Pic from U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
Generally speaking, an educator could probably get fairly deep into and have discussions about mis- and disinformation with high school kids once everyone is caught up to speed on the basics of them and the internet. Some students will likely know about some of the tools that people use to create mis- and disinformation (if they are as chronically online as I was at that age). However, they still may not know how prevalent of an issue it is, what would even qualify as mis- and disinformation, or know any strategies to detect it. Activities and exercises such as the one we did in the previous class are things that I could use to show students how prevalent mis- and disinformation is as well as how hard it has become to detect. This lesson plan from Lowdown references much of what we did in that class and gives a rough framework for what steps I would take when it comes to teaching about digital literacy. It might be a good reference point to create age-appropriate adaptations from as well.
Pic from Jean-Marc Vittori.
Within the Grade 9-11 English curriculums, you certainly can make arguments in favour of including digital literacy (or sneaking it in in some way) into the lessons or a unit. If English class is supposed to be all about literacy, students should have opportunities to become literate in different forms of technology as well as on the internet. The internet (and digital technology) is such a big part of our lives, as I discussed in a previous blog post, and reading, writing, and communicating on the internet is very different than writing a short story or answering some comprehension questions. Hence, we need time and specific lessons dedicated to practicing and learning digital literacy.
There are several indicators that you can point to in each curriculum I mentioned, less so in Grade 9, that I would use to back up lessons about digital literacy. For instance, I would argue that the first CR indicator for all senior grades (the one referencing idenitiy, social responsibility, and social agency) encompass the intent and aim of teaching digital literacy. A more specific curriculum example I can give involves the Grade 11 curriculum’s second suggested unit. The “Moving Forward” or “Growing to Adulthood” unit is certainly where digital literacy and mis- and disinformation can be learned about and examined. If our students are going to become socially responsible and critically thinking adults online, they need to “grow into adulthood” with a good level of digital literacy. The digital world will be part of and will impact their future lives, so they need to know how to navigate it.
Graphic from artvea / DigitalVision Vectors / Getty Images.
Regardless of what grade you are beginning to teach digital literacy to, there are a few things that need to be addressed before you get into Lowdown’s Lesson Plan. Like I said at the beginning of this post, some students will have some knowledge of what is fake and what is not but others will be completely lost. Students need to be taught, or review, what “Fake News” (mis- and disinformation) is and what it can look like. You can use this Dynamic Landscapes site to look at the types of mis- and disinformation as well as the reasons why someone might create, post, share, or re-post mis- and disinformation. It might be a bit much for students to grasp at first, but I believe it gives good definitions that students can look back on. After this, I believe it is best to go over why people may fall for fake news, especially because students will likely have some questions about it. Also, it is important to go over the biases that each of us may hold that will possibly influence us to not look deeper into a source. TRU Library’s page details all of this with YouTube links on those topics embedded right in the page!
Pic from APass.
In terms of the NCTE framework, what I have mentioned here covers a couple of the main points. This would include the points about examining and creating information and amplifying or countering narratives. However, I believe that what I have outlined here would lay the foundations for the points that involve more critical thinking practices, participating responsibly in internet communities, and culturally responsive interactions with others online. There is so much that can, and needs to, be taught to our students about digital literacy.
I loved your point about working digital literacy into the curriculum. Technology has come so far, it is crucial that we start teaching children as young as possible about how to be competent online citizens. There are dangers out there, but there is also the possibility of making HUGE life-altering mistakes online. The more awareness we give them, the less likely their chances are of making those mistakes!