The Fake News presentation that Holly, Cymone and Chris was outstanding. I have not stopped thinking about it and had to finally write a blog about it. I really appreciated how they broke down the differences between false information. I have heard a lot about misinformation and disinformation:

Misinformation = Wrong information not intended to cause harm

Disinformation = Fabricated content intended to cause harm

What surprised me was Mal-information and I really had to work at what does that look like. I found a great resource on the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. It refers to Mal-information as “information that stems from the truth but is often exaggerated in a way that misleads and causes potential harm. In the presentation the following definition was used, “True information used against someone for advantage”.

My question is could “trusted” media sources be accused of mal-information? For example by not providing the total story is it possible a media outlet could exaggerate a story while gaining more readership, which then leads to more financial gain for the organization? The presentation in our class simply made me much more alert when looking at media sources. I believe it is absolutely essential that a person is vigilant and checks multiple sources before making a judgment on what they have read. A perfect example is what has happened in society as a result of the pandemic. People have become skeptical of scientific findings. I have a sibling that I discuss current issues with and with her background in the medical field she indicated that we need to be vigilant when it comes to scientific data. She made a good point “don’t just take the scientific data from a pharmaceutical company…. always check it with other sources when possible”.

I thought that last point was interesting. If the source of the information is able to “profit” from the data they are sharing should be be cautious?” I really appreciated the characteristics of an information literate person:

  1. Identify
  2. Find
  3. Evaluate
  4. Apply
  5. Acknowledge

I am just wondering is any source truly neutral? My final point is that I can really appreciate the amount of anxiety that this must cause in our students. On the ISTE website there is a link below to help students know when they need to unplug from technology and help them regain their balance.

https://www.iste.org/explore/ISTE-blog/Technology-and-balance-in-an-all-or-nothing-world

What do you think are the best ways as teachers we can model to our students how to strive for balance in an information overload environment?