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Quick, grab-and-go lessons to help your students think critically about AI and its impact.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the world we live in. From using generative AI for schoolwork to dealing with misinformation and befriending AI chatbots, students have a lot to consider when it comes to this ever-evolving technology.

This collection of quick lessons (20 minutes or less!) provide an introduction to AI and help address its social and ethical impacts. Through these lessons, students will:

Understand what AI is and how it works

Consider some of its potential benefits and risks

Think critically about how we can be responsible and ethical users of AI

New! See our AI Foundations self-paced training course for educators!

Training Course: AI Basics for K-12 Teachers

ChatGPT and Beyond: How to Handle AI in Schools

Here's what educators can do as artificial intelligence evolves.

Free Resources to Explore and Use ChatGPT and AI

Get an educator-focused approach to information, concerns, and uses for artificial intelligence.

Transforming Education with AI: What Educators Need to Know

Lessons and Tools for Teaching About Artificial Intelligence

Help your students understand the impacts and uses of AI.

ChatGPT: To Ban or Not to Ban?

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AI Literacy Lessons for Years 7-13 (UK) | Common Sense Education

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Quick, grab-and-go lessons to teach your students how to be ethical and empowered users of artificial intelligence.

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We are delighted to announce that we've launched Experience AI, our new learning programme to help educators to teach, inspire, and engage young people in the subject of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

Experience AI is a new educational programme that offers cutting-edge secondary school resources on AI and machine learning for teachers and their students. Developed in partnership by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and DeepMind, the programme aims to support teachers in the exciting and fast-moving area of AI, and get young people passionate about the subject.

The importance of AI and machine learning education

Artificial intelligence and machine learning applications are already changing many aspects of our lives. From search engines, social media content recommenders, self-driving cars, and facial recognition software, to AI chatbots and image generation, these technologies are increasingly common in our everyday world.

Young people who understand how AI works will be better equipped to engage with the changes AI applications bring to the world, to make informed decisions about using and creating AI applications, and to choose what role AI should play in their futures. They will also gain critical thinking skills and awareness of how they might use AI to come up with new, creative solutions to problems they care about.

The AI applications people are building today are predicted to affect many career paths. In 2020, the World Economic Forum estimated that AI would replace some 85 million jobs by 2025 and create 97 million new ones. Many of these future jobs will require some knowledge of AI and ML, so it's important that young people develop a strong understanding from an early age.

Experience AI Lessons

Something we get asked a lot is: "How do I teach AI and machine learning with my class?". To answer this question, we have developed a set of free lessons for secondary school students (age 11 to 14) that give you everything you need including lesson plans, slide decks, worksheets, and videos.

The lessons focus on relatable applications of AI and are carefully designed so that teachers in a wide range of subjects can use them. You can find out more about how we used research to shape the lessons and how we aim to avoid misconceptions about AI.

The lessons are also for you if you're an educator or volunteer outside of a school setting, such as in a coding club.

The six lessons

1. What is AI?: Learners explore the current context of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it is used in the world around them. Looking at the differences between rule-based and data-driven approaches to programming, they consider the benefits and challenges that AI could bring to society.

2. How computers learn: Learners focus on the role of data-driven models in AI systems. They are introduced to machine learning and find out about three common approaches to creating ML models. Finally the learners explore classification, a specific application of ML.

3. Bias in, bias out: Learners create their own machine learning model to classify images of apples and tomatoes. They discover that a limited dataset is likely to lead to a flawed ML model. Then they explore how bias can appear in a dataset, resulting in biased predictions produced by a ML model.

4. Decision trees: Learners take their first in-depth look at a specific type of machine learning model: decision trees. They see how different training datasets result in the creation of different ML models, experiencing first-hand what the term 'data-driven' means.

5. Solving problems with ML models: Learners are introduced to the AI project lifecycle and use it to create a machine learning model. They apply a human-focused approach to working on their project, train a ML model, and finally test their model to find out its accuracy.

6. Model cards and careers: Learners finish the AI project lifecycle by creating a model card to explain their machine learning model. To finish off the unit, they explore a range of AI-related careers, hear from people working in AI research at DeepMind, and explore how they might apply AI and ML to their interests.

