Hello, my name is Miss Willow and I'm going to be guiding you through today's learning.

Today's lesson is called, "Algorithms and Echo Chambers," and it forms parts of our unit called media influence.

How do I decide what is true online? Throughout today's lesson, we're going to be talking a little bit about discrimination, which some people can find upsetting.

So for this lesson, we recommend that you have an adult with you.

If at any point during this lesson, you do become upset or worried, it's really important that you close the screen and that you go and speak to a trusted adult.

Okay, let's make a start on today's learning.

By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain how algorithms and human behaviours influence what we consume online.

Before we get started, there are some ground rules that we need to go over.

These help to make sure that everyone stays safe and comfortable throughout today's lesson.

Laura says that we need to listen to others.

That means we're not going to interrupt other people if they're speaking.

Jacob says we need to not have any judgement , and that means we're not going to judge other people for what they feel, what they think, or what they've experienced.

Andeep says we need to respect each other's privacy, and that means we're not going to ask anyone any personal questions, as this can make some people feel uncomfortable.

And Izzy says that we can choose our level of participation.

That means it's up to us how much we want to join in.

We're now going to go through the keywords for today's lesson.

These are gonna pop up multiple times throughout today's lesson, so it's important that we have a good understanding of what each word means.

Influence.

This is the effect that somebody has on the way a person thinks or behaves.

Content.

This is posts, videos, reels, or articles put online by a content creator.

Algorithm.

This is a set of rules used or created by a computer programme.

Echo chamber.

This is a space where we only hear opinions and beliefs that are similar to our own.

And polarised.

This is when something is split into two very different or opposite opinions.

For example, when people strongly disagree about something.

As we go through today's lesson, keep an eye out for these words as they pop up and see if you can remember what they mean.

Today's lesson is split into three learning cycles.

Our first learning cycle is called, "Who pays For the internet?" Our second learning cycle is called, "Why might I see the same content as my friends?" And finally, our last learning cycle is called, "What is the danger of living in an echo chamber?" Let's make a start on the first learning cycle, who pays for the internet? In most cases, people must pay to have access to the internet.

For example, people pay to have access to the internet at home.

So for example, having wifi.

And people also pay to have access to the internet when they're in public.

So for example, using something like 4G or 5G.

Whilst no one person or organisation owns the internet, many different companies can influence what happens on the internet.

So here, lots of different companies are influencing what happens on the internet.

This is because what will earn companies and individuals money plays a really big role in what content is produced online.

This diagram shows how money is influencing the content that's produced online.

Let's do a check for understanding to see how you're getting on.

True or false? Content online is mostly influenced by one company.

What do you think? Pause the video.

Tell the person next to you.

Tell me or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said false, but why? Content online is mostly influenced by many different companies.

Money plays a large role in what content is produced online.

Well done if you said the same thing.

Money influences how content is created, shared, and viewed online.

Companies can pay people, such as influencers, to create content.

So here, a company is paying Holly, who is an influencer, to promote a product.

And this shows Holly posting an advert online.

She is saying, "I love this new product," because a company has paid her to say it.

It's an advert.

People can also pay for products to be advertised in certain places.

For example, across popular websites and social media platforms. Typically, the more a product is advertised, the more money the company will earn.

People can also pay to boost their views.

This means they can pay to have their content at the top of search pages, which means that more people are likely to watch it.

Here, Aarnav is a gaming YouTuber, and he has paid for his content to be put at the top of search pages.

So when someone searches gaming videos, he is paid for his channel and his videos to be at the top of that search page.

This means that more people are likely to watch it.

Let's do another check for understanding.

What can companies pay for? A, influences to promote their products.

B, to own the internet.

Or C.

adverts on popular websites.

There might be more than one correct answer for this one.

So think carefully.

Pause the video, tell the person next to you, tell me or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said A and C.

Companies can pay for influencers to promote products and they can pay for adverts on popular websites.

Well done if you've got the same answer.

Now let's put your learning from this learning cycle into practise.

Give three examples of how Farah could promote a company's products online.

Farah says, "I want to start advertising my products online.

How can I pay to have more people see my products?" Pause the video and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Okay, let's have a look and see what you might have got.

So you might have said that Farah could pay an influencer to promote her products.

She could put adverts on popular websites and social media platforms, and she could also pay for her adverts to be put at the top of search pages.

Well done if you said the same thing.

We're now going to move on to our second learning cycle.

Why might I see the same content as my friends? Content is suggested to us based on algorithms that guess what we might enjoy.

The algorithms notice when we click on links and watch videos.

When we like content.

So for example, clicking the "like" button, and it notices when we leave comments.

When we engage with content, the algorithm assumes that we will want to see similar content, so it shows us more of it.

