Professional learning · Teachers, Librarians · 50 minutes
Real, Remixed, or Made Up?
A gallery walk through ten mock viral posts (deepfakes, cheapfakes, out-of-context photos, and a few real ones) that teaches teachers to check where media came from instead of squinting for glitches.
Synthetic media gets the headlines, but much misleading media is cheaper: a slowed-down clip, a cropped sign, a real photo with a false caption. And as generators improve, hunting for extra fingers and warped text becomes less reliable. In this gallery walk, pairs visit ten stations of mock media, label each one, and discover that the verification moves that work (who posted it, where's the original, what do others say) are the same whether the media was made by AI or by a video editor. Then they plan how to teach those moves, including the honest answer "can't tell yet."
In this packet
- Handout A: Gallery Station Cards (cut-apart cards)
- Handout B: Gallery Walk Field Notes (organizer)
- Handout C: Bring It to Students (worksheet)
- Facilitator key (last page)
TCEA ELE indicators
- T2.3 I am aware of strategies to help students identify and combat misinformation.
- T2.1 I can teach students to critically evaluate online information.
- AI4.2 I can teach others to question and verify AI outputs.
- S2.2 I can identify trustworthy sources of information on the internet.
Full facilitator guide: mglearn.github.io/eles/activities/real-remixed-or-made-up.html
Handout A for Real, Remixed, or Made Up?
Gallery Station Cards
Post one front per station. Backs are the facilitator key: print them on a separate sheet. All people, places, and accounts are fictional.
Sheet 1 of 2
Station 1 · Video
A 25-second clip shared by @FernwoodTruth: Fernwood's mayor speaks at a town hall, words slurred and slow. Caption: "Is our mayor drunk at a public meeting?!" 40K views.
Station 2 · Photo
A photo of a long line of people outside a building. Caption: "Hundreds lined up for the Harlow County food drive yesterday. The need is real." Shared by a local community page.
Station 3 · Audio
A voicemail that sounds exactly like Brookside High's principal: "Due to a gas leak, school is closed tomorrow. Parents, please call 555-0147 to confirm your child's pickup arrangements." Forwarded by dozens of families.
Station 4 · Photo
A dramatic photo of a hailstone "the size of a basketball" in someone's hand, captioned "Tall Oaks this afternoon!!" Posted by an account created last week with no other posts.
Station 5 · Screenshot
A screenshot of a news headline: "Riverbend ISD to Replace Half of Its Teachers With AI Tutors Next Fall." The logo belongs to the regional newspaper. Shared as an image, with no link.
Station 6 · Photo
A photo of a student robotics team holding a trophy at a state competition, posted by Cedar Bend High School's official account, with the team named in the caption.
Station 7 · Video ad
A polished video ad: "Dr. Lena Park, pediatrician," smiles and says, "As a doctor and a mom, I give my kids FocusBoost gummies every morning for better grades." Sponsored post.
Station 8 · Photo
A photo of a sign on the Oak Street Public Library door: "NO STUDENTS ALLOWED." Caption: "Our library just banned kids. Unbelievable."
Handout A for Real, Remixed, or Made Up?
Gallery Station Cards
Post one front per station. Backs are the facilitator key: print them on a separate sheet. All people, places, and accounts are fictional.
Sheet 2 of 2
Station 9 · Photo
A photo of a vivid double rainbow arching perfectly over a high school football stadium during a game. Caption: "You can't make this up. Go Hawks!"
Station 10 · Video
A shaky video of water rushing over a road, posted 20 minutes ago: "Highway 9 underwater RIGHT NOW. Don't drive!" No other posts or reports yet.
Handout B for Real, Remixed, or Made Up?
Gallery Walk Field Notes
Labels: Authentic · Out of context · Cheapfake · Synthetic · Can't tell yet. Name a move (Who? Where? What do others say?) before you choose a label.
| Station | First impression | Clue that made us pause | Verification move we'd make | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 | ||||
| 5 | ||||
| 6 | ||||
| 7 | ||||
| 8 | ||||
| 9 | ||||
| 10 |
Handout C for Real, Remixed, or Made Up?
Bring It to Students
Plan a 10–15 minute version of this gallery walk for your students.
My students and class. Which labels will I use? (Younger students: Real · Changed · Made up · Not sure yet)
The three stations I'll adapt, and how I'll change them to fit my students' lives and grade level:
What students must write before they choose a label (the verification move):
How I'll celebrate "Not sure yet, don't share" as a smart answer:
Where does AI come in? How will I explain synthetic media without teaching students to distrust everything?
Partner check: "The evidence that shows students used a move, not a guess, is…"
Facilitator only for Real, Remixed, or Made Up?
Answer key and notes
Handout A: Gallery Station Cards
- Station 1 · Video
- Cheapfake. The clip was slowed down, which also lowers the voice. The full-speed original is in the city's archive of recorded meetings. Clue: the audience in the background also moves sluggishly. Move: Where is the original?
- Station 2 · Photo
- Out of context. A reverse image search finds the same photo in a news story about a concert line in another city, published years earlier. The food drive may be real; this photo isn't from it. Move: Where did the image first appear?
- Station 3 · Audio
- Synthetic (AI voice clone). The district's website and official alert system show no closure, and the callback number isn't the school's. Clues: urgency and a request to call an unfamiliar number. Move: What do official channels say?
- Station 4 · Photo
- Synthetic (AI-generated image). No local news, weather reports, or other residents show hail anywhere near that size, and the account has no history. Some textures look too smooth, but the account and missing coverage are the stronger evidence. Moves: Who posted it? What do others say?
- Station 5 · Screenshot
- Cheapfake (edited text). Searching the newspaper's site finds the real article, headlined "Riverbend ISD Pilots AI Tutoring Help in Two Middle Schools." The headline in the screenshot was altered. Move: Where is the original article? Screenshots without links are a warning sign.
- Station 6 · Photo
- Authentic. The school's account has a long history, the local paper covered the result with a different photo of the same team, and the competition's results page lists them. Verification also confirms what's true.
- Station 7 · Video ad
- Synthetic (AI-generated spokesperson). Searching the name with "pediatrician" finds no practice, license, or history outside this ad; the face appears in ads for unrelated products. Move: Who is this person? Also note the persuasion technique: borrowed authority.
- Station 8 · Photo
- Cheapfake (cropped). The uncropped photo, posted on the library's page, reads "No students allowed after 8 p.m. without an adult." Move: Where is the full, original image?
- Station 9 · Photo
- Authentic. Several people in the stands posted photos from different angles within minutes, and a local TV station shared viewer photos. Strange-looking is not the same as fake.
- Station 10 · Video
- Can't tell yet. It might be real and urgent, or an old video recirculating. Responsible move: don't share it as fact; check official road-condition and emergency channels, and wait for confirmation. "Not sure yet" is a verdict, not a failure.