A Blog to learn how to analyze images

In response to the growing prevalence of fake news, especially on social networks, teachers decided to make an Image Education Blog. The purpose of this initiative is to provide students with the tools they need to understand what they see and to develop their critical thinking skills.

“True or false? Prove it!” Those are the instructions at the top of the Image Education Blog, which was created by teachers. Every three weeks, the Blog managers share an image with all participating classes along with a statement. Students are then instructed to say whether or not the information is true and explain their reasoning. “It’s not enough to call it fake and leave it at that. The students are asked to dig deeper and provide information from reliable sources,” says Frédéric, the creator of the Blog. “ONE is a great fit for this project because we can use the Blog, share it with participating classes, and use the comments to start a dialog,” he adds.

Educational social networks to learn about fact checking

This project has several aims. “Outside of school, students are increasingly connected and technologically savvy. They are also starting to venture onto social networks, where they will see many images that they won’t necessarily know how to interpret. This represents a new challenge for schools, which should give kids the tools they need to understand,” says Frédéric.

The Image Education Blog helps students develop a long list of skills, including asking questions, checking, looking for reliable sources, using critical thinking, debating, justifying their choices, and receiving feedback from other classes. “Plus, using a social network helps further teach students about how to use these kinds of platforms!” says the teacher. Feel free to steal this idea for your own school.