Case 3: AI and Media Literacy – From Creation to Critique

Scenario Description

In an undergraduate media studies course, students explore how artificial intelligence (AI) influences media creation and interpretation. The instructor designs a module titled “AI and Media Literacy: From Creation to Critique.” The goal is for students to experience how AI can support creativity while also shaping media ethics, authorship, and credibility.

Across a single class session or a short module, students first examine real AI-generated media examples and then design and generate their own AI-based media artifacts. These outputs become the focus of a guided critique and revision process that reveals biases, rhetorical framing, and ethical dilemmas. By the end, students transform initial AI outputs into improved, transparent, and ethically grounded versions.

The instructor models responsible AI use throughout the activity, helping students understand not just how to create with AI, but how to think critically about what AI creates (Duckett & Westrick, 2025; Imran, 2025).

Learning Objectives

• Apply the Prompt, Role, Explicit, Parameters (PREP) and Evaluate, Determine, Identify, Transform (EDIT) frameworks to create, critique, and revise AI-generated media artifacts.
• Evaluate AI-generated media artifacts for accuracy, bias, and framing, and use human judgment to revise them into an ethical, audience-aligned version.
• Reflect on how human–AI collaboration supports creativity, transparency, and critical media literacy in contemporary media practice.

Teaching Activities and Process

Phase 1 – Guided Exploration and Framing (10 minutes)

• Instructor Action: Present 2–3 short media examples (one human-made, one AI-generated, one mixed). Briefly explain how they were produced and highlight ethical or stylistic differences (Duckett & Westrick, 2025).
• Student Task: In pairs, students discuss:
  • What clues suggest human vs. AI authorship?
  • How might AI’s design affect meaning or tone?
• Transition: The instructor introduces the PREP framework and explains that students will soon create similar media artifacts using AI (Fitzpatrick et al., 2023).

Phase outcome: By the end of this phase, students can describe at least one way AI influences media production and how they might recognize AI involvement in a media text.

Phase 2 – Designing and Generating AI Media (15 minutes)

• Instructor Demo: Show a sample prompt using the PREP framework and explain each element. For example:
  Sample PREP Prompt:
  You are the director of public relations at ____________ film studio. Generate a series of media pitch headlines and a lead paragraph to promote an upcoming premiere red carpet event for the film, ________________. The headline should capture the attention of global entertainment influencers and journalists interested in interviews and reviewing the film. The lead paragraph should be no more than five sentences.
• Student Task (small groups of 3–4):
  • Choose a theme or campaign topic (e.g., promoting a social cause, advertising a film festival).
  • Write a detailed AI prompt using PREP.
  • Generate an initial AI output (text or image).
• Guidance: Encourage students to note what the AI got “right” or “wrong” about their intended message.

Phase outcome: Each group now has an AI-generated media artifact and its associated prompt, materials that will be analyzed in the next phase.

Phase 3 – Critique and Transformation (15 minutes)

1. Instructor Mini Lecture: Introduce the EDIT framework as a method for structured reflection and critique, briefly walking through each step with a simple example (Fitzpatrick et al., 2023).
EDIT framework: Evaluate the content for language, facts, and structure ... Determine accuracy and corroborate sources ... Identify biases and misinformation ... [and] Transform the content to reflect any of your own adjustments (Fitzpatrick et al., 2023, p. 100).
2. Student Task: Using their own generated artifact, students work through EDIT:
   • Evaluate: Examine the artifact’s language, structure, accuracy, and overall credibility. Consider whether the output aligns with the intended message, audience, and professional standards.
   • Determine: Decide which parts of the content require correction by checking facts, verifying claims, and assessing whether any elements misrepresent information or rely on unsupported assumptions.
   • Identify: Identify biases, cultural assumptions, representational issues, or ethical concerns embedded in the AI output. Note where human creativity, contextual knowledge, or ethical reasoning is needed.
   • Transform: Transform the artifact through meaningful human revision. Students rewrite, redesign, or recompose the content, documenting each change and explaining how the revision improves ethical clarity, audience alignment, or creative meaning.
3. Instructor Facilitation: Circulate to prompt discussion with questions such as, “Whose perspective is missing?” and “What assumptions does the AI make about audiences?” (Imran, 2025).

Phase outcome: Groups produce a substantially revised artifact that clearly shows where human judgment improved or redirected the original AI output.

Phase 4 – Reflection and Synthesis (10 minutes)

• Student Task: Each group briefly presents:
  • Their original prompt, AI output, and revised version.
  • A short reflection on what they discovered about AI’s influence on meaning and credibility.
• Instructor Wrap-Up: Summarize key takeaways: AI as collaborator, not author; human oversight as essential for ethical and cultural integrity (Duckett & Westrick, 2025; Imran, 2025).

Final product: By the end of the session, students have a small “case set” (prompt, AI draft, human revision, reflection) demonstrating their understanding of AI creation and critique.

Student Artifacts

• Original Prompt and AI Output (generated using PREP).
• Revised Artifact (improved and annotated using EDIT).
• Reflective Commentary (150–200 words) explaining what ethical or creative insights guided the revision.

Rubric for Evaluating Student Artifacts

Scoring guide: 13–15 = Excellent; 10–12 = Proficient; Below 10 = Needs Improvement.

Guidelines for Faculty

• Scaffold step by step: Treat each phase as a building block; the output from one phase becomes the input for the next. Avoid skipping stages.
• Model your process: Demonstrate one full cycle (prompt → AI output → critique → revision) before students begin.
• Facilitate ethically: Emphasize that AI use must be transparent and that human creativity remains central.
• Support time management: This activity can run in a single 60-minute session or be extended into a multi-day project with deeper analysis.

Guidelines for Students

1. Record your AI use: Always note your exact prompt and the AI tool used.
2. Show your judgment: Revisions should demonstrate your human decisions, not just another AI-generated draft.
3. Examine bias and representation: Look carefully for whose voices are centered or missing and how audiences are framed.
4. Be transparent: Clearly distinguish what was generated by AI and what you changed.
5. Maintain academic integrity: Cite AI contributions and include a brief AI contribution statement.

AI Contribution Statement Template

This template gives students language to describe how they collaborated with AI while keeping their own authorship visible.

APA Reference Template for AI Tools (APA 7)

Use this format to acknowledge AI tools in your reference list following APA 7 guidelines.

References

• Duckett, J., & Westrick, N. M. (2025). Exploring the use, adoption, and ethics of generative artificial intelligence in the public relations and communication professions. Communication Teacher, 39(1), 33–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/17404622.2024.2395312
• Fitzpatrick, D., Fox, A., & Weinstein, B. (2023). The AI classroom: The ultimate guide to artificial intelligence in education. Teachergoals Publishing.
• Imran, M. A. (2025). Comparative analysis of AI integration in media and communication curricula: Case studies from Australia and Egypt. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 80(3), 219–240. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776958251315116