As part of this exciting first phase, we're inviting teachers to participate in research to help us further develop the resources. All you need to do is sign up through our website, download the lessons, use them in your classroom, and give us your valuable feedback.

Support for teachers

We've designed the Experience AI lessons with teacher support in mind, and so that you can deliver them to your learners aged 11 to 14 no matter what your subject area is. Each of the lesson plans includes a section that explains new concepts, and the slide decks feature embedded videos in which DeepMind's AI researchers describe and bring these concepts to life for your learners.

We will also be offering you a range of new teacher training opportunities later this year, including a free online CPD course - Introduction to AI and Machine Learning - and a series of AI-themed webinars.

Tell us your feedback

We will be inviting schools across the UK to test and improve the Experience AI lessons through feedback. We are really looking forward to working with you to shape the future of AI and machine learning education.

Visit the Experience AI website today to get started.

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Experience AI | The excitement of AI in your classroom

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We are delighted to announce that we've launched Experience AI, our new learning programme to help educators to teach, inspire, and engage young people in the subject of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Experience AI is a new educational programme that offers cutting-edge secondary school resources on AI and machine learning for teachers and their students.

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DfE Free Materials for Teachers and Leaders

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DfE Free Materials for Teachers and Leaders

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Using AI in education settings: support materials

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Support materials to help schools and colleges use AI (artificial intelligence) safely and effectively.

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Headstart Kernow Digital Literacy Toolkit

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Headstart Kernow Digital Literacy Toolkit

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The Online Resilience Tool provides a practical way for professionals to assess young people's online behaviour and help them make decisions about whether that behaviour represents risk of harm.

The Tool was developed as part of the Digital work-stream of the HeadStart Kernow programme in partnership with University of Bournemouth and the Professionals Online Safety Helpline. In total around 1000 children and young people in Cornwall were involved in the development process through workshops and discussion groups over a three year period.

The Digital Resilience Tool is available to download for free.

Digital Resilience Tool Training

If you want to know more about how to use the tool you can do our free training. Just click here, this link will take you to the log in screen for the Cornwall Wellbeing Hub. If you don't already have an account, create a free account. Once you have access to the Hub, go to the HOME tab, Select Wellbeing Training to Support Schools - scroll down and select 'Online Resilience Tool Training (no video call).

This training covers how to use the tool to assess young people's online behaviour; what to do when you have identified a behaviour and online activities and the law. The course is self-guided e-learning and takes approximately 2 hours.

Alternatively, to find out more about using the categories in the tool, have a look at our supporting documents on Harmful, Potentially Harmful and Not Harmful Behaviours. We have also included a short podcast for each category to help you understand the tool.
Headstart Kernow Online Resilience - 3 Top Tips Poster for staff

Click on the image for a PDF or listen to the podcast below

Click on the image for a PDF or listen to the podcast below

Click on the image for a PDF or listen to the podcast below

If you have any questions / comments please feel free to contact:

Louisa Street - louisa.street@packshare.org

Professor Andy Phippen - aphippen1@bournemouth.ac.uk

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The Online Resilience Tool provides a practical way for professionals to assess young people's online behaviour and help them make decisions about whether that behaviour represents risk of harm. The Tool was developed as part of the Digital work-stream of the HeadStart Kernow programme in partnership with University of Bournemouth and the Professionals Online Safety Helpline.

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Think before you share

It can be tempting to share surprising or attention-grabbing online content with your child or your family group chats, but make sure to fact-check these links before you do. As it's come from a parent, some children may believe it without questioning it, and older children may find it difficult or awkward to point out if it is false or misleading. This is another chance to set a good example in how to share information responsibly online.

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Misinformation - UK Safer Internet Centre

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Misinformation or 'Fake news' is online content that can mislead or provide false information towards a particular topic.

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A collection of resources from the National Literacy Trust

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A collection of resources from the National Literacy Trust

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This series of fake news and critical literacy resources have been created in response to the findings and recommendations from the Commission on Fake News and the Teaching of Critical Literacy Skills in Schools.

These resources are designed to help primary and secondary teachers, parents and school librarians equip children with the critical literacy skills they need to survive and thrive in today's digital world.

