Media literacy for students

News, AI images, algorithms and advertising: how to make sense of what you are shown, and what you are allowed to post yourself.

The lessons

1. 1
   Getting started: how much media is actually in your day?

   What we spend our time on every day and who decides what we see while doing it.

2. 2
   Why do you see exactly this? Algorithms and filter bubbles

   How recommendation systems decide what ends up in your feed and what that does to you.

3. 3
   Advertising, influencers and the money behind them

   Who earns money from what, how advertising has to be labelled and how in-app purchases work.

4. 4
   Gaming: Why You Can’t Stop

   What makes games so gripping (motivation, immersion, story), what they mean socially (team, belonging, pressure, isolation), how they make money, and how to assess your own use honestly.

5. 5
   How a news story is made and how you recognise quality

   Newsroom, sources, opinion and news: the difference between journalism and a post.

6. 6
   Fake news and disinformation: the fact-check game · View free preview

   How made-up stories are built, why they spread so fast and how you check them.

7. 7
   AI images, deepfakes and chatbots

   What artificial intelligence can create, how you recognise it and why a chatbot is not a source.

8. 8
   What AI tools are – and how they "think"

   ChatGPT and co. are language models: they guess word by word what fits best. What that means and what the tools can do today.

9. 9
   Which AI tools exist – and from what age you may use them

   The best-known tools and their age limits. Why the limits exist and what to do if you are unsure.

10. 10
    AI always sounds sure – even when it is wrong

    Why you should never blindly believe AI answers: invented facts, invented sources, hidden prejudices.

11. 11
    The learning trap: if you let AI do the thinking, you learn nothing

    The biggest risk for learning – and how to turn AI from an answer machine into a learning coach.

12. 12
    Using AI cleverly and safely

    Which data you should never enter, why fake images are dangerous – and the skills that make you strong in the age of AI.

13. 13
    Cyberbullying: recognise it, respond, get help

    What cyberbullying is, how you can defend yourself and where to find help.

14. 14
    Are you allowed to post that? Rights to your own image, memes and music

    What you may show of other people, what belongs to you and what copyright has to do with your meme.

15. 15
    Your media toolbox

    Everything important at a glance and what comes next.