Media Literacy Definition
Media Literacy is… “the ability to ACCESS, ANALYZE, EVALUATE, CREATE, and ACT using all forms of communication.”
Constructivist Media Decoding
- "QUESTIONS FOR MEDIA DECODING" - Project Look SharpProject Look Sharp's most important document, which provides suggested questions to help lead discussions that achieve your intended media literacy objectives under these categories: "Authorship & Purposes," "Economics," "Content," "Techniques," "Content," "Credibility," "Effects," "Interpretations," and "Responses."
- "Media Literacy Objectives" - Project Look SharpProject Look Sharp produced this document to identify the media literacy principles.
- "Gender Stereotypes and Google Algorithms" Demonstration lesson by Project Look SmartIn this video, a middle school teacher demonstrates the method of Constructivist Media Decoding as taught by Project Look Sharp, in a lesson about gender stereotypes and google algorithms.
- "Animals and Images: What do you See?" Lower Elementary Lesson planThis is a lesson developed by Project Look Sharp for lower elementary students. Students analyze different types of images for messages about image forms and about reptiles, amphibians and dinosaurs. Teachers can use this for a whole-group constructivist media decoding, or have students work in small groups and then share their findings.
- "A.I. – Pros, Cons, Credibility and Bias" HS Lesson planThis is a lesson developed by Project Look Sharp wherein high school students analyze short videos for messages about the pros and cons of artificial intelligence, the bias and credibility of each source, and our own thinking about the issue.
- "Deepfakes: What Do We Believe? What Do We Share?" HS lesson planThis is a lesson developed by Project Look Sharp wherein high school or college students evaluate Internet images and videos as fake or true and reflect on how confirmation bias impacts our judgments.
Teaching Students to Decode the World by
In our media-saturated environment, how can we teach students to distinguish true statements from those that are false, misleading, or manipulative? How can we help them develop the skills needed to identify biases and stereotypes, determine credibility of sources, and analyze their own thinking and its effect on their perceptions? In Teaching Students to Decode the World, authors Chris Sperry and Cyndy Scheibe tackle these questions as they introduce readers to constructivist media decoding (CMD), a specific way to lead students through a question-based analysis of media materials-including print and digital documents, videos and films, social media posts, advertisements, and other formats-with an emphasis on critical thinking and collaboration. The authors explain how to Develop and facilitate CMD activities in the classroom and in virtual teaching environments; Implement CMD across the curriculum, at all grade levels; Connect CMD with educational approaches such as project-based learning, social-emotional learning, and antiracist education; Incorporate CMD into assessments; and Promote CMD as a districtwide initiative. Equipped with CMD skills, students will be better able to navigate a complex media landscape, participate in a democratic society, and become productive citizens of the world.
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ISBN: 1416630937Publication Date: 2022
News Literacy Project
- News Literacy Project (Google Slides presentation) June 24I created this slideshow about the News Literacy Project to share why I support the use of the NLP and its free curriculum, Checkology, to teach students about the different types of information, what is news, what goes into the creation of a news story, and much more.
- NLP's Resource Library - including gr 4-6 lessonsLooking for classroom resources? NLP’s resource library includes lesson plans, classroom activities, posters and infographics, quizzes, training materials and videos for educators teaching news literacy.
- Checkology platform and free curriculum by News Literacy ProjectThe “centerpiece of NLP’s resource offerings” is the collection of lessons intended for use with or by students either in a whole-group setting or as self-guided instruction with embedded formative assessments. –Checkology is approved for use with students by BHCSD & uses Google single sign-on.
- Teacher registration for Checkology—Teachers can register for Checkology free HERE.
{Note, to join onto HCC's school account, note it is spelled this way: H C Crittenden}
--No limit to how many teachers can be added, incl. substitute teacher accounts.
--Here are some tips for navigating the Checkology website:
–”Dashboard” tab is where T’s manage students & load the lessons students can access.
–”Content” tab is where T’s view all the lessons. Scroll down to “Practice & Extend” for short assessments students can easily finish in a period after teaching a skill/topic.
–“Resources” tab has supplementals, incl. Lesson guides, Answer keys, Kahoots, posters, etc.
–“Check Center” tab → “Toolbox” →”Skills” has short videos to use for teaching individual skills such as Lateral Reading, Reverse Image Search, Critical Observation. - “Is it Legit? Evaluating News Sources” is part of a "challenge" that can be assigned to students.This lesson demonstrates lateral reading.