The resources include:

Parents

Top tips guide to help start conversations about fake news with children

Primary

Primary teaching resource which includes practical lesson ideas, critical questions and a directory of useful organisations and further resources

Primary discussion cards to help students think more critically about the texts they read in lessons

Primary poster for displaying in the classroom

Secondary

Secondary teaching resource which includes practical lesson ideas, critical questions and a directory of useful organisations and further resources

Secondary discussion cards to help students think more critically about the texts they read in lessons, which can be used in all subjects and with all text types

Secondary poster for displaying in the classroom

Subject-specific case studies and lesson plans for: citizenship, drama, economics, English, history, PSHE, maths, school libraries, science and sociology

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Fake news and critical literacy resources | National Literacy Trust

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This series of fake news and critical literacy resources have been created in response to the findings and recommendations from the Commission on Fake News and the Teaching of Critical Literacy Skills in Schools. These resources are designed to help primary and secondary teachers, parents and school librarians equip children with the critical literacy skills they need to survive and thrive in today's digital world.

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DfE’s collection of links to online media literacy resources 

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DfE’s collection of links to online media literacy resources 

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Cookies on GOV.UK

We use some essential cookies to make this website work.

We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.

We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

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This page provides a collection of online media literacy resources and events.

Events - February

The government is working closely with various organisations to empower citizens to make informed choices and remain safe online.

Below is a list of resources you can engage with to develop your online skills:

Avoiding upsetting or potentially harmful content

Reporting inappropriate content

Preventing online harassment

Managing privacy

Recognising misinformation and disinformation

Ensuring online safety

Facebook Safety Center: Facebook's Safety Center contains general security and safety information relating to our policies and tools, as well as helpful user guides and resources.

Challenging extremism and radicalisation

Digital Resilience Working Group: The Digital Resilience Working Group (DRWG) of the UK Council on Internet Safety is responsible for developing and implementing a strategy that enables individuals and skills to have the digital skills and emotional understanding to be able to take action when they encounter problems online. The DRWG hub features the Digital Resilience Framework, Case studies, blogs and related resources for supporting the development of digital inclusion in different settings and contexts.

Email: hello@drwg.org.uk

Digital parenting skills

Facebook Parents Portal: Facebook's Parents Portal offers tailored advice to adults on how to ensure children in their care are using Facebook safely and have a positive experience online.

Managing targeted advertising

Preventing cyberbullying

Facebook Bullying Prevention Hub: The hub is a resource for teens, parents and educators seeking support and help for issues related to bullying and other conflicts. It offers step-by-step plans, including guidance on how to start some important conversations for people being bullied, parents who have a child who is being bullied or accused of bullying, and educators who have students who are involved with bullying.

Improving health and wellbeing online

Challenging revenge porn

Reporting sexual abuse

Report Remove: Report Remove is a tool developed by IWF and NSPCC to enable children to self-report nude or sexual images of themselves which they are worried may have been shared online, to see if they can be removed from the internet. Email: help@nspcc.org.uk or Contact Childline

Understanding the legal framework and rights online

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Skip to main content We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

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Educate Against Hate - Prevent Radicalisation & Extremism

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This website gives parents, teachers and school leaders practical advice on protecting children from extremism and radicalisation.

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Guardian Foundation lesson on identifying the difference between fact and opinion

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Guardian Foundation lesson on identifying the difference between fact and opinion

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NewsWise values

This lesson focuses on the NewsWise value: truthful.

Learning objective

To distinguish between fact and opinion.

Learning outcomes

Explain the difference between news reports and opinion pieces.

Use language clues to analyse whether a statement is fact or opinion (also including speculation and rumour).

Summarise a news story using the key facts.

News report or opinion? Pupils read an extract from a news report and an extract from an opinion piece, identifying which is which. How did you know? Were there any words or phrases that helped you?

Challenge: can you find an example of an opinion in the news report paragraph? What is different about this compared with the opinion piece?

Discuss the difference between the news report and the opinion piece. Watch Gary Younge's explainer video to explore why news publications also publish opinion pieces. Opinion pieces differ from news reports, which must be truthful and only include other people's opinions. Having your own opinions about news is important, but the main thing to remember is that when writing a news report, you don't report your opinions as facts.

Before beginning the following activities, you may like to use Spot the truth to model the activity.

Pupils read different tweets about a breaking news story: a gorilla escape at London zoo (see Rumour has it ...). Pupils analyse each statement using the Language clues to identify whether it is fact or opinion.

