Connecting Digital Literacy to the Curriculum

“Post-truth” Era

As we are now living in the “post-truth” era, I believe it’s essential to explain to students why fake news has become more common in recent years. This article about developing critical literacies emphasizes that fake news is created to go viral online. They are exaggerated stories that aim to generate revenue via web traffic, slander public figures or political movements, and even sway opinions on companies. More so, our ability to recognize when a story is real or not has become increasingly difficult; for everyone!

One of the reasons is that we are more often swayed by our emotions when consuming information online. In other words, we are more likely to believe a fact when it aligns with our beliefs. This NPR article highlights the effect that confirmation bias can have when deciding if a statement is based on fact or opinion. While it is U.S.-based, there is a quiz in that article that older students (maybe grades 7/8) could take to evaluate their ability to distinguish between fact and opinion. I tried it and got 7 out of 10 correct. Try the quiz out here– how did you do?

Teaching Digital Literacy

When I first started studying to become a teacher, I didn’t fully recognize how prevalent it would be to teach our students about digital literacy. The most I recall learning about in school was checking for credible sources. But how do we teach our students this skill when the rise of technologies such as AI has made it harder to identify misinformation? This article suggests strategies to teach our students including:

• Advancing beyond traditional fact-checking lists (e.g., RADCAB, CRAAP)
• Help students build inquiry techniques such as cross-referencing and using tools like verification websites
• Guide students to recognize and understand bias
• Incorporate real-life examples of fake news that we come across daily into classroom discussions

Connections to Saskatchewan Curriculum

In all, there are many opportunities to connect the strategies above into the curriculum. This resource about lessons in critical thinking would be something I would incorporate into my classroom. These lessons can be connected to the curriculum in science, ELA, math, art, and even social studies. Here are some specific outcomes I was able to tie media literacy to for grade 7:

• IN7.3 Analyze the relationship of technology to globalization
• CR7.4 View and demonstrate comprehension and interpretation of visual and multimedia texts with specific features (e.g., circle graphs) and complex ideas including the visual components of media such as magazines, newspapers, websites, reference books, graphic novels, broadcast media, videos, and promotional materials.
• CR7.5 Listen critically to understand and analyze oral information and ideas from a wide range of texts (e.g., complex instructions, oral explanations and reports, opinions or viewpoints, messages presented in the media).
• CP7.12 Use image-making skills, tools, techniques, and problem-solving abilities in a variety of visual art media.

Teaching students digital literacy helps them think critically, spot misinformation, and navigate the online world with confidence. So, what activities will you implement to teach your students about digital literacy?