Pixel International Conferences

According to German surveys conducted in 2014 almost all (98%) 10 to 15 year-olds have access to smart phones or digital cameras. Motivated by the availability of mobile devices and Internet connectivity, online Social Network Services (SNS) and cloud services, more and more of the photos they take are published online. The enabling means have become an integral part of the “digital natives”’ lives. Their natural media use, though, is opposed to a lack of awareness for possibilities and impacts of image processing, online data exploitation, for potential risks and their responsibility when dealing with photos online.

In this work we propose a novel interdisciplinary media education approach for children and adolescents from age 10+ using image analysis and new technologies. Its main objectives are to improve their media literacy, to raise awareness for possibilities, risks and consequences and to encourage them in dealing responsibly with their pictures online using the means of a joint project bringing together pupils, teachers and scientists of different disciplines. In different workshops, focus groups and excursions, the pupils dive into topics related to New Technologies, Social Media, Youth Research, legal aspects and scientific work within the context of online personal images and their analysis. They are confronted with their online “naked” self, using “the Profiler” - an application, which retrieves their online available pictures, analyzes them using state of the art image processing algorithms and finally aggregates the information to create profiles of themselves.

Furthermore, we present results from this ongoing joint work, such as key findings of the sociological research, an overview of “The Profiler” and lessons learned so far from the innovative teaching and learning methodology.