Challenge: introduce speculation and rumour. As well as sorting statements into fact and opinion, pupils also identify the statements which are actually speculation or rumour.

In role as reporters, pupils write a news headline and summary (using the 5 Ws), stating the facts of what actually happened at London zoo. This could be a drama activity, with pupils performing news bulletins in role as TV or radio reporters.

Refer back to the news story from the starter. Pupils write either a fact or opinion statement about it.

Challenge: write a speculation or rumour statement. In pairs, pupils swap statements and decide what type of statement their partner has written, highlighting the language clues.

Ask some pupils to share their fact, opinion, speculation or rumour statements with the class. How can you tell the difference? What type of language clues can we look out for? Why is important to be able to tell the difference between fact and opinion when online? What would happen if a journalist reported a speculation or rumour as fact?

What is fact/opinion/speculation/rumour?

Why is it important to know the difference between fact and opinion?

How can we check whether something is factual?

How can we tell the difference between fact and ________ ?

What is the difference between a news report and an opinion piece?

Journalists can include other people's opinions in news reports through reported or direct speech, but they must not include their own opinions.

Opinion pieces, where journalists are allowed to share their own opinions about stories, are different to news reports and will be clearly marked as opinion.

When a breaking news story first happens, it can be difficult to know which information online is trustworthy because not many facts are known. Despite this, people make guesses, share their opinions or even make-up information. You may see:

Fact: something that is true and can be supported by evidence;

Opinion: a person's thoughts or feelings;

Speculation: a guess or inference about what has happened;

Rumour: a story that has not been proven, often parts of the story that people hear about from others, without any actual evidence.

See Language clues to model how language analysis can help to identify the difference between fact, opinion, speculation and rumour.

Pupils write their own opinion pieces in response to a news story.

PSHE education Living in the wider world

recognise ways in which the internet and social media can be used both positively and negatively;

how to assess the reliability of sources of information online; and how to make safe, reliable choices from search results;

how text and images in the media and on social media can be manipulated or invented; strategies to evaluate the reliability of sources and identify misinformation.

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This lesson focuses on the NewsWise value: truthful. To distinguish between fact and opinion. Explain the difference between news reports and opinion pieces. Use language clues to analyse whether a statement is fact or opinion (also including speculation and rumour). Summarise a news story using the key facts. News report or opinion?

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Economist Education Foundation Resource on Reliable News

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Economist Education Foundation Resource on Reliable News

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Free lesson pack on critical thinking for upper KS2 from Internet Matters

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Free lesson pack on critical thinking for upper KS2 from Internet Matters

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Childnet - Trust me, Primary and Secondary resource packs

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Childnet - Trust me, Primary and Secondary resource packs

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This resources aims to educate young people on inaccurate and pervasive information that they might come across online.

Developed in partnership with the London Grid for Learning (LGfL) Safeguarding Board, the resource contains lesson plans for both primary and secondary level that discuss how to think critically around the areas of content, contact, and propaganda material that may seek to persuade or change young people's views.

We have also produced guidance for educators which contains additional content to help you to deliver this resource. It includes an overview of the relevant laws online and definitions to support you in answering any questions which may arise during these sessions.

We hope that teachers will adapt these packs to suit their pupils and have created all the content under a creative commons licence so any changes can be made so they fit the specific needs of each school.

Download the packs containing lesson plans, worksheets and guidance

For

Topics

Type

Donate

Even a small donation can support the development of our online safety resources and help our Education Team to connect with more children and young people.
Donate

As part of our work in the UK Safer Internet Centre

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A resouce designed to educate young people around inaccurate and pervasive information online and open up discussions in order to devevlop their critical thinking skills.

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Secondary resources from the Guardian foundation

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Secondary resources from the Guardian foundation

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Lesson on spotting fake news from the British Council

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Lesson on spotting fake news from the British Council

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Ideally this lesson is for teenagers, but it can also be used with adults. The lesson begins with a brief discussion about news and fake news.

Students then skim read two webpages. One website is about the Tree Octopus (a spoof), while the other is about the Octopus Tree. After a brief reading comprehension activity, students study the websites, using a set of questions to help them. The goal is to discover which one is the fake website and why it's fake!

As a final activity, students find other fake news stories currently circulating the internet. They choose one from the list and design a post or meme advising their friends not to fall for it.

