Minding Media (2021-2023)

Researchers: Dr Vicky O’Rourke, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Business

Funding: €218,810 from Erasmus+ Programme 2021-2027, Key Action 2 Partnerships for Cooperation

Project Aim

The Covid pandemic accelerated the consumption of digital media and highlighted once more the risks posed by fake news, disinformation and anti-democratic ideals. All citizens are affected, but children are particularly at risk given that they spend more time online than adults, and are vulnerable both to unfiltered media coverage and messaging from companies and other parties, that bypass adult gatekeepers to establish direct communication. It is not without reason that the EU’s Action Plan for Disinformation aims to raise awareness of disinformation in children and improve their resilience from an early age. Yet, while digital skills have been a part of schools’ curricula for many years with some concern for privacy and security, media literacy education is still embryonic. For this reason, Minding Media aims to increase the capacity of schools to move to the next level of readiness for the digital transition by introducing dynamic and interactive media literacy learning resources for pupils aged 8 – 12. The Minding Media project will develop 3 resources: 1) A Minding Media Video Training Library, 2) A Minding Media Minecraft World, and 3) A Minding Media Teaching Toolkit.

  1. The Minding Media Video Library employs gamification techniques to engage learners. The 4 topics addressed are: What is Media, Advertising Literacy, Fake News, and Social media.
  2. The Minding Media Minecraft World addressed these 4 topics in a different format, extending learning into the third space, facilitating immersion, going beyond the scope of traditional classroom techniques to highlight the persuasive intent of organisations and individuals, reinforcing cognitive media literacy defences over time.
  3. The Minding Media Teaching Toolkit includes ‘ready to go’ lesson plans for teachers to support the use of the Minding Media digital resources in class.

Partners include:

ATU Donegal, Ireland; The European E-Learning Institute (EUEI), Denmark; Atermon, The Netherlands; Metka, Finland; and The Novi Sad School of Journalism (NSSJ), Serbia. Project duration October 2021-2023.