In a move to empower school children, the Kerala General Education Department has added 'Fact-Checking' modules as part of new ICT textbooks for Classes 5 and 7, designed to help students recognize fake news and perform fact-checking on online platforms.
The move by the Kerala government was implement even ahead of UK which reportedly is planning to revise their primary curriculum by including this topic.
Earlier in 2022, Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), the technology arm of Kerala General Education Department, had imparted Fake News prevention and awareness creation training for 19.72 lakh students of Grades 5 to 10, as part of the Digital Media Literacy programme.
It was the first time in India that such a massive training was given to 9.48 lakh upper primary students and 10.24 High school students with the help of 5920 trainers. The 2.5 hours of training which was titled 'Satyameve Jayathe' focused on four sections which included the 'Use of the Internet in day-to-day life', 'Social Media requires us', 'Rights and Wrongs in Social Media' and how to prevent the spread of fake news.
The false information shared through digital media, the negative impact it creates on society and the verification of the authenticity of information were made part of the training through various 'Case Studies'.
The training also focused on areas such as understanding the influence of digital media in information transactions, creating an urge towards knowing non-factual interference in digital media and how to react to them constructively, acquiring technical knowledge in understanding the truth behind transacted messages, developing skills to identify and react to glitches in information transaction through media literacy. It also includes specific areas such as the meaning and definition of Misinformation and Dis-Information and their impact on society, non-factual and misinterpreting information shared through digital media, the social impact of facts presented in an emotional language, authenticity of information etc.
"The new ICT textbook includes chapters that equip students to identify fake news and malicious content, embodying the spirit of Satyameva Jayate", said K.AnvarSadath, CEO, of KITE. Next year, when the ICT textbooks for Classes 6, 8, and 9, and 10 are revised, they will incorporate the latest developments in this field.
Not only does it teach students to identify fake news and verify its authenticity, but the chapter titled 'Let's Search the Internet' in the Class 5 ICT textbook also covers how to effectively manage screen time.
Similarly, the Class 7 ICT textbook chapter titled 'Let's Search and Find' elaborates on the importance of verifying the authenticity of information and explains why spreading or sharing false information is a crime.
Further, the ICT textbook also includes information about the precautions to be taken before sharing information with others, the need to educate those who provide such information about its potential consequences, and the concept of copyright.
In the new (same) ICT textbook for Class 7, for the first time in the country, 4 lakh students have been given the opportunity to learn Artificial Intelligence (AI). Textbooks in Malayalam, English, Kannada and Tamil media are available at www.samagra.kite.kerala.gov.in.
