Tech & Information Literacy
Notes from The Liturgists Podcast, "Fake News and Media Literacy"
I hate to "out" myself, but my media diet is less-than-scholarly and certainly atypical. My husband often complains about people on social media who believe far fetched conspiracy theories masquerading as legitimate news; I, then, have to remind him that he is married to a crazy person who believes some in crazy conspiracy theories. The difference (I'd like to think) is that I have arrived at my belief system over years of tedious research integrated with my own observations and analyses. While I'm sure my methods can be flawed, I'm also fairly sure that a few of the rabbit holes I've been down hold some truth. The concept of confirmation bias is one that I was not previously aware of and it challenges me to constantly reexamine my opinions and perceptions of the media I consume (The Liturgists). Also new vocabulary to me, the concept of metaliteracy is one that I see working in my own life and the lives of everyone around me. According to the Association of College and Research Libraries' Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, "Metaliteracy demands behavioral, affective, cognitive, and metacognitive engagement with the information ecosystem." My beliefs about society are largely a direct result of my engagement with media, even though I believe I am a naturally skeptical person, especially when it comes to being told what to think or what is true.
As far as "normal" mainstream media consumption goes, my husband and I watch a combination of news channels on Youtube TV, including CNN, Fox, and NBC. We actually enjoy comparing the three and our speculations about their agendas. Recently, we've started watching our local news station, Live 5 News, again and it has been very enjoyable (the 24 hour news cycles has made the news entertainment, after all). I enjoy its focus on our region and I don't use social media, so it's something I've been missing. Note: I do use Reddit where I can remain anonymous, at least to other Redditors; the owners of the app have all my data, of course, and I realize many of the "popular" stories shared on the major subreddits are part of an official narrative (and possibly targeted to me based on my data). I also listen to National Public Radio in my car, but I find myself listening less and less as even NPR has taken a turn away from objective journalism. I realize some bias is inherent, but I think most reporting these days crosses the line into opinion territory.
I think it's very important for students to learn media literacy and research skills at school; many adults are not capable of helping their children identify fake news, understand the implications of media bias, or navigate the internet. If school librarians don't make the effort to cultivate the mindset of empirical scrutiny, our next generation may be led to believe literally anything. Some teachers may make a point to include these concepts with their curricula, as ELA teachers teach research skills, Social Studies teachers discuss current events, and Science teachers may tie in real-world relevance with the Scientific Method; this weeks' lessons support the idea that these are domains that librarians should claim and supplement for classroom teachers.
The Framework points out the importance of librarians' greater responsibility to teach media/digital literacy and collaborate with faculty (2016, p. 8). After listening to The Liturgists' podcast, "Fake News and Media Literacy," I went back to my Library Lesson Plan Menu (offered to teachers as a jumping off point for librarian/teacher lesson collaboration) and changed some offerings under the heading of "Literacy" to include How to Spot Fake News, Identifying Media Bias, What are Deep Fakes?, and Internet Safety and How to be a Good Digital Citizen.
References:
Association of College and Research Libraries. 2016. Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Chicago: ALA.
The Liturgists. (2017, March 7). Fake News & Media Literacy. https://theliturgists.com/podcast/2017/3/7/fake-news-media-literacy
I think your practice of watching multiple media outlets and comparing their take on the news is a great one to share with students!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reminding me that this is a technique they can use to be intentional in monitoring their own information diets.
DeleteTest
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I am also naturally skeptical and tend to ‘fact check’ everything. Confirmation bias was also a new term for me. I realized that I do tend to listen to certain people or watch certain channels to gain information. Now I am reminding myself to be open to different people or watch different channels to gain new perspectives.
ReplyDeleteSonja Richardson
Sonja,
DeleteI am making a conscious effort to stay more up-to-date with current events. I've become so discouraged by watching partisan news channels pushing their narratives and glossing over objective facts when they don't favor their side. It's so tempting to check out and not participate in the noise, but as librarians we can't do that. We have to be models for our students/community members and educate them about how to monitor their own information diets like you mentioned!
Tiffany Taylor Brewer
I love your lesson menu changes. I also made notes on what to add to my curriculum after reading the material this week. Confirmation bias will be a challenge for me. I haven't thought about questioning information that supports my opinions. Trying to figure out what is real facts or bias is very confusing for adults. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog! You are correct, sometimes adults have issues discerning fact from fiction. I am guilty of having been beguiled by a social media post and shared it with others (before fact checking it). I also learned the meaning of the term "confirmation bias" and this concept is one that reveals the importance of the skills and concepts that we teach. As a current math teacher, I was wondering how a teacher-librarian might integrate mathematics into this "equation" of fact v.s. fiction. Teacher/Librarians can find articles that have misleading graphs or statistics and have students to analyze them for misleading facts. That would be a way to tie in critical thinking/analysis, literacy, and math.
ReplyDelete- Richelle Sexton -
Hi Tiffany!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post!
Thanks for being so honest about your own info diet and usual aversion to social media - ditto on both counts for me, but trying hard to find a balance now between my own preferences and staying informed and relevant.
"Deep fake" was a new term for me. I went down a rabbit hole (those make me so happy, thanks!!) that started with the Obama PSA by Jordan Peele (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE1KWpoX9Hk - heads up, some language) and led to some really fun YouTube channels, particularly Key & Peele. On a more somber note, though, the fact that such technology exists is really scary. Video evidence used to be essentially indisputable. But this further drives our purpose as teacher librarians - we tell our students to investigate everything. Even if they 100% know that a video is real, it still requires fact checking if nothing else. And if it's not a real video and is a deep fake or even just a satire, the creator still had a point and purpose for making it and that could be worthwhile to look in to, as well.
Thanks for giving me a lot to think about! Have a great evening!
Victoria Slessman
PS - I love your doodles!! :D
Gale Kathy Freeman
ReplyDeleteHi Tiffany,
I enjoyed reading the variety of news programs watched and analyzed by you and your husband. I agree; a comparison of the news shows readily identifies their bias, and it is essential students learn to approach information with skepticism. Jennifer LeGarde's four lenses provide an easy memory tool to use when conducting research. I do like Clay Johnson's checklist and will present both as options for students.