How to Choose an AI Tool for Media Analysis? A New Publication from FMK UCM Helps You Navigate Digital Tools

This overview, produced by the Faculty of Mass Media Communication at UCM in Trnava, builds on the interactive, thematic online AI catalog for media analysis, which is available on the AI in Schools website. The aim of both the publication and the catalog is not to promote the uncritical use of artificial intelligence in education, but to offer teachers a practical framework for working with digital tools for media content analysis in a safe, meaningful, and methodologically sound manner.

When a list of tools alone isn't enough

“The digital environment in which students navigate today is becoming increasingly complex. Media content no longer takes the form of news articles or commentaries alone, but also includes videos, images, infographics, social media posts, search trends, recommendation algorithms, and outputs from generative artificial intelligence,” explains the author of the publication, Professor Norbert Vrabec from the Department of Media Education at the FMK UCM in Trnava.

“In an environment like this, it’s not enough to simply know that a certain tool exists. Teachers need to know what kind of task it’s suitable for, whether it’s appropriate for students, whether it works with Slovak-language content, whether it’s available for free, and what limitations or security risks need to be considered before using it,” adds Vrabec.

Therefore, both the publication and the online catalog go beyond simply listing tools. They classify them according to function, type of content analyzed, educational use, target audience, difficulty level, availability, language support, safety warnings, and status in the catalog.

Seven Areas of AI-Based Media Analysis

This review distinguishes seven main areas in which AI and digital tools can be used in media analysis:

• analysis of text and media language,
• verification of facts, claims, and sources,
• analysis of disinformation, manipulation, and propaganda,
• analysis of images, videos, and multimodal content,
• summarization, categorization, and mapping of topics,
• monitoring of media, social media, and trends,
• visualization, presentation, and interpretation of media analysis results.

This classification is based on practical situations that teachers may encounter in the classroom. A different type of tool is needed when students compare the language used in two articles—one for verifying a public statement, another for investigating the origin of an image, and yet another for preparing a visual output from a project.

Practical Help for Schools and Teachers

The publication and catalog are intended primarily for teachers at elementary, secondary, and higher education institutions; instructional specialists; school digital coordinators; school administrators; curriculum developers; students; and future teachers. It offers educators support in selecting tools and preparing activities focused on media education, digital literacy, AI literacy, critical thinking, and fact-checking.

The publication also includes recommended starter kits for schools. These help teachers quickly decide which combinations of tools they can use, for example, when verifying images and videos, analyzing text, addressing misinformation, conducting project-based media analysis, or undertaking more advanced academic work.

Special attention is also given to methodological modules for teachers. These modules demonstrate how teachers can work with students to analyze media language, verify claims, recognize manipulative techniques, verify visual content, map arguments, track media trends, and present the results of media analysis.

An AI tool is not proof

Safety, ethical, and methodological principles are an important part of the publication. The text repeatedly emphasizes that the output of an AI tool should not be interpreted as automatic proof or a final decision. The tool can help find a similar image, suggest a summary, highlight repeated words, display a trend, or help organize a large number of sources. However, it cannot decide on its own whether media content is truthful, manipulative, socially significant, or educationally appropriate.

The publication and online catalog therefore emphasize a fundamental methodological principle: AI tools can support media analysis, but they are not meant to replace questioning, verification, interpretation, and critical thinking.

This approach is particularly important in an educational setting. Students should not only learn to “use the tool,” but above all to ask precise questions, work with primary sources, compare results, recognize the limitations of automated analysis, and draw cautious conclusions.

From a Catalog to the Methodical Use of AI

This overview is linked to the AI-powered online catalog for media analysis, which was developed as a practical digital guide for teachers and students. The catalog helps users select tools based on task, availability, complexity, language support, and security restrictions.

This publication expands on this catalog by providing a methodological and analytical framework. It explains why it is necessary to classify tools, how to read the comparison table, how to select a tool based on a specific task, and how to implement similar activities in a school setting.

It thus offers teachers not only a technical overview, but also guidance on when it makes sense to use AI tools in the classroom, what needs to be prepared before class, and how to help students engage with digital content safely and critically.

You can read and download the review study at this link.

The online catalog is available on this page.

This overview and online catalog were created with financial support from the EU’s Next Generation EU program through the Slovak Republic’s Recovery and Resilience Plan as part of Project No. 09103-03 -V04-00370, titled “Strategies to Support Critical Thinking and Digital Literacy in the Context of the Digital Transformation of Education.”