CONTEXT If so called ‘trolls’ influenced the US-election in 2016, is unsettled. Undeniable is, that populist assumptions in ‘real world’ and in social media gain much attention. Extreme and populist parties in all EU Member States celebrate electoral successes: They blame ‘others’ and ‘corrupt elites’ for serious problems in societies. With manipulative technology (‘social bots’) and disinformation campaigns, radical groups and organisations try to strengthen those narratives in social media. The EC, EACEA and Eurydice define common aims for EU Member States, in order to combat extremism and populism: „Enhancing critical thinking and media literacy, particularly the use of the internet and social media, so as to develop resistance to all forms of discrimination and indoctrination“ EC/EACEA/Eurydice, 2016. Promotiong Citzizenship […] Luxembourg. p.3 The focussed strengthening of active citizenship, e.g. in social media, as antidote is strongly recommended, because young users of the internet inform themselves almost solely in youtube, twitter and facebook. According to a study of the Oxford Internet Institute 20% of all ‘tweets’ with regard to politics are false information or junk messages. TOPICS - The conditions in which information are being generated and spread (social, political, economic, technical). For ex.: Reasons why the distribution of ‘false news’ is faster and more far-reaching; the power of huge companies with regard to public opinion forming (algorithms); consequences of ‘bots’ etc. OBJECTIVES - An improved critical competence of judgement among students (e.g. being able to recognise ‚computational propaganda‘) - The strengthening of active digital citizenship (e.g. get to know options for dealing with extremist ‘information’ resp. posts (hate speech) These objectives cover the demand of the „International Computer and Information Literacy Study“. It says: "The „competent intercourse with digital media and particularly the competence, to choose information, to understand it adequately, to use it and to communicate – becomes more and more important.” (Bos et. al 2014, 9). In order to achieve this, the consortium will develop a further training for teachers. In an inquiry based teaching/learning-environment they will get familiarized with instruments and strategies that manipulate opinions and behaviour, such as algorithms, social bots, dark posts and hoax campaigns. Subsequently the teachers conduct “research-studios” with their students. The didactic principle of inquiry based learning match the demands of the JRC Science for Policy Report DigCompEdu 2017: „Self-regulated Learning: […]to enable learners to plan, monitor and reflect on their own learning, provide evidence of progress, share insights […] (S. 21). PARTNERS - GONG, Croatia (NGO in the field of civic education) - Gimnazija Pula (secondary school) Croatia - Centre for European Refugees, Migration and Ethnic Studies, New Bulgarian University (Experts in the field for researching populist phenomena) - Center for Education and Qualification (continuous professional training for teachers), Bulgaria - Demokratiezentrum, Vienna, Austria - Leibniz University Hannover, Institute for Civic Education, Germany RESULTS - Compendium for pupils and teachers: Illustrations on strategies and instruments of manipulation in social media - Hands-on material for the conduction of a research-studio with students - Accompanying methodical-didactic material, in order to conduct a research-studio, e.g. guidelines for the conduction of a research - 2 online tutorials and a blended learning course for teachers The results will be developed in an equal process (face-to-face and via moodle), each partner carries out tasks according to their expertise and experience. In 5 partner meetings the prototypes will be presented, discussed and evaluated. Also associated partners are taking part in the evaluation process and in the pilot testing (e.g. VET schools, educational institutes of trade unions). Subsequently the results will be modified. 12 multiplier events with 300 head teachers, teachers and policy makers will take place in the partner countries. All results (ger, en, cro, russ) will be available as Open Educational Resources at well-known platforms, such as School Education Gateway etc. The results - which contribute to enhance democratic citizenship - are also useful for multipliers in vocational and adult education as well in the youth sector.
The spread of manipulated news, misinformation and hate on the Internet poses new challenges for European democracies. DETECT aims to help students and teachers to recognize fake news, to reflect on its background and to take active action against it. Background: Whether so-called 'trolls' influenced the US election campaign is unclear. What is undisputed is that populist theses are very popular in the 'real world' and in social media. Extreme and populist parties are celebrating election successes in all European countries: They blame "others" or "corrupt elites" for serious social problems. Using manipulative technologies and disinformation campaigns, radical groups and organizations try to reinforce these narratives in social media. The EC, EACEA and Eurydice define goals for member states to counter extremism and populism: "Enhancing critical thinking and media literacy, particularly the use of the internet and social media, so as to develop resistance to all forms of discrimination and indoctrination" (EC/EACEA/Eurydice, 2016. Promoting Citizenship [...] p.3 .). The targeted strengthening of democratic active citizenship, e.g. in the area of social networks, is formulated as an urgent educational-practical countermeasure, because young people obtain their information about politics and society mainly through forums such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Right-wing populist and radical right-wing organizations are hidden behind many seemingly serious information offerings. According to a study by the Oxford Internet Institute, misinformation and junk news account for "twenty percent of all political news and information on Twitter." Topics: - The conditions under which information is created and passed on (social, political, economic, technical). - An improved, critical judgment competence of students (e.g. by recognizing so-called 'computational propaganda') - Strengthening of digital active citizenship (e.g. learning how to act in case of extremist and anti-human 'news' or posts). The DETECT project combines media and democracy competencies with the didactic concept of inquiry-based learning. The method of research-based learning is suitable when students encounter new content that they can explore mainly independently from the perspective of certain "research questions". In doing so, they ask questions, form hypotheses, find examples, link content with each other - and finally present their results and findings for discussion in a plenary session. The KMK (2012, 7) emphasizes that media-competent teachers are the key to media-competent students. The project is therefore aimed at teachers who learn practical strategies for teaching "digital literacy". In a research-based teaching/learning arrangement, teachers at secondary schools learn about instruments for influencing opinion and will formation: e.g. algorithms, social bots, dark posts, strategies of professional "influencers", etc. The teachers then lead research workshops. Then, these teachers lead research workshops for high school students. The results (IOs), which are developed and tested by the consortium, are transferable to other contexts: - Vocational education - Higher education (lecturers lead labs with students) - adult education - Youth Concrete results: - Compendium with strategies and instruments of influence in social networks: "Of trolls and dark posts". - Methodical and didactical material to conduct a DETECT-studio with students of secondary level II - Problem-oriented hands-on impulses as a basis for the students' research - related to the contexts in all 4 partner countries - 2 online tutorials and a blended learning course for teachers