Practicing Perspective-Taking in a Polarized Media Environment

EdTech Review | MediaEd Insights | AI: Educator Perspectives Edition | June 2026

Written by Catharine Reznicek

In Spring 2025, students in my Media Literacy and Youth Culture course participated in a pilot of BOSILOS (Bust Open the Silos), an interactive learning experience designed to help learners engage with media bias, political polarization, and perspective-taking using artificial intelligence.

As an educator, I already understood that asking students to consider viewpoints different from their own would be challenging. What encouraged me was seeing how effectively the activity surfaced those challenges. Rather than simply discussing polarization as an abstract concept, students had to grapple with it firsthand by crafting responses intended for audiences whose beliefs and values might differ from their own.

The activity asks students to assume the role of a "Designated Opposition" responder. After viewing partisan media content, students compose responses intended to engage an audience that may hold different political beliefs from their own. Along the way, they receive guidance from a virtual adviser and see simulated audience reactions to their comments.

For many students, this was not easy.

In today's media environment, we often spend more time talking about people we disagree with than talking to them. Students are generally comfortable identifying bias in media messages, but many have fewer opportunities to practice communicating across differences. Several students reflected that the most difficult part of the experience was not identifying bias in the content, but trying to understand how someone else might interpret the same message.

That discomfort became a valuable learning opportunity.

As students worked through the simulation, many began reflecting on their own assumptions. Some recognized that they were more critical of perspectives they opposed. Others noted how difficult it can be to write a message that is persuasive rather than dismissive. The experience highlighted an important aspect of media literacy that is sometimes overlooked: understanding audiences.

One feature students frequently discussed was the immediate coaching and feedback built into the activity. While some wanted more detailed guidance, many appreciated the opportunity to revise their thinking in real time. The simulated audience responses also prompted reflection about how messages are received, not just how they are intended.

As educators, we often focus on helping students analyze information. That work remains essential. But experiences like BOSILOS remind us that media literacy also involves empathy, perspective-taking, and an awareness of how communication functions in a diverse society.

At a time when technology is reshaping education, I am less interested in whether a tool uses artificial intelligence and more interested in whether it creates meaningful learning opportunities. What stood out about this pilot was not the technology itself. It was the conversations students had—with the activity, with their classmates, and with themselves—as they wrestled with viewpoints different from their own.

In a polarized media landscape, that may be one of the most valuable skills we can help students develop.