- NLP's professional learning portal – NewsLitNation Professional LearningThere is a new free online course available leading to a “News Literacy Educator Certificate”
Asynchronous modules. 3 core lessons: Understanding Quality Journalism, Exploring Misinformation, Understanding Bias. Equates to 6 hours of time. - Subscribe to the Sift® email newsletterSubscribe to the Sift® email newsletter with misinformation/teachable news literacy stories from the previous week
- "Is that a fact?" -NLP produces a new podcast weeklyNew podcast episode released each week
- News literacy in the age of AINLP's AI Landing Page IS AN EXCELLENT RESOURCE for keeping up on stories about AI and its impact on the information landscape.
- NLP's RumorGuard (**vet these for appropriateness bc not meant solely for education)RumorGuard is a curated collection of viral misinformation examples that offer key news literacy lessons and insights. A product of the News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, RumorGuard is designed to help people learn to recognize and debunk misinformation when they see it online. Each RumorGuard entry includes an example of misinformation, a summary of related fact-checks, and a news literacy takeaway highlighting important patterns and insights. These entries are designed to feature and explain the work of credible, standards-based fact-checking organizations. They also teach people how to recognize and debunk viral misinformation they encounter on social media.
Media Wise Resources from Poynter Institute & PBS Learning Media
- "Be MediaWise Free Lesson Plans" PBS Learning Media"Be MediaWise is a series of media literacy lessons that teach specific fact-checking skills to help students sort fact from fiction online. These lessons were developed by PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs in partnership with MediaWise and the Teen Fact-Checking Network, which are part of the Poynter Institute. This partnership has been made possible with support from Google. The MediaWise Teen Fact-Checking Network (TFCN) is a virtual newsroom made up of middle and high schoolers from across the United States who use social media to debunk viral misinformation and share media literacy tips."
In this collection:
How2Internet
Fact-Checking Fundamentals
Evaluating Sources
Recognizing "Fake News"
Navigating Artificial Intelligence
More Media Literacy Lessons - "Be MediaWise: A Misinformation Resilience Toolkit for Libraries" Poynter InstituteContains lesson plans with videos, activities, and short assessments on these topics:
-How do you stay safe online?
-How do you sort fact from opinion? What’s bias?
-What makes a source reputable?
-What’s journalism? Who’s a journalist?
-Where can you find accurate information?
-How does information spread?
-How do you know it’s not AI?
-How do you share responsibly with friends and family?
Ecomedia Literacy
- "UN's Sustainability Development Goals & Ecomedia Literacy"This free ebook contains lessons to help teach the UN Sustainable Development Goals through the lens of "Ecomedia Literacy," which is a method of critically evaluating the environmental impact of media and technology.
Lateral Reading
- "Do a Quick Search" --News Literacy Project video clipShort video clip about the Russian state-controlled TikTok account / kindness video that demonstrates the importance of lateral reading. Part of the News Literacy Project's full lesson, titled "Is it Legit? Evaluating News Sources"
- "Sort Fact from Fiction Online with Lateral Reading" Civic Online Reasoning videoThis short, student-friendly video explains the importance of lateral reading to identify online sources with potentially hidden motives or influences.
- “Lateral Reading” one of the 10-part “Crash Course” by John GreenSeries of videos based on the Civic Online Reasoning curriculum narrated by John Green. This one demonstrates Lateral Reading. It is about 10 minutes. It is appropriate for older students (secondary) and adults.
- "Search Like a Fact-Checker" from Stanford History Education Group, 9/12/20This video, meant for adults, demonstrates the core skill of lateral reading, Narrated by Sam Wineburg, co-author of the book VERIFIED, and one of the researchers behind the Stanford History Education Group's study on how students (and college professors) fail at identifying biased information on the Web.
Web Literacy
- "Stanford researchers find students have trouble judging the credibility of information online" Standford History Education Group's Research, 11/22/16Provides a summary of the SHEG's research of over 7,800 students in secondary and undergraduate levels. "The assessments reflected key understandings the students should possess such as being able to find out who wrote a story and whether that source is credible.... In every case and at every level, we were taken aback by students' lack of preparation," the authors wrote."
- Civic Online Reasoning Group's Curriculum (Formerly part of the SHEG)These free curriculum and supporting resources were developed to help teach students the skills needed to evaluate web sources across all curricular areas, including Lateral Reading. This was developed after the SHEG research showed that students' lack of skill.
- “Navigating Digital Information” 10-part “Crash Course” by John GreenSeries of videos based on the Civic Online Reasoning curriculum narrated by John Green. "Lateral Reading" and "Using Wikipedia" are highly recommended.
- Podcasts from "TeachLab with Justin Reich" June 2021Justin Reich is joined by Joel Breakstone, director of the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG), and co-lead on Beyond the Bubble and Civic Online Reasoning projects. Together they discuss assessing online information, the research of SHEG, and the methods used by fact checkers to determine the validity of information.
