by Rhian Webb, Britannica Education, United Kingdom.
Media and information literacy education requires us all to reflect critically on the nature of knowledge creation and information dissemination. Educational stakeholders must do more to prioritise digital media and information literacy policies in schools and colleges to educate learners about the potential pitfalls and dangers of media manipulation, information disorder, and truth decay. At Britannica Education, we are dedicated to facing these challenges head on and providing innovative solutions to tackle them.
Our Role Today: How Britannica Empowers Digital Citizens
Encyclopædia Britannica was a project born in 18th-century Scotland’s bustling intellectual scene and began as a monumental effort during the Scottish Enlightenment. First published in 1768 in Edinburgh, the encyclopaedia’s logo, symbolised by its iconic thistle, is a nod to its proud Scottish heritage. For 256 years, knowledge-seekers have turned to Encyclopædia Britannica for verified knowledge and information they could trust.
Fast forward to 2024, Encyclopædia Britannica has evolved and expanded far beyond the thirty-two hardbound volumes. From those pioneering times of entering a new digital era, Encyclopædia Britannica has become a powerhouse in the digital publishing industry. In the 1980s, Britannica Education was born. Britannica Education is renowned for delivering authoritative, factchecked educational content, which supports learning and teaching across diverse curricula, such as the International Baccalaureate. Our solutions like Britannica School and Britannica Academic are accessed by thousands of learners in schools, colleges and universities from Australia to Canada in over 100 countries. Our high-quality multimedia content, available in many languages, includes editorially reviewed articles, images, original primary sources and non-fiction eBooks. Our user-friendly interactive tools support learners in their quest for knowledge and understanding; helping them turn even the most complex topics into comprehensive and fulfilling learning experiences. In 2024, we were thrilled to learn that Britannica Education secured a place on the ‘EdTech Top 40’ list in the Learner-Focused Solutions category, recognising our solutions as some of the most innovative and widely used digital learning tools and resources in the primary and secondary education markets.
Professional Learning for Educators
Since joining Britannica Education in January 2023, I’ve engaged with passionate educators from across the UK, Europe, and the Middle East about matters relating to media and information literacy education. It was fascinating to have participated in a roundtable discussion, hosted by the International Schools Network, with Michael Johnston, John Mikton, and Melanie Guidera— experienced practitioners in media and information literacy education. In this podcast, we explored strategies to guide and give voice to educators who are seeking to effectively navigate and interpret the complexities of teaching and learning in subjects which necessitate access to digital media and online information.
A recent survey conducted by Britannica Education in partnership with Green Shoots found that while most teachers in the UK recognise the importance of media literacy for protecting children, many schools lack formal policies or strategies to support this essential skill. Despite the widespread agreement on its value, media literacy education is not yet fully integrated into the curriculum, and many teachers feel underprepared to teach it effectively. While there is a strong desire for professional development in this area, a significant portion of teachers have not received any training on how to teach media literacy. This infographic shows some of the highlights from the survey.
After listening to the professional learning needs from our educator community, I researched and authored the ‘Critical Media and Information Literacies’ course, an interactive online training experience offering 5.5 hours of professional development, accredited by The CPD Certification Service. Designed to equip educators with the tools and resources they need to guide their students in navigating the complex interplay between traditional media and social media, the course covers topics such as debunking misinformation, verifying the veracity of online sources, and critically evaluating multimedia content. To complement the course, I created the A-Z Media Manipulation and Information Disorder poster, which provides some common and not-so-common definitions.
By leveraging centuries of knowledge, Britannica Education has become a trusted partner, providing verified and reliable facts essential for critical thinking. Educators and learners can seamlessly crosscheck digital information found in the media (and more recently, knowledge generated by artificial intelligence chatbots) with our encyclopaedic content. Britannica Education’s Professional Learning division aims to deepen educators’ pedagogical responses and strategies to cover complex topics in class, such as the rise of synthetic media, which has been fully or partially generated using artificial intelligence algorithms. These issues are made even more challenging in a “social media maelstrom”, in what can be described as an addictive whirlpool of rapidly spreading and overwhelming comments, shares, and reactions, often entangled with strong opinions, emotions, biases, and controversy. At Britannica, we believe that facts, not fear, create a powerful antidote to societal concerns of truth decay and information disorder.
Britannica Education’s responsibility has never wavered— our compass is to continue to produce and disseminate trustworthy knowledge and to provide robust and impactful education solutions. Our vision for educators and their learners, is to master competencies in media and information literacies to ensure they thrive in a fast-paced and ever-evolving digital universe.
Rhian Webb, Professional Development & Learning Manager, Britannica Education.
