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Unmasking Deception: Understanding and Identifying Deepfakes

Elementary, Middle

Description

This lesson responds to the growing and increasing sophistication of AI-generated content, which makes it difficult to discern between ‘real/authentic’ or ‘manipulated’ content. This lesson equips students with the critical thinking skills necessary to identify deepfakes and other forms of synthetic online content, while also evaluating their purpose, credibility, and accuracy.

Students will:

  • gain an understanding of what deepfakes are
  • develop skills to identify and assess deepfakes and synthetic content online
  • apply a diagnostic tool to evaluate online sources of information and strengthen critical thinking

Activities include:

Shockwaves: this activity provides students with the opportunity to interact with three different pieces of text – one that depicts misinformation, another that depicts disinformation, and a deepfake example paired with a caption. Through students’ analysis of the pieces, they ask critical questions about the intentions, intended audience, and potential impacts of the texts they read.

A Picture’s Impact: this activity is designed to have students reflect on the impact of imagery on a piece of text. Students search for credible information, create two flyers, and reflect on the key messaging of their flyers. This activity encourages students to think critically about the power of images, especially when they come across different types of media in the future.

As a culminating activity, students complete a 3-2-1 exit card sharing three things they learned, two questions they still have and one tip they would share with a friend

General Assessment

What skills does this resource explicitly teach?

  • critical thinking skills necessary for identifying deepfakes and synthetic online content; and assessing their purpose, credibility, and accuracy
  • gather, evaluate, and use information effectively and understand how to recognize
    deepfakes, misinformation, and disinformation

Strengths

  • The lesson explores a current issue that is particularly relevant to students’ live
  • Lesson is age appropriate and easy to use
  • Excellent background information and assessment strategies for teachers
  • Important skills to learn due to the increasing AI-generated content
  • Extension activites provided to enhance the learning

Relevant Curriculum Units

The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.

Themes Addressed

Citizenship (1)

  • Media

Economics (1)

  • Corporate Social Responsibility

Sustainability Education Principles

Principle Rating Explanation
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives Good

These activities help students learn to identify deepfakes and other forms of synthetic content online as well as recognize misinformation. They analyse examples provided in class to determine the intent, target audience, and potential impacts of mis-anddisinformation.

Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
  • Satisfactory: absence of bias towards any one point of view
  • Good: students consider different points of view regarding issues, problems discussed
  • Very good: based on the consideration of different views, students form opinions and  take an informed position
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions Poor/Not considered

This lesson does not explore how social, environmental, and economic factors interact with one another. However, it supports students understanding by incorporating examples and activities that prompt students to critically analyze how issues are presented on social media. Teachers can adapt the lesson by selecting or replacing the deepfake image provided in the activity with one that reflects current to relevant issues (e.g. social justice).

Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions:

Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.

  • Satisfactory: resource supports the examination of  these dimensions
  • Good:  resource explicitly examines the interplay of these dimensions
  • Very Good:  a systems-thinking approach is encouraged to examine these three dimensions
Respects Complexity Very Good

This lesson equips students with the critical thinking skills necessary to identify deepfakes and other forms of synthetic online content, while also evaluating their purpose, credibility, and accuracy.

Respects Complexity:

The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected.

Acting on Learning Good

Students will create two flyers to communicate a key message, one using text only and another paired with an image. This activity supports their ability to research information using credible sources and to evaluate the reliability of what they find. 

Acting on Learning:

Learning moves from understanding  issues  to working towards positive change — in personal lifestyle, in school, in the community,  or for the planet

  • Satisfactory: action opportunities are included as extensions 
  • Good: action opportunities are core components of the resource
  • Very Good: action opportunities for students are well supported and intended to result in observable, positive change
Values Education Very Good

Students are given the opportunities to discuss the deepfake examples and demonstrate their understanding of the issues.

Values Education:

Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values.

Empathy & Respect for Humans Poor/Not considered

Not considered in this resource.

Empathy & Respect for Humans: Empathy and respect are fostered for diverse groups of humans (including different genders, ethnic groups, sexual preferences, etc.).
Personal Affinity with Earth Poor/Not considered

Not considered in this lesson plan.

Personal Affinity with Earth:

Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.  

  • Satisfactory: connection is made to the natural world
  • Good: fosters appreciation/concern for the natural world
  • Very Good: fosters stewardship though practical and respectful experiences out-of-doors 
Locally-Focused Learning Very Good

Social media and online content is an integral part of student's daily lives. As students critically examine the online sources they regularly engage with, they begin to recognize the value of developing skills to assess credibility, identify misinformation, and navigate digital content more thoroughly.

