For every idea there are thousands of websites vying for your attention, but how can we tell which sites are manipulitive?
The 4 cs of CLIL
Content
Cognition
Cognition
In a CLIL context, learners engage with real content, not simplified or artificial material. In this lesson, the content is drawn from digital literacy: specifically, learning how to assess SSL certificates (which are not all equal), and learning what professional fact checkers do when varifying a website's credibility. Learners expand t
In a CLIL context, learners engage with real content, not simplified or artificial material. In this lesson, the content is drawn from digital literacy: specifically, learning how to assess SSL certificates (which are not all equal), and learning what professional fact checkers do when varifying a website's credibility. Learners expand their vocabulary with key digital terms like “SSL certificate,” “domain authority,” and “fact checker,” applying them in context. Through guided analysis and peer discussion, they practice critical reading and form evidence-based opinions on the reliability of online sources.
Cognition
Cognition
Cognition
This lesson supports the development of both lower and higher-order thinking skills as learners work through a real-world digital challenge. They start by spotting visible features of websites, such as padlock icons and “https”, and gradually move on to evaluating less obvious elements like certificate validity and site ownership. Learner
This lesson supports the development of both lower and higher-order thinking skills as learners work through a real-world digital challenge. They start by spotting visible features of websites, such as padlock icons and “https”, and gradually move on to evaluating less obvious elements like certificate validity and site ownership. Learners are encouraged to ask critical questions such as: Who owns this website? Can I trust this source? What would an expert look for? These steps help them to apply analytical thinking strategies and make informed decisions based on evidence. After creating a nine-step flowchart to show how to verify a website, they use it to explain the process to someone else and which gives them a chance to reflect on their learning and express it clearly in their own words.
Communication
Communication
Communication
Communication is both input and output, it is not simply grammar or vocabulary, but functional and academic language used to interact with content. Learners practiced their communication skills by engaging in a range of collaborative and reflective tasks. At the start, they shared their initial ideas on how to check if a website is relia
Communication is both input and output, it is not simply grammar or vocabulary, but functional and academic language used to interact with content. Learners practiced their communication skills by engaging in a range of collaborative and reflective tasks. At the start, they shared their initial ideas on how to check if a website is reliable, initially saying they would judge it based on how it reads. Through discussion, guided analysis and modelling, they began to compare perspectives, question assumptions and explain their thinking more clearly. As a final task, they taught someone else what they had learned. This not only helped to consolidate their understanding but gave them the opportunity to practise expressing complex ideas with clarity and confidence.
Culture
Communication
Communication
Digital literacy is not just a set of technical skills, in this context it is an essential cultural competence. In this lesson, learners explored how different approaches to evaluating online content exist, and how habits around trust can vary. They acted out an experiment originally done at Stanford University, where university students
Digital literacy is not just a set of technical skills, in this context it is an essential cultural competence. In this lesson, learners explored how different approaches to evaluating online content exist, and how habits around trust can vary. They acted out an experiment originally done at Stanford University, where university students and even professors were tested on their ability to verify websites. Remarkably, the class outperformed the original participants by 100 per cent. This experience helped them reflect on how digital habits are shaped by culture, education and media exposure. By the end of the lesson, instead of relying on surface-level cues, they were using tools like Snopes and bias checkers to critically assess information sources.