Informed Media Consumption in 2021

Purpose & objective

The purpose of this session is to help educators identify the skills they need to master to help their students become more informed consumers of media. Information, supporting materials, and activities are offered to address each topic.

As a result of attending the workshop, participants will:

1. Update their knowledge of common methods employed to spread media-based misinformation.
2. Review effective strategies for evaluating the credibility of numbers, statistics, and words in the media.
3. Explore classroom activities and other online resources related to material presented during the workshop. This includes access to a site the presenter created that offers access to classroom activities related to assessing use of numbers and words in the media (http://bitly.com/medialiteracytoday).

An online agenda will be provided for use during and after the conference. Participants will be able to access all materials referenced.

Outline

1. Overview
 A. Content: Overview of session purpose and objectives, introduction of presenters, setting the stage.
 B. Timeline: 10 minutes
 C. Process: After a brief introduction of the presenters and short overview that frames the current problem with lies in the media, presenters share the session objectives. Participants introduce themselves to someone sitting by them by sharing an experience they have had with fake news.

2. Evaluating Numbers
 A. Content: There are multiple ways to misrepresent numeric information, from
using figures that are implausible, to distorting graphs or using poor data collection
strategies.
 B. Timeline: 20 minutes
 C. Process: This segment consists of examples of misinformation in numeric form. Hands on time will be provided for participants to review supporting material made available in a LiveBinder attendees can access during and following the session.

3. Evaluating Words
 A. Content: Just as numeric information can be misrepresented, so can words.
Recognizing reliable expertise and evaluating explanations for events are just a
couple of ways to identify something that just isn't true.
 B. Timeline: 20 minutes
 C. Process: This segment consists of examples of words that misinform. Hands on time will be provided for participants to review supporting material made available in a LiveBinder attendees can access during and following the session.

4. Wrap-up
  A. Content: Brief overview of website that houses lesson plans addressing each topic covered in the session. Short time to reflect on workshop activities and significant ideas, then to identify ways to apply this information in the workplace.
  B. Timeline: 10 minutes
  C. Process: Participants participate in website walk-through and then create a brief personal reflection.

Supporting research

The following is a list of websites and resources devoted to differentiating fact from fiction.

* Evaluating sources in a 'Post-Truth' world (https://goo.gl/11bRmR) NYT article (2017) explaining fake news and strategies for helping students identify it.
* Harvard Library Research Guide: Fake News (http://guides.library.harvard.edu/fake) Information, links, and tools selected to help patrons differentiate between fiction and fact while using the library.
* In the age of fake news, here’s how schools are teaching kids to act like fact-checkers (http://bit.ly/2lE3EE5) (2019) There’s more to helping students become skilled information consumers than a checklist.
* More U.S. schools teaching skills to recognize false news (http://bit.ly/2lyYxoZ) Growing numbers of states are crafting legislation requiring educators to teach students how to identify inaccurate news.
* Some Real News about Fake News (http://bit.ly/2k3psJ6) (2019) A new report from Pew shows that the rise of fake news is making it increasingly difficult for people to believe true news.
* Stanford researchers find students have trouble judging the credibility of information online (https://goo.gl/jSwjqQ) 7,800 students (middle school through college) in 2017 study had great difficulty identifying fact from fiction.
* What’s the Real Problem with Fake News (https://goo.gl/j1iegw). This 2017 article by Jason Ohler discusses the importance of Confirmation Bias, the fact that people see what they want to see, and how that impacts our ability to identify falsehoods in the media.
*News and America’s Kids: How Young People Perceive and Are Impacted by the News, 2017 (https://goo.gl/gegLrW), “Children have difficulty determining whether a news story is fake; less than half (44 percent) of children agree that they can tell fake news stories from real ones. And, among children who have shared a news story online in the last six months, 31 percent say they shared a story that they later found out was wrong or inaccurate.” Common Sense Media.
*FactCheck.org (http://www.factcheck.org/) A reliable fact-checking website that covers politics and other news.
* Politifact (http://politifact.com/) A fact-checking website that focuses on debunking misinformation in political news.
* Snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/) One of several fact-checking websites regarded as accurate and reliable.