English · Year 10

Active learning ideas

The Rise of Deepfakes and AI-Generated Content

Active learning works for this topic because students need to experience the subtle gaps between reality and AI-generated media. Hands-on detection and creation activities build the critical eye and skepticism required to navigate a world where seeing is no longer believing.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9E10LY04
• AC9E10LA02

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Simulation Game
• 30 min · Pairs

Detection Challenge: Spot the Fake

Provide pairs with six short videos and texts: three real, three AI-generated. Students note visual glitches, voice inconsistencies, and textual oddities on a shared checklist. Pairs then present their top suspect and reasoning to the class for a vote.

Explain the technological processes behind deepfakes and AI-generated text.

Facilitation Tip

During Detection Challenge: Spot the Fake, gradually increase the difficulty of samples to build pattern recognition without overwhelming students.

What to look for

Present students with two news articles on the same topic, one potentially AI-generated and one human-written. Ask: 'What specific linguistic or factual clues did you use to determine which article might be AI-generated? How did your evaluation process differ from reading a standard news report?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Simulation Game
• 45 min · Small Groups

Debate Carousel: Societal Impacts

Divide the class into small groups at stations with prompts on election interference, celebrity scandals, or personal blackmail. Groups prepare arguments for 10 minutes, rotate to respond to others, and refine positions. Conclude with a whole-class synthesis of key risks.

Predict the societal consequences of widespread AI-generated misinformation.

Facilitation Tip

In Debate Carousel: Societal Impacts, assign roles explicitly so students engage with arguments they might personally oppose.

What to look for

Provide students with a short AI-generated text (e.g., a product review, a fictional news snippet). Ask them to list three specific features of the text that suggest it was created by AI and explain why each feature is indicative.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Simulation Game
• 35 min · Small Groups

Checklist Workshop: Verification Strategies

In small groups, students review real-world deepfake cases and brainstorm evaluation criteria like source credibility and reverse image search. Groups test checklists on new samples, revise based on results, and share polished versions via a class padlet.

Design strategies for media consumers to critically evaluate the authenticity of digital content.

Facilitation Tip

In Checklist Workshop: Verification Strategies, model the checklist live on a projector while students follow along with their own copies.

What to look for

Students write down one strategy they will personally use to verify the authenticity of digital content they encounter online. They should also briefly explain why this strategy is important in the context of deepfakes and AI-generated media.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Simulation Game
• 40 min · Individual

Ethical Creation Lab: Simple AI Text

Individuals use free AI tools to generate opinion pieces on a current event. They annotate outputs for unnatural phrasing, then swap with a partner for peer critique. Discuss as a class how edits improve authenticity.

Explain the technological processes behind deepfakes and AI-generated text.

Facilitation Tip

In Ethical Creation Lab: Simple AI Text, circulate to troubleshoot technical hiccups before they derail creative exploration.

What to look for

Present students with two news articles on the same topic, one potentially AI-generated and one human-written. Ask: 'What specific linguistic or factual clues did you use to determine which article might be AI-generated? How did your evaluation process differ from reading a standard news report?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should balance demonstration with trial and error. Show students how to spot mismatches in lighting or audio cues, but then let them practice with fresh examples. Avoid long lectures on AI theory; instead, use short, targeted explanations during activities. Research shows that active practice with immediate feedback helps students internalize detection strategies faster than abstract lessons.

By the end of these activities, students will confidently identify red flags in AI-generated content and articulate its broader societal impacts. They will leave with both practical skills and a nuanced understanding of trust in digital media.

---

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Detection Challenge: Spot the Fake, students assume obvious flaws like unnatural blinking always appear in deepfakes.

  Use the progressive samples in this activity to highlight subtler cues, such as lighting mismatches or inconsistent shadows, to build students' pattern recognition.

• During Ethical Creation Lab: Simple AI Text, students believe AI-generated text lacks creativity and is easy to identify.

  Have students compare AI and human writing samples side by side, then discuss overlaps in style and predictability to reveal deeper linguistic analysis.

• During Debate Carousel: Societal Impacts, students think deepfakes only affect videos, not text-based media like social posts.

  Use the cross-media examples in this activity to connect visual and verbal deception strategies, showing how AI tools generate seamless text for scams or propaganda.

---

Methods used in this brief

• Simulation Game