Aims:

To expand knowledge of vocabulary related to news and the media

To raise students' awareness of fake news through discussion and reading

To develop students' 21st-century skills, including critical thinking, collaboration and media literacy

Age/level:
Older teenagers and adults at CEF level B1 and above

Time:

45-60 minutes

Materials:

The teachers' notes and student worksheets are available to download in PDF format

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Introduction Ideally this lesson is for teenagers, but it can also be used with adults. The lesson begins with a brief discussion about news and fake news. Students then skim read two webpages. One website is about the Tree Octopus (a spoof), while the other is about the Octopus Tree.

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You can learn more about an image or the objects around you with Google Lens. For example, you can take a photo of a plant and use it to search for info or other similar images.

What you find when you search

Your results can include:

Search results for objects in the image

Similar images

Websites with the image or a similar image

What you need

The latest version of the Google app

The Google app or the Chrome app

Search with an image from search results

1. On your Android phone or tablet, go to Google Images.

2. Search for an image.

3. Tap the image.

4. At the bottom left, tap Search inside image .

Search with an image from a website

Important: To search with a website image in the Chrome app, you must make Google your default search engine.

1. On your Android phone or tablet, go to the Google app or Chrome app .

2. Go to the website with the image.

3. Touch and hold the image.

4. Tap Search Image with Google Lens.

To search an object in an image, if available on the object, tap Select .

To search part of an image, tap Select image area , then drag the corners of the box around your selection.

5. At the bottom, scroll to find related search results.

6. To refine your search, tap Add to your search. Then, enter keywords.

Search with an image saved on your device

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google app .

2. At the bottom, tap Discover.

3. In the search bar, tap Google Lens .

4. Take or upload a photo to use for your search:

To take a photo: Point to an object with your camera and tap Search .

To upload an existing image: Tap Photo picker and select a photo.

5. Select the area you want to use for your search:

Use an object in the image: If available, on the object, tap Select .

Use part of an image: Tap Select image area , then drag the corners of the box around your selection.

6. At the bottom, scroll to find your search results.

7. To refine your search, tap Add to your search. Then, enter keywords.

Tip: To get more specific results, select a smaller area on the image.

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You can learn more about an image or the objects around you with Google Lens. For example, you can take a photo of a plant and use it to search for info or other similar images. What you find when you

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Guidance from SWGfL on Synthetic Media (deepfakes)

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Guidance from SWGfL on Synthetic Media (deepfakes)

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Synthetic media, often referred to as 'deepfake' content, may be something you are seeing more of online - even if you don't realise it. As synthetic media becomes harder to detect with the rise of artificial intelligence technology, it can sometimes be challenging to work out what's real and what's not.

Synthetic media can be used in many different ways, making it a complex new form of content impacting online safety and digital literacy landscapes. Our Synthetic Media Hub is designed to help you and your communities understand synthetic media and the various forms of support available to guide parents, young people, and your communities through the essential online safety and digital literacy skills needed to address, identify and respond to synthetic content.

Synthetic media is a relatively new concept, referring to forms of media generated with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). Known for being incredibly realistic, synthetic media can include various types of content, such as images, videos, audio, and text.

The technology used to generate synthetic media is often trained on existing, real content found online. This means synthetic media can appear realistic and may be difficult to distinguish from genuine media. Techniques used to create synthetic media include deep learning algorithms, such as Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), which are particularly effective at producing realistic content.

Unlike non-synthetic media, which includes anything created directly by humans (such as a photoshopped image where a human manually edits a photo), synthetic media is fully generated by computers. Synthetic media can be used in many different ways, from entertainment and creative arts to more practical applications like virtual assistants and automated journalism.

However, synthetic media also poses risks. It can be used maliciously to create manipulated images or videos that can make individuals appear to say or do things they did not. This can have significant implications for privacy, security, and the potential spread of misinformation.

Synthetic media represents a powerful technological advancement, offering both creative possibilities and challenges. Understanding its capabilities and risks as this form of technology continues to evolve is important to ensure we stay safe online.
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What is Synthetic Harmful Content?
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Synthetic Harmful Content

Synthetic harmful content refers to any type of media created or altered using AI with the intent to deceive, misinform, harm, or exploit individuals or groups.

