How ClickView Supports ACARA’s “Media Consumers and Creators”

In today’s media‑rich world, young people navigate a constant stream of content where entertainment, advertising, and personal influence increasingly overlap. Influencers, creators, and sponsored posts are woven seamlessly into social feeds, often without clear signals about what is promotional and what is not. This blending makes it harder for students to recognise persuasion, bias, and commercial intent.

That’s why media literacy has never been more essential. Beyond simply consuming media, students need the skills to question, analyse, create, and communicate responsibly in digital spaces. They must understand how narratives are shaped, how information is framed, and how their attention is targeted.

For schools, this places increasing responsibility on curriculum and classroom practice to build these capabilities intentionally.

Australian classrooms are evolving alongside this media landscape, with students positioned as both consumers and creators of content. ACARA’s Curriculum Connection: Media Consumers and Creators reflects this shift, spanning Media Arts, English, and Digital Technologies from Foundation to Year 10. It focuses on four key aspects:

• Understand and Analyse
• Create
• Communicate and Share
• Be Critical and Ethical

ClickView supports teachers to embed these aspects into everyday learning through curriculum‑aligned videos and resources. Here’s how.

1. Understand and analyse media

Support students to decode how media messages are constructed, who creates them, and how audiences are positioned.

Primary: Media Literacy Topic

ClickView’s Media Literacy Topic introduces essential skills for navigating today’s digital world. It helps young learners understand media messages, evaluate credibility, and develop respectful online behaviours. The videos are age‑appropriate, interactive, and aligned with English, Media Arts, and Digital Technologies outcomes.

Key themes include:

• What is media literacy and why it matters
• Understanding media and technology
• Evaluating information online
• Respect and responsibility online

Why it’s valuable

With videos, interactives, and supplementary teaching resources, this topic builds strong foundations for:

• Safe online engagement
• Critical evaluation of media messages
• Ethical participation in digital communities

Teachers benefit from ready‑to‑use videos and resources that directly support ACARA’s focus on media literacy and digital citizenship.

Secondary: Fake News Topic

ClickView’s Fake News Topic introduces students to what fake news is, why it spreads, and how to critically evaluate information online. It builds essential skills for informed and responsible participation in digital spaces.

Key themes include:

• What is fake news?
• Why do we fall for fake news?
• How is fake news created?
• What are the dangers of fake news?
• How can we protect ourselves?

Why it’s valuable

Through videos, interactives, and supplementary resources, this topic equips secondary students with:

• Skills to critically evaluate online content
• Strategies to avoid misinformation
• Confidence to engage ethically in digital environments

2. Create media content

Empower students to plan, produce, and edit original media that communicates purposeful messages.

Primary Topics

ClickView supports early media creation through topics that introduce creative and technical skills, including:

• Film Making
• Animation
• The Design Process
• Coding and Programming

Secondary Topics

At secondary level, students deepen their media creation skills through topics such as:

• Technical Media Skills
• Video and Film Production
• Cinema Sound
• Foley and Sound Design
• Introduction to Coding and Python
• Using a Camera
• Hardware and Software

These resources support students to move from idea to execution while building confidence as creators.

3. Communicate & share media content

Provide students with meaningful opportunities to publish media for real audiences, making intentional choices about purpose, format, and platform. This supports Media Arts, English, and Digital Technologies outcomes by developing students’ ability to present ideas clearly, engage audiences effectively, and select appropriate modes, media forms, and digital platforms.

Through authentic publishing experiences, students learn that communication is shaped by context and that media choices influence how messages are interpreted, shared, and trusted.
Students develop skills in:

• Considering audience needs, values, and expectations
• Refining messages for clarity, impact, and accuracy
• Selecting platforms and formats suited to purpose
• Reflecting on how media circulates and influences others

Classroom ideas

1. Run a school newsroom

Students work in teams to plan, produce, and publish a short news segment for a defined audience.

What students do:

• Pitch story ideas and justify their relevance
• Take on roles such as journalist, editor, presenter, or producer
• Produce and publish a 90‑second segment using ClickView playlists

Why it works:

• Builds real‑world communication and collaboration skills
• Reinforces audience awareness and ethical publishing
• Encourages reflection on how media informs, persuades, or influences
• Connects classroom learning to contemporary media practice

2. Student‑run news bulletin

Students create a short news bulletin tailored to a specific school audience (e.g. Year 7 students, parents, or the wider community).

What students do:

• Pitch story ideas with clear audience relevance
• Assign production roles (producer, presenter, editor, fact‑checker)
• Produce a 60–90 second bulletin using video, audio, or mixed media
• Publish internally via ClickView playlists and ClickView Classroom

Why it works:

• Develops clarity of message and purposeful communication
• Strengthens teamwork and role‑based collaboration
• Builds understanding of accuracy, balance, and credibility
• Encourages responsible internal publishing

3. Platform remix challenge

Students adapt the same message for different platforms to explore how audience and context shape communication.

What students do:

• Create one core message (e.g. a climate issue, school event, or media review)
• Repurpose it as:
  • A short news clip
  • A social media post
  • A formal announcement or explainer
• Reflect on how tone, visuals, and structure change across platforms

Why it works:

• Builds understanding of platform conventions
• Develops audience targeting and purposeful media choices
• Encourages critical reflection on framing
• Highlights the relationship between form, purpose, and meaning

4. Youth voice explainer series

Students create short explainer videos designed for a younger or peer audience.

What students do:

• Identify a topic relevant to young people (e.g. misinformation, online safety, media bias)
• Script and storyboard an explainer
• Produce and publish the video
• Peer‑review using agreed success criteria

Why it works:

• Strengthens clear and accessible communication
• Develops skills in simplifying complex ideas
• Encourages ethical responsibility and accuracy
• Builds confidence through peer feedback

5. Ethical media publishing task

Students publish media while working within explicit ethical constraints.

What students do:

• Create a media product (video, podcast, or digital article)
• Apply ethical requirements such as:
  • Consent and attribution
  • Balanced representation
  • Accuracy and fact‑checking
• Write a reflection explaining the ethical choices made

Why it works:

• Builds ethical reasoning and accountability
• Reinforces responsible publishing habits
• Encourages reflection on media impact
• Strongly aligns with critical and ethical curriculum outcomes

6. Media response studio

Students respond creatively to real‑world media texts.

What students do:

• Analyse a current media text (news clip, documentary segment, or advertisement)
• Create a response such as:
  • A rebuttal
  • A parody with commentary
  • An alternative framing for a different audience
• Share and justify choices with the class

Why it works:

• Develops critical engagement with media texts
• Strengthens persuasive communication skills
• Deepens understanding of representation and bias
• Encourages justification of creative and editorial choices

4. Be critical and ethical

Embed habits of ethical creation and responsible consumption, including consent, attribution, accuracy, representation, and platform safety.

Supporting resources include:

• The Digital Literacy Series: Fake News
• The Social Media Trap
• Crash Course: Media Literacy
• Crash Course: Navigating Digital Information

These titles prompt rich discussion about ethics, influence, and responsibility in digital spaces.

Wrap‑up

By combining ACARA’s Media Consumers and Creators framework with ClickView’s curriculum‑aligned resources, teachers can design rich learning experiences where students analyse, create, share, and reflect. The result is media-literate, ethical communicators equipped to navigate today’s digital world from Foundation to Year 10 and beyond.

Ready to prepare your school for media literacy? Reach out to our friendly ClickView team to see how we can help you.