So, if you interact with baking content online, you might be shown adverts for baking equipment and other recipes.

This shows how the algorithm is taking note of what you're interested in and showing you similar things.

Let's do another check for understanding.

If we watch a video about gaming, how is this likely to influence the algorithm? A, it will show us videos about sports.

B, it will show us other gaming videos.

Or C, it might show us adverts for games consoles.

What do you think? Pause the video, tell the person next to you.

Tell me or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said B and C.

If we watch a video about gaming, the algorithm might show us other gaming videos and it might also show us adverts for game consoles.

Well done if you've got these answers correct.

We can see the same content as our friends, because algorithms often assume that we will engage with similar content to our friends, so it shows us similar content.

For example, Holly likes football and Aarnav likes art.

If Holly and Aarnav follow each other online, they might see posts relating to what the other is interested in.

So Aarnav might see football related content and Holly might see art related content.

We are often shown the same content as people similar to us, because algorithms can group us based on our characteristics and our interests.

So, here we've got Izzy and Aisha.

The algorithm shows both Izzy and Aisha similar content, because they're both girls who enjoy art.

Because they are both girls, this is a similar characteristic, and because they enjoy art, this is a similar interest.

As a result, the algorithm has grouped them together and might show them similar things online.

The job of algorithms is to increase engagement, which means having lots of people like comment and watch the content.

By showing us the same content as our friends and grouping people based on interests and characteristics, the algorithm increases the number of people who might engage with a particular post or video.

In some cases, this can mean that a company earns more money.

For example, here we've got Izzy and Aisha.

They've been watching videos online about painting.

Izzy decides to buy some new paints from a website.

As a result, the algorithm shows Aisha an advert for this same website.

Aisha decides to buy some paint too, and this means that the company has earned money.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Which of these pupils is correct? Andeep says, "We see similar content to our friends because we go online at the same time." And Alex says that we see similar content to our friends because of algorithms. Which pupil is correct? Pause the video, tell the person next to you.

Tell me or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that Alex is correct.

Andeep is incorrect, because the fact that we see similar content to our friends is not because we go online at the same time.

It's because the algorithm groups us together based on similar interests and similar characteristics.

Well done if you've got this correct.

If we only see the same content as people who are similar to us, we can end up being in an echo chamber.

Here, Jacob says, "I don't like pop music." Everyone around him is saying a similar opinion.

People are saying, "Same here.

I agree.

Me too." People are saying, "Pop music sucks." And, "I hate pop music." The people around Jacob all have the same or similar opinion to him, so he is in an echo chamber.

If we're in an echo chamber, we can start to assume that everyone must think the same way as us, and that our opinion must be correct.

Jacob says, "Everyone around me doesn't like pop music, so it must not be very good.

Maybe no one actually likes pop music at all." In reality, everyone has lots of different opinions online.

Algorithms just tend to show us the opinions that are most similar to ours, because we more likely to engage with them.

Aisha says, "Everyone around me loves pop music, so it must be the best type of music." And Alex says, "Everyone around me loves rap music, so it's obviously better than pop music." Let's do another check for understanding.

True or false? If everyone around us thinks the same way as us, this means that our opinion must be correct.

What do you think? Is this true or false? Pause the video, tell the person next to you.

Tell me or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said false, but why? If we're surrounded by people with the same opinions as us, it is likely that we are in an echo chamber.

It doesn't mean that our opinion is always correct.

Well done if you said the same thing.

Let's put your learning from this learning cycle into practise.

Give two reasons why Andeep and Jun might have seen similar content.

Andeep says, "I've been watching review videos online about a new adventure book." And Jun says that, "I've been searching online for new books to read and I just saw an advert for a new adventure book." Give two reasons why they might have seen similar content.

Pause the video and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Okay, let's have a look and see what you might have got.

You might have said that the algorithm could have grouped them together because they're both boys and because they both enjoy reading.

This means that Jun saw an advert for the new adventure book that Andy watched a video about, so they might have seen similar content because they have the same characteristic.

They're both boys and they both enjoy reading, so they have a shared interest.

Well done if you got this correct.

Final learning cycle, what is the danger of living in an echo chamber? Echo chambers can be dangerous because they create polarised opinions, and this can cause problems in society.

In some cases, polarised opinions are okay.

For example, "I love pop music and it is clearly the best kind of music." Someone else could say, "I hate pop music and it is clearly the worst kind of music." This is the example of a polarised opinion that's okay as it doesn't harm anyone.

However, sometimes polarised opinions can be really dangerous, particularly if they're about particular groups of people.

