Google Vids crowns first education film festival winners

An entry focused on spotting fake news takes top honours as Google highlights growing use of video tools by teachers worldwide.

Google has named Judy Keller and Roddy Peters as the overall winners of the inaugural Google Vids Education Film Festival for their video Detective Game: Spot the Fake News!

In a statement, Google said the award follows its decision last year to make basic access to Google Vids available to all Google Workspace for Education users. Alongside that expansion, the company launched the film festival to showcase how educators are using video to support teaching, training and storytelling in schools.

The festival attracted more than 100 submissions from educators in 20 countries, according to Google. Entries ranged from short explainer videos and professional development materials to classroom-based stories, reflecting the different ways teachers are experimenting with video as part of everyday learning.

The winning entry was created by Judy Keller, a technology training specialist from the Penn Manor School District in Pennsylvania and a Google for Education-Certified Innovator, working with Roddy Peters, a UK-based educator and Google for Education Champion. Together, they produced a video aimed at improving media literacy, a topic that has become increasingly prominent as students encounter information from a wide range of online sources.

For a lay audience, media literacy refers to the ability to critically assess information, particularly online content, and to distinguish reliable reporting from misleading or false material. Detective Game: Spot the Fake News! is designed as an educational tool that encourages learners to question sources, examine evidence and recognise common signs of misinformation, using a game-like format to keep students engaged.

Google positioned the festival as part of a broader effort to support educators with accessible creative tools. Google Vids allows users to create and edit videos within the Google Workspace environment, making it easier for teachers to produce content without specialist video editing software. By opening access to education users, the company said it aimed to lower barriers for schools looking to integrate video into lessons or training.

The range of submissions highlights how those tools are being used in practice. Some educators focused on explaining complex topics in short, visual formats, while others documented classroom projects or shared teaching strategies with colleagues. Google said the diversity of entries reflected both different education systems and different approaches to using video in learning.

In announcing the winners, Google thanked all participants in the festival and congratulated Keller and Peters on their collaboration. The company did not disclose whether the festival will become an annual event, but the inaugural edition suggests a growing emphasis on recognising educator-led innovation rather than top-down content creation.

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The focus on fake news also reflects wider concerns within education systems about preparing students to navigate digital information responsibly. Rather than relying solely on policy or restrictions, initiatives such as this emphasise skills and critical thinking, equipping learners to make informed judgments themselves.

By highlighting the work of individual teachers from different countries, Google is also underscoring the role of educators as content creators in their own right. As video becomes a more common part of teaching, the company appears keen to position Google Vids not just as a productivity tool, but as a platform for sharing ideas and good practice across classrooms worldwide.

The Recap

• Judy Keller and Roddy Peters won the Google Vids festival.
• Festival received more than 100 submissions from 20 different countries.
• The inaugural festival was launched last year alongside Google Vids access expansion.