Hi #engsschat, this is Bill Chapman, a retired secondary social studies teacher, checking in from Berkeley, CA. I began teaching #medialiteracy in 1975.
Hey there #engsschat -- Andrew from Massachusetts (8th gr. US History/Govt) -- most of me loves the arrival of spring, except my itchy eyeballs & achy sinuses
Hey #engsschat, I'm Dwight, I teach 7th grade social studies in the beautiful Adirondacks. I make YouTube videos daily for my students as well as a refresher, or if they missed class. https://t.co/1mpFnHkdzS#sschat#sstlap
Hi #engsschat! I am Becca from Time Traveler Tours! We create immersive StoryTour apps for cities all over the world. We also have a twice weekly blog featuring the stories of #HistoryHeroes from the past and present designed for middle and high school readers. Excited to chat!
Rachael Collins, teaching 8th grade from Southern California. Media Literacy has peaked my interest and adults need these literacy skills just as much as our students! #engsschat
Chris from Bloomington, IN jumping in late. Teach world history for private online HS affiliated w/ Indiana University. Also one of the #sschat co-leaders. #engsschat
A1) Not having enough background knowledge to help them distinguish good info from . . . not so good info. Also, they tend to follow checklists rather than going off of a site to learn more about it to help them determine if it's a credible source. #engsschat
A1: The pure volume of information out there makes it tough. Sifting through poor information to get to the good stuff is difficult for students. #engsschat
A1: I sometimes feel terrified at the prospect of Ss finding shallow / inaccurate / skewed information online. There are industries designed to take advantage of our students' inexperience! #engsschat
A1 Biggest challenge is not matching questions to the best choices in the information landscape. It's a teachable information literacy skill. #engsschat
A1) Students struggle with the information and digital overload that we live with today. Sites that have visual appeal or are first few options on a google search become their cited sources. Difficult skill to curate high quality media. #engsschat
Another offline/online issue: copying what they find without proper attribution ... or barely paraphrasing it by changing 1 or 2 words per sentence #engsschat
Yes, even if students know to cite their sources, they often turn to online generators that are always accurate. Citing and attributing credit is so important! #engsschat
Jason here from the DR. A1: My students have to dig through a tsunami of information. Also, they struggle with research fatigue
- they get tired searching online! Sometimes they just want a list of reliable sources. #sschat#engsschat
Such an important point. The first results are often sponsored results. They may be o.k. but probably not the best results. Do students understand that a site's position in the search results does not correlate with its reliability? #engsschat
Even before that, message to students should be to take control of the search. Don't be an uncritical consumer. That's irresponsible and far from empowering. You are in charge! #engsschat
Such an important point. The first results are often sponsored results. They may be o.k. but probably not the best results. Do students understand that a site's position in the search results does not correlate with its reliability? #engsschat
In order to combat this I have started having students do annotated bibs as in class assignments. https://t.co/Lqrh9cdFrL My Ss have done 4 this year. #engsschat
Good question! I guess it depends on the topic they are researching. Primary sources can be great, but if we are looking for cold hard facts, I'm not sure how to quantify asking someone. #engsschat
Such an important point. The first results are often sponsored results. They may be o.k. but probably not the best results. Do students understand that a site's position in the search results does not correlate with its reliability? #engsschat
A2. Flawed information gathering skills sometimes begin with weak questions. Question formulation is an information literacy skill that must precede search. #engsschat
A2 They rarely asked, "What has been left out here?" "What evidence supports each assertion, and how valid is that which is presented?" "What assumptions underlie this POV, and should I accept them?" #engsschat
Fake news has been in the fabric of our nation since before its inception. Heck, the false reports from Boston & the Battles at Lexington & Concord helped frame the push toward independence. #engsschat
In reply to
@scottmpetri, @classroomtools, @samwineburg, @SHEG_Stanford
A2 Thinking critically about what they find is a common flaw that I see in gathering information. I didn't realize that I would need to repeatedly model this. It has been a yearlong process. #engsschat
And in reality are they reliable? I'm touched that my kids still ask me like I know everything. But they oughtta respond to me with the same skepticism! #engsschat
A2
Step 1: Read the question
Step 2: Type that question into https://t.co/ULRIEiPCG7
Step 3: Click on the first link
Step 4: Scavenge that source (probably Wikipedia) for everything you can find.