Examples of synthetic harmful content include instances where AI-generated content is used to portray individuals as supporting a scam, to create fake news stories, to defame individuals, and to spread misinformation. For instance, synthetic videos or audio can make it appear as though a person is endorsing fraudulent schemes, damaging their reputation and potentially leading others to fall victim to the scam.

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What is Synthetic Sexual Content?
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Synthetic Sexual Content

Synthetic sexual content refers to sexual or nude media created using AI, and is often referred to in the media as 'deepfake' content.

Examples of synthetic sexual imagery include images created by swapping someone's face onto another person's body, and 'nudification' apps, which can alter a clothed image to make it appear nude. In this context, a person's image can be edited or altered to become an intimate image, or an intimate image can be manufactured to resemble someone else. This content can then be shared or in some cases sold by the perpetrator to cause harm and financial gain.

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Terminology

Synthetic media refers to content created or modified using artificial intelligence (AI). As an emerging form of media, it has also been referred to as "AI-generated media," "media produced by generative AI," and sometimes "personalised media" or "personalised content." In mainstream media, synthetic content (and synthetic sexual content) is often referred to as a "deepfake" when it involves the realistic manipulation of video or audio to alter a person's likeness or voice.

With this terminology in mind, you can read more about our decision to use the term "synthetic media" here.

As with all of the topics we explore, synthetic media has its positives and negatives.

In a positive sense, synthetic media is changing how we watch and enjoy ourselves online and can be used in the videos and games we play, alongside giving us opportunities to use our imagination at the click of a button. There are plenty of ways synthetic media is used to make our experiences online more fun and exciting, whether by creating avatars or translating our voices into different languages. However, the use of synthetic media can create challenges and can be used to generate harmful content. This media can make it hard to tell what's real and what's not. As the impact of synthetic media grows, it's important to learn how to understand and respond to it safely, helping us to stay safe online.

You may have seen in recent news, on the radio, or in your daily discussions that synthetic media is becoming a big deal. As with all new forms of media and the technology used to create it, there are plenty of stories about how it is being used, and the impact it is having on people, both in good and bad ways.

The Synthetic Media Hub covers support and considerations for young people, professionals, parents and carers. This media and the technology used to create it are evolving at growing rates, and it's important to keep up to date with the online world. SWGfL training ensures that any audience can receive the latest guidance, support, and resources.
Find out more about SWGfL training
As part of the UK Safer Internet Centre, we run a range of additional training sessions ensuring support for professionals across the UK. Our Online Safety Clinics provide a further opportunity for professionals to hear from our experts. Find a variety of these sessions from the UK Safer Internet Centre website.
Online Safety Lives & Online Safety Clinics

Synthetic media is constantly changing, kee up-to-date with the latest trends and guidance.
More Articles

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Designed and Developed by Will Earp, South West Grid for Learning Trust Ltd

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Understanding Synthetic Media & Deepfakes | SWGfL

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Find out what synthetic media is, and advice about AI-generated and 'deepfake' content.

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Guidance from SWGfL on Misinformation on the Internet

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Guidance from SWGfL on Misinformation on the Internet

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Designed and Developed by Will Earp, South West Grid for Learning Trust Ltd

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Misinformation on Social Media – Guidance, Impact and Support | SWGfL

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Find out what misinformation is, ways it can manifest itself and what you can do to support young people in your care

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Common Sense Media Resource Implementation Guide (UK)

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Common Sense Media Resource Implementation Guide (UK)

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Digital Citizenship Implemention Guide (UK)

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Common Sense Media Lesson on Credible Sources

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Common Sense Media Lesson on Credible Sources

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The web is full of questionable stuff, from rumors and inaccurate information to outright lies and so-called fake news. So how do we help students weed out the bad and find what's credible? Help students dig into why and how false information ends up online in the first place, and then practice evaluating the credibility of what they're finding online.

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Finding Credible News | Common Sense Education

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How do we find credible information on the internet? Check out Finding Credible News, a free digital citizenship lesson plan from Common Sense Education, to get your grade 6 students thinking critically and using technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.

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BBC Young Reporter Resources for spotting fake news

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BBC Young Reporter Resources for spotting fake news

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KS4 Online Safety Unit (non-GCSE) inc. Fake News Lesson 

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KS4 Online Safety Unit (non-GCSE) inc. Fake News Lesson 

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Helps deliver part of the statutory KS4 computing curriculum.

