Demo Day finally arrived, where we presented our favourite project, cyberchecker, and were actually chosen as one of the three winning projects. This means that we will receive a grant of 15,000 euros, which we can invest specifically in the further development of our project.
Start of the journey
It feels like just yesterday when we presented our idea to the Future Wings Challenge applied. Our journey and the four-month intensive programme began with the news that we had been accepted into the funding programme. We had the privilege of taking part in informative workshops with experts from various sectors. We also had a dedicated mentor at our side during this time, who supported us with valuable tips and advice.
During the programme, we worked hard to get from the idea to the actual product. In the beginning, we weren't sure how we could reach the children and who exactly our target groups should be. But after numerous workshops, intensive work and careful consideration, we were certain: we don't want to exclude anyone, because social media affects us all! Our clear goal is therefore to create awareness of social media throughout society. To show people, but especially children, how to use social media in a healthy way and to guide them through this world.
The solution - cyberchecker
Our approach is to offer a customised solution for each target group. Our First tool are interactive workshops that teachers and other multipliers can integrate directly and independently of us into their lessons with little effort. These workshops are closely linked to the curriculum and the children's prior knowledge. We use a flexible modular system in which the individual contents are separated from each other and can therefore be adapted to the needs of each individual classroom. This enables differentiation and a variety of methods. The successful implementation of our workshop by seven teachers and 152 pupils aged 10-14 in schools in Vorarlberg and Vienna, independently of us, confirms the multiplication capability of our approach.
In order to better understand the needs and interests of children, we conducted a survey with over 200 pupils in Vienna, Vorarlberg and Tyrol. Based on the results, we have developed our first topic, "Social media and the brain - why am I so addicted to TikTok?"The project was developed and piloted as part of the Future Wings Challenge.
Our Second tool is our website, which serves as a central point of contact. Teachers can download the so-called workshops on various topics here free of charge. Parents are supported with information on current topics and trends and have access to our multilingual guide. It is particularly important to us that nobody is excluded and that everyone can benefit from cyberchecker. In view of our own multicultural backgrounds, we have set ourselves the goal of translating the contents of the guide into at least seven languages. We have already translated the first topic of the guide into English, BKS and French, with other languages still in progress.
As third tool we offer low-threshold support on social media. There, children not only receive content for the workshops, but also further tips for a healthy approach to the online world. This enables us to reach those children who are not at the target schools.
The profit
With the We will invest the funding we receive in the production of videos to create cool, colourful and exciting content for our workshops. We will also continue to develop our website so that it is easy to use and is always updated with the latest articles. We are also planning to work closely with experts for our nine additional workshops to ensure that our content is scientifically sound. And finally, we would like to further expand our multilingual parent guide.
We say thank you
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our fellow human beings. Many thanks to our friends, acquaintances and family who have supported us and believed in us during this exciting time. We are also deeply grateful to the students and teachers who gave us valuable feedback and tested our first workshop "Social Media and my brain - Why am I so addicted to TikTok?". Special thanks go to our mentor, who supported us with his incredibly valuable tips during this time.
Last but not least, we would like to thank the Future Wings Challenge. Thanks to this incredible opportunity and the financial support, we can continue to pursue our project and reach even more people. We are thrilled with what we have achieved so far and are looking forward to it, together to make the online world safer and more positive! Be a cyberchecker too!