"[...] digital divide has demonstrated the urgency of our vision of building an inclusive digital economy and made it even more critical than ever before. UNCDF’s strategy, ‘Leaving No One Behind in the Digital Era’ launched in 2019, UNCDF continues to work with the government, private sector,
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and academia to catalyse innovations and scale digital solutions that address systemic constraints in the social and economic sectors. This guide aims to empower trainers and other stakeholders in implementing the digital and financial Literacy initiatives including specifications for devices delivered under the Digital Literacy Program as well as information on their configuration, setup and general management. There is also useful information on the procedures for sending and receiving money via mobile money followed by procedures for doing a mobile Money business. This manual describes the digital literacy curriculum and offers useful information on its usage by the trainers." (Foreword)
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"In this toolkit, our focus is on the use of mobile phones to the maximum benefit of women, men, youth, smallholder farmers and refugees, to enable them access digital financial services." (Background, page 11)
"Taking stock of media activist initiatives in the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region, this article discusses findings from case study research informing the media education platform "diraya.media." Through participatory methodology, the case studies and the bilingual (Arabic/English) we
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bsite aim to analyze and strengthen local media literacy pedagogies by learning with and from media activists in the region. This article reports on six case studies of SWANA-based media activist organizations and pedagogical material for the media literacy classroom. The goal is to reflect and discuss the methodological and theoretical ramifications of Diraya as a pedagogical space for reflection and knowledge exchange between media activists and other learners in the region and beyond. Drawing on the participating activists' experiences, Diraya is embedded in the turn toward radical media education and civic media literacies, contributing to (1) de-Westernizing media literacy education, (2) creating more learning materials based on local activist knowledge as important resources to increase media literacy, and (3) enabling of long-term collaborations by archiving and making public experiences from SWANA-based media activists." (Abstract)
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"This guide for policy-makers developed by the United Nations’ Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect (OSAPG) and UNESCO provides specific strategies and approaches to address hate speech within and through education. Countering harmful, discriminatory and violent narrativ
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es in the form of xenophobia, racism, antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and other types of intolerance, whether online or offline, requires interventions at every level of education, in both formal and non-formal settings. This guide offers concrete recommendations, good practices and lessons learned on how to combat hate speech and provide safe and respectful learning environments, as well as the broader goal of fostering inclusive societies." (Back cover)
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"These book’s articles are the result of the First Conference on Digital Literacy, Citizenship and Disinformation in Times of Pandemic, jointly organised by the UNESCO Regional Office in Montevideo, Uruguay, and the Public Defender’s Office of Audience Rights. Five thousand people participated i
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n the event, either following the live streaming or visualising the recordings afterwards [...] The main purpose of the meeting was to bring together researchers, academics, public policy managers, community and private organizations, to share experiences and knowledge on Media and Information Literacy (MIL); to synthesise experiences on MIL development, disinformation and hate speech in pandemics; to systematise the effects of the pandemic on the education system with different actors involved and to prepare proposals for the development of future public policies. Among other results, this meeting led to this book, which we are now pleased to introduce. As a result of this Conference, the Public Defender's Office also carried out a survey with elementary and high school teachers from all over the country, as part of a supporting plan about communication in conventional media and digital platforms. This survey confirmed that a very high proportion of the respondents state they need training on this subject for their work. When confronted with the question “Do you think you need more training in Communication Media and Technologies?” 88.3% of the participants answered affirmatively, and only 11.7% said “no”, according to preliminary results." (Introduction, page 19-20)
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"The potential to weaponize deepfakes is growing at an alarming rate. The study aimed to explore how education can help youth develop resilience to malicious deepfakes and the ability to counter disinformation, regardless of context. Sixteen youth between the ages of 18 and 24 participated in a 9-h,
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cutting-edge, experiential, and reflective learning experience on deepfakes and disinformation informed by personal construct theory (PCT). Participants experienced the creation of deepfakes and assessed their ability to counter disinformation. They delved into their own construct systems and reflected on the genesis of their vulnerabilities. They moved from being unfamiliar with the deepfake phenomenon to becoming empowered digital citizens, motivated to develop their skills in assessing the validity of online information and resisting manipulation regardless of its source. The study provides recommendations for more targeted education about deepfakes and disinformation for youth. Educators, curriculum developers, and policymakers can use these findings to ensure that a well-equipped generation of digital citizens protects society from the growing disinformation plague. With this proof of concept, the next step is to bring this approach to a larger number of youth and contribute to the fight against malicious deepfakes, while developing strategies to integrate PCT-informed learning experiences into education." (Abstract)
