, source credits and privacy)

(!Only the number of views you expect)

(!Only whether the item looks fashionable)

(!Removing all evidence of uncertainty)

Memory Game

Representation	A selected portrayal of an event or idea
Audience	The people a media item addresses
Framing	Choices that emphasise particular aspects
Attribution	Credit identifying the creator or source
Privacy	Control and care over personal information

Drag and Drop

Match the terms with their explanations.	Concept
Examine a headline and image crop	Analyse framing
Find an earlier version of a claim	Trace its context
Compare separate reporting	Check independent evidence
Write a script for a defined audience	Plan production
Replace real contact details with invented ones	Protect privacy

Crossword Puzzle

Media	What forms carry messages through text, image or sound?
Source	What origin should you trace for a claim?
Context	What surrounding information can change interpretation?
Audience	Who is a media message intended to reach?
Privacy	What must you consider before sharing personal details?
Credit	What acknowledgement identifies a creator or source?

LearningApps

Cloze Text

Open Tasks

Easy

Fact and interpretation: Write two checkable claims and two interpretations about an invented event. Explain the distinction.

Framing comparison: Compare two public headlines about one event and describe what each emphasises without guessing the writers’ motives.

Source trail: Choose a public claim and record its publisher, date and the evidence it cites.

Privacy checklist: Create a short checklist for a fictional school media project that uses no real personal details.

Standard

Image context: Find a public image with a documented date and explain how a changed caption could alter its meaning.

Credibility record: Check an unfamiliar information page through independent sources and distinguish what you verified from what remains unclear.

Storyboard: Plan a short video or audio item for a chosen audience. Include facts, sources and an accessible text alternative.

Permission record: Select one media file with an explicit licence and document the creator, permitted use and required credit.

Advanced

Comparative analysis: Compare reporting of a public issue in three media items. Trace their evidence and discuss any shared source.

Original production: Create a small original media item using fictional or public material. Attach a fact-check and attribution record.

Recommendation reflection: Describe how a recommended feed could limit the information you encounter. Design a way to seek relevant independent material.

Revision and review: Review an invented draft for misleading framing, inaccessible presentation and privacy risks, then justify your changes.

Learning Check

Authentic but misleading: Explain how a genuine image and a misleading caption can combine to create a false impression.

Purpose and evidence: Assess why a persuasive purpose does not automatically make every statement false or every source useless.

Independent support: Explain why repeated sharing cannot replace tracing a claim to evidence and checking separate reporting.

Production choices: Justify a format, audience, source strategy and accessible alternative for a small media project.

Responsible participation: Describe how you would correct an error in your own draft while protecting the people mentioned in it.

Learning evidence

Keep a framing comparison, a documented source trail, a storyboard or original media item, and a review of accuracy, attribution, accessibility and privacy. Explain what you verified and what remains uncertain; public posting and personal disclosure are not required.