{"id":40458,"date":"2025-06-25T17:54:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T15:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/?p=40458"},"modified":"2025-07-01T09:41:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T07:41:06","slug":"seeing-isnt-always-believing-helping-children-understand-media-manipulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media-and-learning.eu\/subject\/media-literacy\/seeing-isnt-always-believing-helping-children-understand-media-manipulation\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing isn\u2019t always believing: Helping children understand media manipulation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Maja Cimerman Sitar<\/strong>, EduSkills+. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we think about media manipulation, we often picture advanced editing software, fake news, or AI-generated deepfakes. But for me, the question starts much earlier and much simpler: can a four or five-year-old understand that a photo might not show what really happened?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This question is at the heart of Where Was I?<\/a><\/em>, one of the hands-on activities we\u2019ve developed as part of the Eduskills+Media<\/a> project. It\u2019s a playful yet powerful introduction to visual manipulation, and it all starts with a camera, a glue stick, a pair of scissors and a healthy dose of imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making the impossible real<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The activity begins with a photo session. We take simple portrait photos of the children against a neutral background, and we gather various background images – real or imaginary. These could be scenes from a forest, a desert, a movie set, or a bustling city square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then comes the fun part: we print everything out, and the children cut out their own portraits. They place themselves into entirely new settings, for example on the moon, in the jungle, or on top of the Eifel Tower. We photograph these new collages, print them again, and display them as if they were snapshots from real life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the final refection, we ask questions like: Were you really in all these places? How can a photo show something that never happened?<\/em> This leads to laughter, storytelling, and surprise, but also to thoughtful discussions about how easily images can be constructed, edited, or manipulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are young children ready for Media Education?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re often asked whether young children are \u201ctoo small\u201d for media education. But our kindergarten teachers answer with confidence: they\u2019re already media users. They scroll through images with their parents, watch videos, and interpret pictures in books or on screens. They\u2019re not passive, they\u2019re thinking, reacting, and creating from the very beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why our approach with Eduskills+Media is not to teach \u201ccorrect\u201d interpretations. Instead, we invite children to play, experiment, and reflect. Activities like Where Was I?<\/em> work so well because they blend fun with insight. They don\u2019t preach but spark curiosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A camera as a Media Literacy tool<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The tool our kindergarten teachers use most is the photo camera. In my view, it\u2019s a perfect entry point for media literacy. It\u2019s accessible, intuitive, and empowering. Even very young children can take photos and feel proud of their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The camera encourages children to observe more closely, to document, and to express themselves. It becomes both a lens for exploring the world and a tool for understanding how media shapes what we see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A toolbox built on experience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Where Was I? <\/em>is just one of many activities available through the Eduskills+Media<\/strong> portal<\/a>, a growing collection of free, practical resources for kindergarten educators. All activities are based on real experiences from classrooms across several countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve worked hard to make the activities diverse, adaptable, and easy to use. The material also includes background info, templates, and suggestons for adjustng actvites to local contexts or special needs. And it\u2019s all openly accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building media skills together: the Media2 Project<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Through testing our activities and working with kindergartens, we saw a clear need to involve families more deeply. Media is not just present at kindergarten or school, it is even more present as part of daily life at home, on the go, and everywhere in between. So we began to ask: how can kindergartens and parents learn about media together?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the thinking behind our new initatve, Eduskills+ Media2 \u2013 Building Media Skills Together, which is co-financed by Erasmus+. It\u2019s a continuation of the Eduskills+Media approach, but it expands the learning circle to include parents as co-learners and co-educators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Media2, we\u2019re piloting new tools and formats that bring children, educators, and families into joint refection. We don\u2019t want to preach to parents, we want to create opportunites to pause, think, and become more aware of our media habits together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our goal is to make media education a natural part of growing up, not an add-on or a special subject. And we believe this is only possible if we build bridges between kindergartens and homes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re working in early educaton, media literacy, or creatve pedagogy, I warmly invite you to explore the actvites on our portal. You don\u2019t need special equipment or training – just curiosity, openness, and a willingness to let children lead the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explore more:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n