Tech

Google partners with Alannah & Madeline Foundation to provide resources to help students and teachers spot misinformation online

In this digital age, we’re bombarded with information our entire waking lives, and it’s getting worse. Kids are feeling the pinch with media coming at them from every direction. To help teach kids the critical thinking skills to consume all this media the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, have today announced a Media Literacy Lab which will provide resources to teachers and students to gain skills to spot misinformation online.

The Media Literacy Lab builds on the Alannah & Madeline Foundation’s eSmart cyber safety framework which has been provided to schools to create a safe cyber environment for students for more than 10 years. The lab is supported by a $1.4m investment from Google.org.

Google has been providing tools for kids to help surf the web safer and smarter with their beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com program, which helps ‘kids be safe, confident explorers of the online world’. The Be Internet Awesome campaign supplied tools which worked well with children aged kids ages 7-12 but the Media Literacy Lab is aimed at secondary school students aged 12-16.

The lab, which is free to access until January 2021, contains six gamified, youth-driven modules covering subjects like “what is media”, “media online”, “online hate” and more. The modules will teach students how media is published online as well as giving them access to tools to fact check information found online. The aim is to help students develop critical thinking skills to effectively navigate the online world.

Lesley Podesta, CEO of The Alannah & Madeline Foundation said ‘It can be hard to spot ‘fact’ from ‘opinion’. Without media literacy knowledge and skills, young people are susceptible to online harm, manipulation, misinformation and the many faces of fear and hate speech.

The medialiteracylab.org.au gives secondary school teachers access to Australian Curriculum-aligned content, classroom and remote delivery ideas and professional knowledge.

The Media Literacy Lab launch was well received by Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, who congratulated the Foundation on the launch of this important education resource, saying ‘Understanding the role of contemporary media in modern democracies and what our role is as citizens within that landscape has never been more important‘.

There is so much information online, and it’s hard to know what your kids are watching, so arming them with the skills to identify the garbage for themselves is an awesome idea.

Recent Posts

  • Tech

2026 will be the battle of “RGB” in TV technology – what. the. heck. is. that?

If you're still catching up on Quantum Dots, OLED, Mini LED and are thinking that…

4 hours ago
  • Tech

NBN gets set for the final roll out of Fibre upgrades to another 600,000 homes

The NBN is getting ready to lock in the final stage of the Fibre to…

10 hours ago
  • Motoring

The stunning new BMW iX3 is a vision for the future realised as Neue Klasse comes to market

BMW has revealed the first new model to be designed and engineered under their 2025…

13 hours ago
  • Tech

Best in Smart Home – The SwannBuddy 4K Video Doorbell with AI wins at the IFA Innovation Awards

The SwannBuddy4K Video Doorbell with SwannShield™AI Voice Assistant has been given an Honouree accolade for…

20 hours ago
  • Tech

360 degree security camera coverage and smart AI capabilities come to Reolink security lineup at IFA 2025

Reolink is a bit of an upstart when it comes to home security but having…

23 hours ago
  • Lifestyle

LG unveil its AI plans for your home appliances at IFA 2025

LG has announced its vision for AI-powered living at IFA 2025 under the moniker “LG…

1 day ago