Step 4b: Use https://t.co/gYy0jyxr75 to define weird words
#engsschat
A2 Ss don't gather a wide variety of sources. While corroboration is essential, they dismiss conflicting sources without addressing the conflict. #engsschat
A2 #engsschat - So often I have seen search functions being used poorly. Instead of getting specific to find the information they want, students try and use as few words as possible in a search bar: Poor search execution is poor search results
(Again, from my parent perspective... guessing what other kids do..)
A2) Googling and using multiple sources mainly from that single search. #engsschat
That's one of the things I love about @SHEG_Stanford document based lessons as the documents often have conflicting information that students have to wrestle with. #engsschat
A2 Ss don't gather a wide variety of sources. While corroboration is essential, they dismiss conflicting sources without addressing the conflict. #engsschat
Merrill Jensen's The Founding of a Nation has an excellent couple pages on the contents & impact of the false reports of what British soldiers did at Lexington & Concord. How those reports made it to London before the official reports & altered perceptions. #engsschat
In reply to
@scottmpetri, @classroomtools, @samwineburg, @SHEG_Stanford
We have crafted a whole activity to help students evaluate sources, starting with the question "can I trust the creator?" https://t.co/4fPso3wkC4#engsschat
A2 I don’t know I’d say “flawed.” They do what seems right to them. Adults too. We need Ss to recognize the power the media has to distract with pizaz and flash. They need to do reseaech to understand why reseaech is valuable. Just like everybody. #engsschat
Late to this but A1/ we have done a good job with helping students be critical...now a lot of them are TOO critical and think it’s all bunk...can’t win! #engsschat
A2. Flawed searching misses keywords, phrase searches, advanced search screens, respectable domains. So many students search inefficiently, even enter whole questions. Google syndrome. #engsschat
A3) Model, have them work through some of the @SHEG_Stanford civic online reasoning activities, ask them questions about the sources they find, etc. Like the annotated bibliography method @scottmpetri mentioned earllier. #engsschat
A2: Using blogposts, https://t.co/XxHJQJhp1m links, and other unreliable sources. Created a funny infographic to help out my students that I printed. "Is the source https://t.co/4adT23eynr.B.?" Even informing students what to do is the source is actually "D.U.M.B." #engsschat
This bookmark from the ALA is great! 9 Ways to Protect Yourself from Fake News #engsschat I used it as part of my lesson when teaching the Boston Massacre. https://t.co/EFHAFcpHeQ
A3: I have my "Is the source https://t.co/4adT23eynr.B." poster in the room along with the Lincoln "Don't believe everything you see on the internet just because there is a quote with a picture next to it." poster, and I create custom Google Search Engines to help. #engsschat
A3 We read and discussed models of great research. Here is an example of an article we used on climate change assertions from a seemingly reputable source. https://t.co/QCKx1mrNNz#engsschat
We have crafted a whole activity to help students evaluate sources, starting with the question "can I trust the creator?" https://t.co/4fPso3wkC4#engsschat
I've created Symbaloo webmixes for each of my world history courses with vetted sites. There's also @sweetsearch for different topics (social studies, for example). #engsschat
A3: I have my "Is the source https://t.co/4adT23eynr.B." poster in the room along with the Lincoln "Don't believe everything you see on the internet just because there is a quote with a picture next to it." poster, and I create custom Google Search Engines to help. #engsschat
A T can help reduce cognitive overload by selecting some sources for Ss to read. Then Ss brainpower is reserved for the primary task at hand, like evaluating differences in texts. @AllSidesNow is a good resource. #engsschat
A3: Ss engage in Youth Participatory Action Research #YPAR: write a literature review and conduct qualitative research about a local social justice issue like racial disparity in education #EducationJustice#engsschat
I hope all in tonight's #engsschat will mark this talk by Danah Boyd. She has advocated for #medialiteracy education for years, but is now having second thoughts about its consequences. We all need to think about this. https://t.co/aNG2sl3NMx