SIFT Method of Web Evaluation (Uses Lateral Reading)
- "Check, Please" free online course to teach the SIFT methodThis website was created by Mike Caulfield, and it's a 2.5-3 hour self-guided course that is free and teaches you about the SIFT method of website evaluation.
- S - Stop "Online Verification Skills IntroductionShort video introducing the SIFT Method.
- I - Investigate: "Online Verification Skills Video 2"This video explains how to investigate a source; the I in SIFT, including "the Wikipedia trick"
- Podcast from "TeachLab with Justin Reich" May 2021Justin Reich is joined by Mike Caulfield, a digital information literacy expert working at Washington State University who has worked with a wide variety of organizations on digital literacy initiatives to combat misinformation. Together they discuss critical thinking, issues with traditional forms of evaluating sources, and the SIFT method.
- Podcast: "Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People" with Mike Caulfield, April 2024In this compelling episode of Remarkable People, Guy Kawasaki sits down with Mike Caulfield, a renowned research scientist from the University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public. Caulfield introduces his groundbreaking SIFT methodology, a crucial tool in the fight against online misinformation that empowers educators and learners to critically assess online content. Discover how SIFT - which stands for Stop, Investigate the source, Find trusted coverage, and Trace back to the original - can help you navigate the complex world of digital information. Caulfield also discusses his book Verified: How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online, co-authored with fellow Remarkable People guest Sam Wineburg.
Verified by ISBN: 0226822060Publication Date: 2023An indispensable guide for telling fact from fiction on the internet--often in less than 30 seconds. The internet brings information to our fingertips almost instantly. The result is that we often jump to thinking too fast, without taking a few moments to verify the source before engaging with a claim or viral piece of media. Information literacy expert Mike Caulfield and educational researcher Sam Wineburg are here to enable us to take a moment for due diligence with this informative, approachable guide to the internet. With this illustrated tool kit, you will learn to identify red flags, get quick context, and make better use of common websites like Google and Wikipedia that can help and hinder in equal measure. This how-to guide will teach you how to use the web to verify the web, quickly and efficiently, including how to * Verify news stories and other events in as little as thirty seconds (seriously) * Determine if the article you're citing is by a reputable scholar or a quack * Detect the slippery tactics scammers use to make their sites look credible * Decide in a minute if that shocking video is truly shocking * Deduce who's behind a site--even when its ownership is cleverly disguised * Uncover if that feature story is actually a piece planted by a foreign government * Use Wikipedia wisely to gain a foothold on new topics and leads for digging deeper And so much more. Building on techniques like SIFT and lateral reading, Verified will help students and anyone else looking to get a handle on the internet's endless flood of information through quick, practical, and accessible steps. For more information, visit the website for the book.
Checking News Sources for Media Bias
- Media Bias / Fact Check .comDespite its many pop-up ads, this website enables users to search for specific media/news outlets and get a score of the "bias rating" and "accuracy rating" of over 8,000 media outlets.
- "MediaBiasFactCheck.com as a Tool for Lateral Reading" Penn State News Literacy Initiative, 7/10/24"[MediaBiasFactCheck.com] is widely used by reputable news organizations as a neutral tool for assessing bias, and scholarly studies on misinformation and media have also used it as a measure of bias and factualness in news sources. Studies of news credibility ratings have found that news rating services, including MBFC, are highly consistent with one another. This implies they can be a good indicator of news quality, even if a static scale can’t tell the full story."
- Ad Fontes Interactive Media Bias Chart®This is another commonly cited tool for identifying both the reliability/accuracy as well as the political bias of various media outlets. It is an interactive tool that the creators say "rates content granularly at the article level to capture as much nuance and complexity as possible." To see specific articles rated on the same scale, search for the news outlet on the left and then hover/click on a dot on the interactive chart to see specific articles' content analysis.
- "Should you trust media bias charts? These controversial charts claim to show the political lean and credibility of news organizations. Here’s what you need to know about them." Poynter Institute, 11/2021"As readers hurl claims of hidden bias towards outlets on all parts of the political spectrum, bias charts have emerged as a tool to reveal pernicious partiality. Charts that use transparent methodologies to score political bias — particularly the AllSides chart and another from news literacy company Ad Fontes Media — are increasing in popularity and spreading across the internet. "
- Media Bias Chart from Allsides.comThis chart identifies the political bias of various ONLINE PRINT news outlets. You can also use the search box to see other media sources not depicted on this chart.*
*To search by publication name, type it into the "Balanced Search" box, hit enter, then select the "News Sources" filter (Blue Box) to see detailed information about each source and its rating. - AllSides Media Bias MethodologyRead this to learn more about AllSides.com's methodology for rating news sources' biases.