Themes:
Resource Type:
About The Resource
How might social media look if it was designed to prioritise trust, well-being, and responsible innovation?
In the Ethical Innovation Challenge Pack, students are challenged to rethink mainstream social media and develop an entirely new platform that responds to the ethical concerns facing digital communities today.
Working through a real-world industry challenge, students investigate issues such as digital well-being, online safety, advertising ethics, content moderation and platform design before developing their own ethical social media concept. Across five structured challenge activities, students explore how digital platforms operate, identify problems with current models and design innovative solutions that better support users and communities.
To guide their thinking, students are introduced to three user personas, each with different needs, frustrations and digital behaviours. These personas help students design with empathy as they build their platform, develop ethical features, plan monetisation strategies and shape content experiences that encourage positive interaction.
Throughout the pack, students engage with curated stimulus materials including case studies, videos, articles and emerging platform examples that help connect classroom thinking to real-world industry practice. This makes the pack highly effective as both a standalone student resource and a flexible stimulus for broader classroom programs.
Designed for innovation programs, project based learning and future-focused classroom experiences, this pack can be completed independently, explored collaboratively as a class, or used by teachers as the foundation for a larger term-long unit of work. Some schools choose to offer one Industry Innovator Challenge Pack to all students, while others purchase multiple packs to provide students with challenge choice across different industries.
Age Group
High School Students
Learning Time
6-8 hours of working time, depending on delivery model, research depth and pitch development.
Student Output
Students develop a new ethical social media platform and present their concept through a 3-5 minute pitch supported by slides, app concepts, wireframes, or platform visuals.
Delivery Format
1 x 14 page downloadable PDF document. This can be used digitally or printed.
Curriculum Alignment
This resource features strong links with the following curriculum areas:
Find Out More
Browse the tabs below to find out more about this resource:
What's Included
Upon purchasing this challenge pack you will receive a link to download the 14 page workbook as a digital PDF file. You can either complete the pack digitally, or print it and complete it with pen and paper.
The activities in this challenge pack include:
Challenge Introduction: Overview of the ethical innovation challenge
Background Information: Industry context, responsible innovation and digital ethics
Judging Criteria: Clear success criteria for student solutions
User Personas: Three target users with specific needs and frustrations
Challenge 1 – Understanding The Problems: Investigating current social media issues
Challenge 2 – Platform Design: Planning the structure, purpose and experience of the platform
Challenge 3 – Monetisation: Designing ethical business models and revenue strategies
Challenge 4 – Content Creation: Planning platform content and community engagement
Challenge 5 – Ethical Features: Developing new platform features that support user well-being
Stimulus Pages: Curated videos, articles, and case studies for each challenge
Pitch Page: Guidance for preparing a final 3–5 minute presentation
Contact Our Team
If you have any questions about this resource, would like advice on which challenge pack or teaching resource may work best for your students, or need to purchase via invoice, our team would be delighted to assist. Simply complete the form below and a member of the BOP Industries team will be in touch shortly.