Fight the Fake

"<< Background >>The global pandemic that we experienced over the last 3 years has highlighted several problems:- social networks have relayed a multitude of false information: ""fake news"". Their impact on people's minds has sometimes been deleterious, often leading to a questioning of proven scientific facts and a suspicion of manipulation of public opinion.Participating schools aimed to create awareness among students about false information and teach them how to recognise and cope with fake information in their daily lifes.The myth of the ""digital natives"", portraying young people are naturally skilled in digital technology, has been debunked. While teenagers excel in social media usage, they struggle with basic software like word processing or publishing tools.While working together in an eTwinning project on fake news, we wanted to make the learning more interactive and real by visiting a partner. While discovering eachothers culture, it was easier to exchange the knowledge we already had and to work on our final products: a magazine, a song and a podcast.By visiting each others schools, teachers got a better view on the way their colleagues work in another European country.<< Objectives >>We wanted to create awareness and foster a critical view and way of thinking among our students regarding the news and information they continuously receive on the internet.We wanted to encourage the practice of various digital tools, some of which are already known but may be little mastered or not mastered enough, as well as introduce completely new tools.We wanted to enable young people to engage in virtual and physical exchanges within their class group and with international groups, allowing them to reconnect with the ""collective"" and real-life situations.We wanted to produce a medium that can be easily accessed online and re-used by all types of audiences, both internal and external to the school.We wanted to develope our students' English skills by visiting each other and having English as a common language.<< Implementation >> •We engaged in a physical exchange with one partner.•Visited an exhibition on fake news in Toulouse.•Explored a hands-on museum in Amsterdam and Madrid (Museum Reina Sofia).•Participated in workshops with professionals and associations: Instant science, Maldita, Acti City (focused on fake news), make-up artists, music school teachers (for the fake news song), and youth workers (for the podcast).•Students created their own fake news in the game ""Bad News"" and an online quiz.•Engaged in debates on propositions about fake news.•Created a fake joke to be executed in their school on April 1st.•Organized activities to promote social interaction, social skills development, and cultural discovery: city visits (Madrid, Monza, Milan, Carcassonne, Hengelo, Amsterdam), dinners, and games.•Visited museums to explore the topic of fake news in other fields.•Participated in a drama workshop at La Fabrique des arts, focusing on scenes inspired by Orwell's 1984 (dystopian theme).•Engaged in a visual arts workshop to create visual boards related to the theme ""fight the fake.""•Developed awareness of European citizenship through the Europe Direct association.•Visited the Spanish Senate.•Collaboratively created a magazine.<< Results >>Concrete outputs:- the Spanish and French students collaborated to create a song about fake news.- They recorded the scenes they played during the drama workshop on George Orwell's ""1984"". The video was uploaded to the Twinspace.- They also designed visual boards illustrating the theme of disinformation. These boards were used in the eMagazine, uploaded tn the Twinspace and displayed in the French school.- The Dutch and Italian students produced a podcast on fake news- Together, we created a magazine about the project, which will be available for consultation and learning purposes in the years to come.Other achievements:- both students and teachers gained a deeper understanding of each other's cultures and ways of life through their visits to each other's countries.- Students improved their English proficiency, even in the context of debates.- Teachers established new partnerships and are already planning future projects.- digital skills have been improved by both students and teachers."