Problems in society can occur if people have polarising, which means opposite opinions, relating to race and ethnicity, gender, disability, sexuality, Polarised opinions about groups of people can result in people in society not respecting each other or actively harming each other, and this can lead to discrimination where people are treated unfairly or unkindly because of who they are or what they look like.

Let's do another check for understanding.

True or false? Polarised opinions do not cause any problems in society.

What do you think? Pause the video.

Tell the person next to you.

Tell me or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said false, but why? Polarised opinions can be dangerous as they can lead to problems in society caused by disrespect and discrimination.

Well done if you got this right.

By living in an echo chamber, we can become unaware of other opinions and ideas, and this can result in us believing information that isn't true.

Laura says that a study has just been published that says fantasy books are scientifically better than non-fiction.

Sam might say, "That makes sense.

I love fantasy books and I think non-fiction books are rubbish." Here, Laura is saying something that isn't the truth, but Sam believes her because it matches up with what she believes.

Being in an echo chamber also means that you are less able to learn from other people's ideas and opinions.

We can learn a lot from listening to what other people have to say.

Here, Andeep is saying something to Jun and it's helping him to learn something new.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Who is likely to be in an echo chamber? Izzy says, "Everyone around me likes the same things as me.

We all have the same opinion, so I'm probably right." Sam says, "Everyone around me has different opinions and ideas.

I agree with some of them." Who do you think is likely to be in an echo chamber? Izzy or Sam? Pause the video.

Tell the person next to you.

Tell me or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said Izzy, but why? Izzy is likely to be in an echo chamber because everyone around her has the same opinion as her.

Well done if you got this right.

It's healthy to be around people with a mixture of opinions and ideas.

Jacob says, "I like classical music, but I've never listened to this pop artist before." Aisha says, "You should give them a try.

I'll listen to some classical music for the first time too." It is important to remember that even if you see lots of people online with the same opinions as you, it doesn't always mean that most people think the same way you do.

Here, someone says that they think that the Oak football club is the best team in the world, even though everyone that they see online agrees with them.

They're saying, "I agree.

Me too.

Same here." This doesn't necessarily mean that the Oak football club is the best team in the world or that everyone thinks the same way as them.

There are lots of other people who are gonna have different opinions.

The algorithm will try to show you more content that matches your own beliefs as you're more likely to engage with it.

Here, the algorithm has shown someone saying the Oak football team are amazing because it knows that that's an opinion they already agree with.

Therefore, they're more likely to engage with it.

By listening to different voices and making sure that we are not living in an echo chamber, we can also have a better understanding of our own opinions.

We can hear opinions and ideas that are different to our own and make our own decisions about what to believe.

We can also learn about why we have the opinions that we do, not just because everyone else we see has the same opinion.

Let's do another check for understanding.

Do you agree with what Sofia says? Sofia says, "Everyone around me online thinks the same way as me, so most people must have the same opinions as me." What do you think? Pause the video.

Tell the person next to you.

Tell me or have a think to yourself.

Well done if you said that Sofia is incorrect.

If everyone around her thinks the same way as her, she might be in an echo chamber.

Everyone has different thoughts and opinions, but the algorithm shows her people who agree with her as she's more likely to engage with this content.

Well done if you said the same thing.

We're now going to move on to our final practise task.

You are doing a fantastic job so far, so keep it up.

Correct each of the following statements so that they don't contain any mistakes.

"It is good to be in an echo chamber because it means more people think the same way as you." "If you're in an echo chamber, you are more likely to have factual information about your opinion." And finally, "It isn't dangerous to be in an echo chamber as it doesn't affect other people." Correct each of those statements so that they don't contain any mistakes.

Pause the video and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Okay, you might have said, "It is not good to be in an echo chamber because you only see people who agree with you, which won't include different opinions." You might have said, "If you are in an echo chamber, you are more likely to believe something that isn't true." And finally, "Being in an echo chamber is dangerous as it can lead to polarised opinions and issues in society." Well done if you have these answers or maybe you had something similar.

We're now going to summarise the key learning from today's lesson.

You've done a fantastic job.

Money influences how content is created, shared, and viewed, which means money influences a big part of what we see online.

For example, people can pay to advertise their products or boost their views.

Content is suggested to us based on algorithms that guess what we might enjoy based on our characteristics and interests.

Were often shown the same content as people who are similar to us, creating an echo chamber where we only see things that we agree with.

And finally, echo chambers create polarised opinions and can cause problems in society, such as discrimination.

In today's lesson, we've covered some quite tricky topics.

It's really important that if you have any worries or concerns about anything in today's lesson, you speak to a trusted adult so that they can help you.

You can also get support from the organisations on the screen.

They can support you if you need any additional help.

Well done for your fantastic hard work this lesson.

I'm really proud of you and I hope to see you again soon.