Category: News

On April 12th, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), specifically the Department of Pedagogy and Primary Education headed by the Chairman of the Department Konstantinos Skordoulis, launched the work for the development of two modules for the Teachers 4.0 Digital Curriculum in collaboration with the European University of Cyprus (EUC).

With the presence of Charis Xinari from EUC, the two partners had the chance to discuss about the important topic of digital [media] literacy and to lay the groundwork to start the creation of two of the ten very important modules, namely: “Disinformation: What are we talking about?”  and “More key terms and definitions”.

The goal of the Teachers 4.0 Digital project is to create a thorough educational curriculum and a university course that will include all the required readings and materials to help educators and pre-service teachers address issues related to combating disinformation and promoting digital [media] literacy in their classrooms.

In today’s rapidly digitalized world, digital [media] literacy is crucial and is progressively influencing education. The rapidly changing media and information landscape, combined with the large number of online platforms and information sources, requires citizens not only to navigate the digital world with confidence, but also to be informed and critical. Promoting digital [media] literacy and tackling disinformation in classrooms and schools has never been more important than it is today. Both teachers/educators and students, regardless of grade level or type of school, are faced with an increasingly complex online environment in which there is more to read, hear and see than ever before.

Education and training can play a key role in equipping citizens with the skills needed to be critical in the online world. To ensure the effective development of digital media literacy and countering disinformation through the education and training process, teachers and trainers need to be further supported with guidance and practical examples.

In this direction, the work of the NKUA started on the development of the two current modules to provide practical exercises for teachers, including advice and activity plans to enhance understanding of how digital [media] literacy can be achieved and provide useful insights into the dynamics and manifestations of disinformation. 

The modules will consist of learning outcomes, theoretical insight and  activities/exercises to assess the student teachers’ pre-knowledge as well as activities/exercises to assess and evaluating students teachers’ learning. The aim is to strengthen their ability to address the problem of disinformation in classrooms and to work together to support youth in developing their resilience while enabling them to think critically, make wise decisions online, and be safe.

On the 9^th of April, Teachers 4.0 Digital partners had their 4^th online monthly meeting to discuss the progress of the project and to plan the forthcoming tasks and deliverables. The consortium just launched the development of a comprehensive educational curriculum and the design of a University Course that aim to empower pre-service teachers and educators to promote digital [media] literacy, and to tackle disinformation in their classrooms.

The University of Palermo (UNIPA) is leading the development of the modules with the support of project partners who will be busy with compiling content and resources during the next couple of months:

• National Kapodistrian University, along with the European University of Cyprus, will create a preliminary module on ‘Disinformation’, in addition to ‘Key terms and Definitions’, which will enrich the knowledge of teachers regarding disinformation and clarify the fundamental terminologies in the ecosystem.
• Athens Lifelong Learning Institute will develop the module ‘Setting the Scene for Teaching and Learning in the Digital School Environment’ with activities focusing on “how to create a learning environment that is conducive to helping students become digitally [media] literate and helping them develop the competencies needed to become resilient to misinformation, misinformation and especially disinformation”.
• UNIPA will develop an assessment module entitled ‘Assessing and Evaluating Digital [Media] Literacy in Schools‘, while Mediawise will focus on the development of a module on ‘Exploring the Key Media Practices of Children and Students’.
• University of Sofia is developing the module ‘Teaching Digital [Media] Literacy and Disinformation‘ while EAVI is working towards the development of ‘Building Digital [Media] Literacy Competencies in the Classroom and School: Becoming Digital Citizens’.
• The University of Lodz and West University of Timisoara are working respectively on the modules ‘Students in all their Diversity’ and ‘Practical Examples of Lesson Plans’.
• The curriculum will also include a Glossary and a list of current resources and references.