Hard Conversations

Have you noticed if your students rely on alt-right internet sites as credible sources for their research papers?

In a survey of 200 teachers, Jennifer Rich (Rowan University) found  that 60% of middle and high school students turn to alt-right websites as sources for information.

"The students are using alt-right sites to write papers on topics that range from free speech and the Second Amendment to citizenship, immigration and the Holocaust." source: http://www.racismreview.com/blog/tag/information-literacy/

The alt-right sites most commonly reported by teachers include National Policy Institute, Radix Journal, American Renaissance, Taki’s Magazine and Voat.

Teachers added that "students find the information on these sites appealing but are unable to differentiate between fact and fiction."

Findings like this are not surprising given information consumers' inability to discern fake news--but it is an educational concern. It is one thing personally to own a liberal, conservative or other position, it's another to believe anything one reads as an objective fact. 

The article is worth reading because it raises the question, "what should teachers do about it?" Should they avoid uncomfortable discussions or meet them head on?

"It is reasonable to expect heated student disagreement.... This, then, opens up space to teach students how to engage in respectful and difficult conversations with one another."

Providing readings on two or more sides of an issue, then discussing them, is highly recommended. For more, read the article.

98% Gullibility?

"Only 2 per cent of children and young people can tell if a news story is real or fake, according to a survey published today."

The survey is from the  All-Party Parliamentary Group on Literacy and the National Literacy Trust.

Read more here: https://www.tes.com/news/pupils-lack-literacy-skills-spot-fake-news 

For resources to help students identify Fake News, visit https://21cif.com/fullcircle/fall2017/index.php (requires an annual membership). Free resources, start here: https://21cif.com/tutorials/micro/index.php

Summer Full Circle Resource Kit

Bias Detection is the newest Kit in the Full Circle series.

One of the most popular MicroModules on the Information Fluency site is Bias. Becoming sensitive to bias and knowing that not everything in print or images is neutral or objective is one way to prevent unguarded consumption of fake or distorted news. Bias can be hard to detect, especially when a reader finds it agreeable.

The Feature article examines a front page case where bias was overlooked, resulting in shooting up a pizzeria thought to be a front for pedophile sex abuse in Washington DC.

Curricular Connections provides a helpful checklist for identifying and discussing incidents of bias in non-fiction and images.

Six interactive examples of biased and unbiased articles and one image are packaged in the Assessment section to help students evaluate bias. A score of 80% accuracy indicates fluency in detecting bias.

The Kit requires a subscription, but for a limited time, the feature article is free.

https://21cif.com//fullcircle/summer2018/index.php

Spring 18 Full Circle Kit now available

The newest edition of the 21st Century Information Fluency Full Circle Kit focuses on Fact Checking.

This is part three of three in a series on Investigative Searching. Access to the Kit requires an annual membership.

All Kits

Spring '18 Contents

Feature Article: Fake News, Part Three

Researchers at MIT recently published their findings about the spread of false news on Twitter. There is still no substitute for investigative searching. 

Action Zone: Fact Checking Challenge

This Level 3 challenge may be used with the Assessment guide to check students' understanding of fact checking.

Curriculum: Mini Lessons

Using two Websites about fake news to create mini lessons on fake news and fact checking.

Assessment: Fact Checking and Secondary Searching

Five items to measure how well students know when to Fact Checking and how.

Don't expect help in Infowars

Image Source: Fact Check Central

Yesterday's news about the subway attack in NYC is yet another example that you can't believe everything you read.

Read the article: When News Breaks, Google Still Can't Separate Rumor from Fact

The report, aside from being stockpiled with annoying full-page ads, points out that search algorithms designed to give people answers to their search questions still have a ways to go to filter out inaccuracies:

This trend has resulted in repeated embarrassment for Google, as its apparently authoritative answers have at times affirmed that the Earth is flat, women are evil, and four U.S. presidents had been members of the Ku Klux Klan (none of which are demonstrably true). It also once answered the query “is obama planning a coup” with information from a conspiracy site claiming that Obama was planning to seize power after his term came to an end.

There still is no substitute for personal responsibility as a (re)searcher. Gullibility lives in the fast lane of increasingly speedier computers, servers and results. Having no evaluation strategy is widespread: the democratization of irresponsibility.

There are plenty of ways to fix this. Start by understanding how to fact check.

Fullcircle Summer 2017

Most countries celebrate a special day of national significance. In the United States, that day is the fourth of July. Other countries have their own days citizens celebrate. But could there be a country other than the United States that celebrates American independence on the fourth of July?

What nation other than the U.S. observes America’s Fourth of July?

Unless you know the answer, this can be a perplexing search challenge. Why is that? How do you possibly wade through an ocean of information about American fourth of July looking for information about a different country? The solution is sound search strategy.

Strategic searching is guided by three big questions

1. What am I searching for?
2. What authority would know the answer?
3. How do I use keywords (and operators) to find the information?

Read the whole Feature Article: Summer 2017.  https://21cif.com/fullcircle/summer2017/feature.php

Fake News can be Hard to Stamp Out

The Washington Post recently published an insightful story regarding fake news plaguing businesses on Connecticut Avenue in Washington DC. This demonstrates how baseless news, taken at face value, is hard to eradicate.

The article centers on Comet Ping Pong, the victim of a viral fake news outbreak, represented by the hashtag #pizzagate.

The misunderstanding came to a head when a reader from North Carolina, disturbed by erroneous reports connecting the restaurant with child sexual abuse, showed up at the business with an assault rifle to do his part as a concerned citizen.

Don't ever say that fake news is just for fun and no one gets hurt.

Fortunately, no one was injured, and the shooter gave himself up, but damage had been done to Comet Ping Pong and neighboring businesses inundated with calls threatening and accusing them of things they had never done. And of course, the shooter now has a police record.

Could this have been avoided?

With so many readers and re-tweeters involved, it's hard to imagine how this could have been stopped except during the very early stages. Once something quickly becomes viral, it develops a life of its own. Certainly, the businesses affected couldn't stop it. When they took measures to address the situation, it made them look more guilty to their accusers.

Should fake news perpetrators be held responsible?  And if so, how? This could be a good challenge for classes to discuss. Start with this tweet from #pizzagate:

"Nutcase walks Into Comet Pizza with gun: Anyone who even mentioned #PizzaGate is responsible!"

It's a current day problem and not one that is going to go away any time soon--unless enough people practice investigative searching. And when you do, you could be responsible to report what you find as credible or not.