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As most learners will already have some form of online presence and familiarity with online spaces, the purpose of this unit is for them to start thinking more critically about how they, and others, conduct themselves online. Learners will also be asked to discuss key debates around the online world, such as the extent of their right to privacy, and which powers should be granted to organisations and states. As much as possible, learners should be encouraged to develop their own ideas and opinions in order to become engaged citizens when it comes to online rights.

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As most learners will already have some form of online presence and familiarity with online spaces, the purpose of this unit is for them to start thinking more critically about how they, and others, conduct themselves online.

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Education for a Connected World Framework

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Education for a Connected World Framework

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Non-statutory skills progression framework as referenced in KCSIE.

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A framework to equip children and young people for digital life

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The Education for a Connected World framework describes the Digital knowledge and skills that children and young people should have the opportunity to develop at different ages and stages of their lives. It highlights what a child should know in terms of current online technology, its influence on behaviour and development, and what skills they need to be able to navigate it.

The document supports one of the key aims of the government's Internet Safety Strategy of supporting children to stay safe and make a positive contribution online, as well enabling teachers to develop effective strategies for understanding and handling online risks.

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A framework to equip children and young people for digital life

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A free set of resources based on the ‘Education for a Connected World Framewok’

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Designed and Developed by South West Grid for Learning (https://swgfl.org.uk/)

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Ofcom Childrens Media Use and Attitudes Report

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Ofcom Childrens Media Use and Attitudes Report

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A useful insight into childrens’ internet use.

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This report looks at media use, attitudes and understanding among children and young people aged 3-17.

It also includes findings on parents' views about their children's media use, and how parents of children and young people aged 3-17 monitor and manage their children's use. The report provides a comprehensive picture of children's media experiences in 2023 as a reference for industry, policymakers, academics and the general public.

The Communications Act 2003 and Online Safety Act 2023 place responsibilities on Ofcom to promote, and to carry out research into, media literacy. This report forms part of our wider Making Sense of Media programme.

Childrens Media Literacy Report 2024 (PDF, 7.45 MB)

Plant a Rhieni: Adroddiad ar agweddau a defnyddo'r cyfryngau 2024 (PDF, 1.28 MB)

Children and parents: media use and attitudes report 2024 - interactive data

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Children and parents: media use and attitudes report 2024

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This report looks at media use, attitudes and understanding among children and young people aged 3-17.

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In 2017, 'fake news' became Collins Dictionary's word of the year and it's remained in the headlines ever since. Although the phrase might appear to be a modern invention, examples of it can be found throughout history.

From ancient Rome up to the present day, stories that are not true or are meant to be misleading have been used to make money, change people's views and opinions and make us question who we can trust.

Now, with the explosion of the internet and social media, it seems to be everywhere and travels faster than at any other point in history.

Ancient history

Around 2000 years ago, the Roman Republic was facing a civil war between Octavian, the adopted son of the great general Julius Caesar, and Mark Anthony, one of Caesar's most trusted commanders.

To win the war, Octavian knew he had to have the public on his side - winning important battles helped, but if the people didn't like him, he would not be a successful ruler.

To get public backing, Octavian launched a 'fake news' war against Mark Anthony.He claimed Anthony, who was having an affair with Cleopatra, the Egyptian Queen, didn't respect traditional Roman values like faithfulness and respect. Octavian also said he was unfit to hold office because he was always drunk.

Octavian got his message to the public through poetry and short, snappy slogans printed on to coins. It was a bit like an ancient version of a politician today releasing a book or sending out a social media post. Octavian eventually won the war and became the first Emperor of Rome, ruling for over 40 years.

18th century

After the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, news (both real and fake) was able to spread faster than ever before. This technology meant books and other documents could be produced much quicker than any handwriting.

In the mid-1700s, the printing press helped to spread fake news about George II, who was the King of Great Britain and Ireland at the time. The King was facing a rebellion, and relied on being seen as a strong leader to make sure the rebellion didn't succeed.

Fake news about the King being ill was printed from sources on the side of the rebels. It didn't take long before these stories were seen by other printers who then republished them. This harmed the King's public image, and although the rebellion wasn't successful, showed how fake news can be used to try and change people's opinions.

