FALL

Unit 1 - Media Literacy: Navigating Digital Information

From News to Propaganda, in this unit we learn how frequently we are inundated with information, and learn how to tell the difference between information that is intended to inform versus information that is designed to persuade or even instigate. How can we start to become our own Fact Checker? What is news and what is propaganda? How has Marketing been changed to look like News? We start here to build our own base skills about how to look at information and ask questions before we believe what we are hearing and seeing.

What info types are out there?
- Activities on quickly understanding print, video and images to determine if they are News, Opinion, Infotainment, Marketing, Propaganda or Fake News.
- We look at two case studies to practice becoming a Fact Checker.
Becoming our own Fact Checker
- WHO is behind this information?
- WHY are they sharing this information?
- WHAT is the evidence for their claims?
- WHAT do OTHER sources say about the organization and their claims?
- Let’s move on to Lateral Reading and see what we find out when we think and act like Fact Checkers...
Lateral Reading
- As opposed to Vertical Reading, we must learn to read horizontally, like a fact checker does. You have to LEAVE a site to UNDERSTAND a site
- When and How to read laterally
Deciding Who To Trust
- Daily KOS vs Daily Wire
  - In class activity: What is their perspective? How do you know?
  - How fast could you tell now that you know how to read laterally?
- Snopes and other fact checkers
- Using AI safely. How do these results get posted? How current are they? How does AI substantiate their results?
Evaluating Evidence
- Navigating Digital Info
  - Lack of evidence, Good evidence, Bad evidence, Evidence that doesn’t prove your point
- Evaluating Photos and Images
- Data & Infographics
Checking Other Sources
- Click Restraint
- Social Media

Unit 2 - Case Study - The Stanford History Group: Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning

When thousands of students respond to dozens of tasks there are endless variations in how well information is understood. Overall, young people’s ability to reason about the information on the Internet can be summed up in one word: bleak. “Digital natives” may be able to flit between Facebook and Twitter while simultaneously uploading a selfie to Instagram and texting a friend. But when it comes to evaluating information that flows through social media channels, they are easily duped. Let’s Fix That.

1) Argument Analysis: Students compare and evaluate two posts from a newspaper’s comment section.

2) News on Facebook: Students identify the blue checkmark that distinguishes a verified Facebook account from a fake one.

3) Facebook Argument: Students consider the relative strength of evidence that two users present in a Facebook exchange.

4) Evaluating Evidence: Students decide whether to trust a photograph posted on a photo-sharing website.

5) Comparing Articles: Students determine whether a news story or a sponsored post is more reliable.

Unit 3 - Your Own Project.

Using the skills you have acquired, you will start your first ZINE on a subject of your choice. You’ll show fake information, validated information, and explain how you know what is factual, what is opinion (sharing multiple opinions), what is advertising, what is fake news, and if there is any propaganda on this subject.

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Clay & 3D Projects

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