A3 You must explicitly teach the skill, step by step. They should care because they are being lied to and a healthy democracy requires easy access to the truth. #engsschat
I know the one you're talking about but, since I teach world history, I have students go through this exploration webquest which looks decent but the info on each explorer is less than accurate. https://t.co/pkuRBDsp0k#engsschat
How do you bring the bigger picture (i.e. democracy/civics/citizenship) into the conversation with students when they are evaluating information? #engsschat
I know the one you're talking about but, since I teach world history, I have students go through this exploration webquest which looks decent but the info on each explorer is less than accurate. https://t.co/pkuRBDsp0k#engsschat
A3 I always try to set an attitude that most news is a bewildering mixture of false AND true knowledge claims, no matter what the source. So, instead of ignoring sources, learn to think and question through knowledge claims of diverse sources #engsschat#sschat
How do you bring the bigger picture (i.e. democracy/civics/citizenship) into the conversation with students when they are evaluating information? #engsschat
I'm eager to hear what everyone has to say for A4. My school has a great required Digital Innovations class, but I know #medialiteracy is everyone's responsibility. I'll be over here taking notes! #engsschat
I have noticed this too- Ss in the last year don’t trust anything anymore. Since they don’t know what to trust they don’t believe anything. It’s leading to cynicism and lack of engagement. Don’t know solution but it’s worrying. The truth is out there folks! #engsschat#sschat
I hope all in tonight's #engsschat will mark this talk by Danah Boyd. She has advocated for #medialiteracy education for years, but is now having second thoughts about its consequences. We all need to think about this. https://t.co/aNG2sl3NMx
A4- I think Media Literacy units should include some work with https://t.co/C3mbDVKQpW to discuss the trends in political advertising from 1952-present. Lots of opportunities to dissect the ways our politicians have used/manipulated paid media to appeal to the masses. #engsschat
It helps to use examples from history, like the ones @classroomtools mentioned earlier. And examine the consequences of false or misleading information. The current climate is politically charged, so I think historical examples offer an opportunity to make the point. #engsschat
A4: Anyone attempting Critical Media Literacy must read this! Theory is important
#engsschat
From Digital Consumption to Digital Invention: Toward a New Critical Theory and Practice of Multiliteracies https://t.co/4O5fCej7PH
Interesting. Still have to watch the video, but maybe the focus is too much on skepticism? Are they better off searching for the elements of truth, to piece together truths from sources with mixed reliability? That can empower them to discover truth on their own. #engsschat
I have noticed this too- Ss in the last year don’t trust anything anymore. Since they don’t know what to trust they don’t believe anything. It’s leading to cynicism and lack of engagement. Don’t know solution but it’s worrying. The truth is out there folks! #engsschat#sschat
I hope all in tonight's #engsschat will mark this talk by Danah Boyd. She has advocated for #medialiteracy education for years, but is now having second thoughts about its consequences. We all need to think about this. https://t.co/aNG2sl3NMx
A4: I encourage skepticism and try to expose students to as many different sources as possible. Whether it's Champlain's account of the Iroquois War of 1609, or something more modern, I always ask students to think of SOAPStone. #engsschat
The challenge is to get Ss to apply their reading of peer-reviewed scholarly research to the real world. To imagine what research might look like in their local environment. E.g., What does institutional racism look like in my school? #engsschat
I would say it's lazy and inefficient and prevents students from taking control of their own searches. The process should force them to think critically about the most important concepts. #engsschat
A5 What's missing for me isn't a physical resource; I need to know what my students don't know. I take for granted their online skills because they are generally tech savvy, but #medialiteracy is a learned skill. #engsschat