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"This paper examines the Bad News series of games, created by the Cambridge University Social Decision Making Lab and DROG Group, as an educational tool. More specifically, it considers Bad News as a persuasive game, within the umbrella of gamification. After considering the history and context of t
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he game, the educational, motivational, and informational theoretical frameworks of the games, research, and criticisms, this paper concludes that the games are not, in themselves, transformative." (Abstract)
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"Policies and guidelines at different levels officially involve schools in promoting media education. In this regard, the responsibility for putting media education initiatives and guidelines into practice is mainly on the teachers. However, little is known about under what circumstances young peopl
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e tend to rely on teachers to develop media competencies and how the variance in teachers’ engagement in media education can be explained. The present work seeks to verify what factors are associated with students’ learning of media-related aspects from teachers and teachers’ efforts in developing students’ media-related competencies. The framework adopted in the empirical work consists of three main aspects. First, it refers to concepts of media pedagogy and educommunication to address teachers’ practices involving media. These practices correspond to the interplay of fostering students’ media competencies with using media use for instruction and mediating students’ media use. Second, it addresses the variety of media-related competencies prescribed in media and digital literacy guidelines. Finally, based on previous research in the field, the framework includes contextual and individual characteristics as influencing factors of media education practices.
The first study approaches teachers’ role as media educators. This study explores the characteristics of students, schools, and countries that are associated with the incidence of learning computer and information competencies primarily from teachers. Therefore, data from 14 participant countries in the 2013 International Computer and Information Literacy Study were analyzed with a three-level regression model. The findings show that the most significant predictors are at the individual’s level, as gender, access to ICTs at home, parental socioeconomic conditions, and self-efficacy concerning ICT yield positive associations with recognizing teachers as primary digital mentors. The schools’ characteristics do not show significant associations. At the country level, ICT Development Index associates negatively and significantly with students’ relying on teachers to develop computer and information competencies.
The second study focuses on content taught in media education at school, accounting for the comprehensiveness of topics and competencies that are part of media literacy frameworks. The goal is to identify aspects that favor and disfavor teachers’ practice of media education integrated into traditional school subjects. With linear regression analysis, models including teachers’ and schools’ characteristics are tested to predict the fostering of different areas of media competence and the mediation of opportunities and risks in students’ media use. Therefore, data collected from secondary teachers in the Thuringia State, Germany, in a project in which the author was involved were analyzed. The series of analyses conducted reflect the process of model development. Considering all models tested to predict teaching of different areas of media competence, the positive and strong associations with ICT use and perceived importance of the competence area are a constant. However, how teachers evaluate the ICT available at their school does not usually play a role. Moreover, it became clear that media education has less room in Gymnasium schools than in other school types, and most competence areas tend to be fostered in non-STEM subjects.
The third study addresses the use of ICTs to foster students’ media-related competencies. The associations between teaching with and teaching about media in the data collected from teachers in Thuringia are tested through exploratory structural equation modeling. Therefore, the fostering of different media competence areas and the use of various types of ICT are considered. Moreover, their associations are tested, controlling for schools’ and teachers’ traits. The results show that teachers’ use of computer laboratories and basic computer programs with their students predicts all four competence areas positively and strongly. The use of mobile devices and online applications in class yield significant associations with fostering information competence. Conversely, using presentation and visualization ICTs does not seem to be involved in activities promoting media literacy. The effects of training, collaboration, and satisfaction with the school’s ICT observed in the regression analyses of the second study are confirmed. The findings presented can contribute to refining the discussions about media education in the academic, political, and educational spheres.
To consolidate media education in schools, it is pertinent to consider teachers’ different practices involving media, the several dimensions of media literacy competences, and the variety of ICTs that may be used in classes. These dimensions should be integrated into teachers’ training so that they get solid preparation to practice media education and develop an awareness of the extent of their role as media educators." (Abstract)
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"This book details the project "Digital Citizenship Education for Democratic Participation" involving approximately 400 pre-school and primary school children, their families, teachers, and community members in a Lisbon locality. The research presented aims to answer the following question: To what
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extent can a local (and replicable) digital media literacy program empower preschool and primary-school-aged children to become active and effective citizens in the digital era? Through this book, the authors share the steps taken during the project, including the main difficulties faced and the solutions found to overcome them as well as the project’s sustainability." (Publisher description)
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