The same thing happens today when a fake story is published on purpose to harm someone else. Unfortunately, if it isn't fact-checked and gets shared by people or organisations thinking it is true, some of whom might have large followings, it starts to be taken seriously and the more it is shared the quicker it spreads... unchecked.

Creatures on the Moon

By the 19th century, newspapers were an easy and cheap way of getting news out to the public. In America, printing became so cheap that some papers could be bought for just a penny.

One of these papers, The New York Sun, published a series of articles in 1835 about life on the Moon. They described how there were fantastic animals such as unicorns, two-legged beavers and even flying bat-men!

They wrongly claimed the discoveries were made by a well-known astronomer at the time, which helped people to believe the story was true.

These made-up stories were very popular, and sales of the paper shot up as readers all wanted to find out about this amazing 'discovery'.

The writer of the articles knew the story wasn't true and had meant for this to be satire. This is when a writer uses humour and exaggeration to make fun of silly ideas, in this case that there were creatures living on the Moon.

It still happens today a lot on social media. Sometimes comedy and satirical accounts will publish a made-up story supposed to make us laugh, and people share it thinking it's true. This is another form of fake news.

Fake news and war

Propaganda has been used in wars throughout history to try and change people's views. This is a type of fake news where false information is used for political gain. It can help change public opinion by persuading people that their country should go to war, or convince them the other side is their enemy.

In 1898, a United States Navy ship called USS Maine sank in Cuba. Some of the newspapers at the time blamed the Spanish for the sinking, and used artist's illustrations of a dramatic explosion to convince readers that this was true. However, there was no real evidence of this being a fact.

Americans now saw the Spanish as the enemy. A few years later the Spanish-American war broke out. The false reports had worked.

Closer to home, in 1917 during the First World War, British newspapers such as the Times and the Daily Mail ran a gruesome story claiming that the Germans were extracting fat from the bodies of dead soldiers on both sides of the war to make soap and margarine.

The story came from an official British government department and was spread to the press. The officials knew that this story wasn't true, but it helped persuade readers that the Germans were a barbaric enemy and convinced many that they had to be defeated.

Fake news now

In recent years, there has been an explosion of fake news as false stories are shared widely on social media without being fact-checked. Cheap and portable access to the internet across the globe means stories can spread in a matter of seconds and minutes rather than days or weeks. Many of these stories are completely made up and can make money from advertising - the more clicks a website gets, the more money it makes.

This often leads to clickbait, eye-catching but misleading headlines, designed to get people to click on links. Its purpose can be to generate clicks and advertisement money, but it can also be used to influence public opinion with headlines that appeal to our beliefs. This happened a lot during the 2016 US presidential election, where fake news about the candidates spread and could have influenced the public on how they voted.

As fake news became more widespread, the term itself began to change. Politicians began to use the phrase to attack news organisations they disagreed with, accusing them of being the ones who spread fake news. By calling real news 'fake news', it allowed real 'fake news' to get more attention as people didn't know who to trust - very confusing!

The future of fakes

Over the years, the development of technology has helped fake news spread through inventions like the printing press, photography and social media.

Videos were usually a fairly reliable source of news, as they can't be faked as easily as a photograph or headline. However, the reliability of video sources is now under threat from deepfakes. These are videos that use computer software and machine learning to create a digital version of someone. Normally it's used to put the face of a celebrity or politician on to someone else's body.

As the technology improves, deepfakes will become more realistic and harder to notice, but many amateur deepfakes can be spotted by unusual flickering or blurring around the face, so keep an eye out for that if you're suspicious about a video you've seen.

For more advice on how to spot fake news online and on social media, try out the resources below and explore the rest of Fact or Fake? with BBC Bitesize.

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The term 'fake news' might be quite new, but examples of it can be found throughout history.

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The Be Internet Legends Scheme of Work gives teachers the tools and methods they need to teach internet safety. The materials developed by Google in partnership with Parent Zone enable teachers to bring the most important information – and the excitement of Interland – into the classroom.

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Be Internet Legends - A Program to Teach Children Internet Safety

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Be Internet Legends is a multifaceted program that includes a fun and free of charge web-based game called Interland and an educational curriculum to teach children how to be safe and responsible explorers of the online world.