The thing is though... whether or not it's real or fake doesn't alter the impact it had as an historical document. The impact it had was real and massive, and that, more than whether or not it was a truthful portrayal of what actually happened is far more important. #engsschat
In reply to
@NewseumED, @scottmpetri, @classroomtools, @samwineburg, @SHEG_Stanford
I wish there was a tool that helped Ss evaluate the bias in even credible sources. This process can be tricky - especially when sources are unintentionally biased. #engsschat
A4) @NewseumED Today's Front Pages, love having my students explore the map feature.https://t.co/mpbwOqf5ul Also, during elections CNN 10 is helpful for quick daily updates.h#engsschat .cnn.com/cnn10 #engsschat
Here's something I see 45 as exploiting: Dismissive Americans who don't follow politics too closely because "they're all crooks," "they all lie anyway." Now they don't have to read either because he says all the media's fake. These have always been excuses for apathy. #engsschat
Guilty as charged! But now pairing it with Captain Preston's Deposition and Hewes, the shoe maker. WBA has a thought provoking inquiry that builds corroboration, and contextualization through their eyes. https://t.co/NIJdjJTY0h#engsschat
A5: It'd be cool if there were mini-lessons, in the style of NoRedInk, that would teach Ss to scout out certain things in their sources. Then quiz them. #engchat#engsschat
Have to check out of #engsschat a bit early tonight. However it has been a terrific hour. Thanks to @Newseum and @NewseumED , and to all tonight's participants.
A5- Missing from media literacy lesson plans? I wish there were safe/controlled sandboxes in which students could have some experiential work with social media ad buys, crafting fake news, & sending things viral. #engsschat
Those that exist are on the extreme ends: either too public and I don't want my Ss making lasting public experiments or too self-contained wherein the Ss go through the motions without feeling real wide-spread impact. #engsschat
Yup, I've caught my daughter (jokingly) asking Siri a homework question she's supposed to answer! I wonder if it also puts too much faith in the question itself -- they should deconstruct it a bit more rather than assume it has a direct answer. #engsschat
A definite hazard in the Information Age. We assume Ss are coming to us with skills already in place. #medialiteracy is skill that needs to continue to be refined. #engsschat
A5: Yes -- or even a place where they could dump a URL and have the engine would tell them what they're reading, delineating the good, bad, and ugly points of validity. #engchat#engsschat
A6: Using current events articles and research is relevant in every discipline. Encouraging Ts to talk to Ss about the information they find is critical! #engsschat
A6) Think it would be really important in science classes, especially with current news about how science research is/is not being used in government agencies. #engsschat
I discovered Indian Chieftain newspaper - a Cherokee newspaper from 1882-1902 - in Chronicling America today @librarycongress. Curious how sts could build text analysis skills with it. https://t.co/FcCGDQvbYI#engsschat
A6 A culture of collaboration. My teammates are fantastic about trying new things and sharing the load. When that culture is absent: talk the talk and walk the walk. Others will join you eventually. #engsschat
A5: Yes -- or even a place where they could dump a URL and have the engine tell them what they're reading, delineating the good, bad, and ugly points of validity. #engchat#engsschat
4:52 PM - 30 Apr 2018
A6 I just mentioned in a site meeting with DO today- media lit in Spanish with leaders and misinformation. What is the real story v propaganda. #engsschat
A6: Media Literacy is an essential skill for the 21st century. There used to be gatekeepers to information put out into the world, not anymore. Just about everyone these days has access to cameras, editing tools, document creation, etc. Ss must sift for the good stuff. #engsschat
The challenge is to get Ss to apply their reading of peer-reviewed scholarly research to the real world. To imagine what research might look like in their local environment. E.g., What does institutional racism look like in my school? #engsschat
A6) It's the responsibility for ALL but I truly advocate for explicit instruction in Media Literacy/Civic Education. Would love to see this as a required course...would fit nicely with an elective wheel in middle schools! #engsschat
Join us next month (on the last Monday of the month) for our next #engsschat. