Fake News?

 I hear the term “fake news” often but was surprised by some of the commentary from the Liturgists Podcast surrounding this topic. While I know that I should be analyzing the media I consume, and I have tools to help identify truth from fiction, I can’t say that I actively analyze all information I consume. I tend to read the news, and I am very conscious of what sites I use and which articles I choose to read. However, I get much less analytical when I stumble upon articles scrolling through Facebook. Coffee is good for you? Everyone is moving to tiny houses? School sports are more dangerous now than in the 90’s? I might skim through these articles just to see what people are saying, even if I don’t necessarily give the article my full consideration. But as the podcast points out, just by clicking on an article I am giving it weight. As a school librarian especially, I need to be more aware of the information I choose to consume, remembering to be aware of the “healthy information calorie vs empty information calorie” (The Liturgists, 2017) challenge.

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Some of the resources reminded me of a conversation I had with my 6th grade students last year. They were all astounded by the “rice guy” picture and wanted to find out if it was real or not. Of course this was a great opportunity to teach about credible sources (and Photoshop!). Looking back I wish that I had incorporated the Big6 in the conversation, but we had a rich conversation about how they were using their school devices, what sources were credible, how to recognize potential false information and how to verify facts. Information is thrown at students constantly and most of them are seeking a way to sort through it all.

My school is shifting to virtual next week, and that is bringing up a new level of information-related concerns. I was excited to find some resources to teach digital citizenship in a way that can resonate with my students who are now learning virtually for a time. While I will not be able to address all concerns in one week, I hope to help my students specifically in learning to “manage the flow of information from a wide variety of sources” (P21 Framework Definitions, p. 5). As our world is currently inundated with information (both true and false) about COVID-19 and other topics, I think this is a perfect opportunity for students to learn and practice digital responsibility. With more and more students having individual devices that they can use regularly, teachers in schools need to stay proactive to make sure that students know how to navigate the things they will face on their devices.