InstaClone is a lifelike social media educational tool designed to promote data and algorithmic literacy in secondary schools. It allows students to “look behind the curtain” and gain a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms of social media.
Target group
Secondary students 14 years and older and their teachers.
Vision
InstaClone aims to empower young people to be a positive force for a better and healthier online public discourse, transforming them from mere users of social media platforms to active shapers of the future.
Mission
Our mission is to provide secondary schools with a comprehensive curriculum intervention tool, accompanied by K-12 classroom materials, that enhances social media education. We strive to foster students’ data and algorithmic literacy through a deep understanding of black box algorithms and the possibility to analyze typically inaccessible data.
Project Outline
InstaClone is a web-based environment replicating the functionality and visual appearance of Instagram, offering full control for educational and scientific purposes. It aligns seamlessly with secondary school education and is designed based on a pedagogical research framework of learning and teaching. With its user-friendly interface, InstaClone is freely available to teachers and can be used by anyone without IT experience. Students can engage with the tool in a similar way to Instagram but also use built-in dashboards and analytics features to explore the dynamics of social media.
Funding
HfP Think Tank, Re-Boot Social Media Lab
Principle Investigators
Prof. Dr. Doris Holzberger, Prof. Dr. Tilman Michaeli, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Pfeffer
Contact
Website
For teachers who are interested in using the environment in their classroom, please inform yourself here.
