Media Literacy happens from October 26th to 30th this year. If you have been following my blog, or know me at all, you know that I am not a fan of a one-and-done approach to media literacy; we can’t just teach media literacy for one week in the school year and expect that our students will be media literate. We need an ongoing and embedded approach.
In Social LEADia, I sited a Stanford research study which says that 80% of middle school students could not tell the difference between a news article and sponsored content. In an updated Stanford study, 90% of high schoolers are unable to spot fake news. Stanford History Education Group director, Joel Breakstone speaks to urgency of the concerning statistics:
“Educational systems move slowly, but technology doesn’t,” said Breakstone. “We need to act urgently to ensure our students’ ability to engage in civic life.”
Global Education Student Chat: Digital Leadership
On Tuesday, October 27th, I am honoured to be the expert on panel for the GlobalEdSschat. Well, at least that was what they decided when I missed one of our team meetings! If you know me, you know that I am one of the teacher mentors for #GlobalEdSsChat , a student-led Twitter chat that connects K-12 students around the world to discuss topics and questions related to character education, social justice, and citizenship. #GlobalEdSsChat creates opportunities for students to network with others, gain perspective, build relationships with new learning partners in a literacy-rich learning environment, experience social media as a powerful platform for learning, and establish a positive digital footprint. I am so looking forward to talking about digital leadership with these student digital leaders!
You can watch the student discussion on our YouTube channel and participate with your classes via the comments or by using the hashtag, #GlobalEdSschat on Twitter. Check out our website for more details. Making the Global Educational Student Chat a part of teaching and learning ensures that your students see students talking about topics from their perspective while building on each other’s ideas in a constructive way.
| DATE | TOPIC |
| November 17th | Learning through a Pandemic |
| December 8th | Building and keeping relationships virtually |
| January 12th | Motivation (& Goal Setting) |
| February 9th | Being culturally responsive |
| March 9th | Innovation (& Inspiration ) |
| April 13th | Online Privacy |
| May 11th | Mental health during unpredictable times |
We are looking for experts and student panelists for the school year. Please send me a message if you are interested in joining us.
Cognitive Bias and Fake News lesson
Here is a lesson I ran with my students which explored how our biases contribute to Fake News. It is one of the resources Adam Hill and I share during our Empowered Digital Leaders Course. Check out the lesson here. Then, continue the conversation by regularly looking at a variety of posts and articles from various perspectives throughout the school year.
Media Triangle and Misinformation Wakelet
This isn’t just one resource! I have been curating Media Literacy and Misinformation resources for several years. Here is a link to my Wakelet. Check out Be Internet Awesome: Reality River (for littles), Media Smarts, Doubt.ca, and KQED and Common Sense Media
How do you ensure that media literacy is an ongoing focus?