Locally-Focused Learning:

Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community. 

  • Satisfactory: learning is made relevant to the lives of the learners
  • Good: learning is made relevant and has a local focus
  • Very Good: learning is made relevant, local and takes place ‘outside’ , in the community 
Past, Present & Future Good

The background information for teachers explains how false content has evolved and why it is an increasingly significant problem.

Past, Present & Future: Promotes an understanding of the past, a sense of the present, and a positive vision for the future.

Pedagogical Approaches

Principle Rating Explanation
Open-Ended Instruction Very Good

The lessons are very open-ended, students develop and apply criteria for evaluating deepfakes, mis-information, and their sources. They create their own content to demonstrate their learning.

Open-Ended Instruction :

Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer.

Integrated Learning Good
  • Language arts
  • Digital Media Literacy
  • Technology
Integrated Learning:

Learning brings together content and skills  from more than one  subject area

  • Satisfactory: content from a number of different  subject areas is readily identifiable
  • Good:  resource is appropriate for use in more than one subject area
  • Very Good:  the lines between subjects are blurred 
Inquiry Learning Good

Students explore examples of deepfakes and online content, asking questions about their purpose and reliability. They examine how the content is made, gather information from different sources, and reflect on its impact. 

Inquiry Learning:

Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.   

  • Satisfactory: Students are provided with questions/problems to solve and some direction on how to arrive at solutions.
  • Good: students, assisted by the teacher clarify the question(s) to ask and the process to follow to arrive at solutions.  Sometimes referred to as Guided Inquiry
  • Very Good:  students generate the questions and assume much of the responsibility for how to solve them.  . Sometimes referred to as self-directed learning.

 

Differentiated Instruction Very Good

The resource includes a Guidance on Inclusion section that outlines differentiated instruction strategies for each activity in the lesson plan. It also suggests accommodations, supports and modifications for students with an IEP.

Differentiated Instruction:

Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.

  • Satisfactory:  includes a variety of instructional approaches
  • Good: addresses  the needs of visual, auditory &  kinesthetic learners
  • Very Good: also includes strategies for learners with difficulties
Experiential Learning Good

Students will practice applying a diagnostic tool to assess online sources of information, which will help them develop the critical thinking skills necessary for identifying deepfakes and synthetic online content; and assessing their purpose, credibility, and accuracy. Students have the chance to independently reflect on content they read, and/or create their own content to apply the learnings from the content portion of the lesson.

Experiential Learning:

Authentic learning experiences are provided

  • Satisfactory: learning takes place through ‘hands-on’ experience or simulation
  • Good: learning involves direct experience in a ‘real world context’
  • Very good: learning involves ‘real world experiences’ taking place’ beyond the school walls.
Cooperative Learning Satisfactory

Students work in groups for certain activities.

Cooperative Learning:

Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.

  • Satisfactory:  students work in groups
  • Good: cooperative learning skills are explicitly taught and practiced
  • Very Good: cooperative learning skills are explicitly taught, practiced and assessed
Assessment & Evaluation Very Good

The resource includes Assessment for Learning suggestions for each activity. It incorporates both oral and written assessment methods and provides detailed rubrics to support evaluation.

Assessment & Evaluation: Tools are provided that help students and teachers to capture formative and summative information about students' learning and performance. These tools may include reflection questions, checklists, rubrics, etc.
Peer Teaching Satisfactory

Students create two flyers to convey a key message. They share their flyers with the class.

Peer Teaching:

Provides opportunities for students to actively present their knowledge and skills to peers and/or act as teachers and mentors.

  • Satisfactory: incidental teaching that arises from cooperative learning, presentations, etc.
  • Good or Very Good: an opportunity is intentionally created to empower students to teach other students/community members. The audience is somehow reliant on the students' teaching (students are not simply ‘presenting')
Case Studies Satisfactory

The background information for teachers provides some links to real events/information about deepfakes and synthetic media.

Case Studies:

Relevant case studies are included.  Case studies are thorough descriptions of real events from real situations that students use to explore  concepts in an authentic context.

Locus of Control Good

Students have the opportunity to search for credible information, create two flyers, and
reflect on the key messaging of their flyers.

Locus of Control: Meaningful opportunities are provided for students to choose elements of program content, the medium in which they wish to work, and/or to go deeper into a chosen issue.

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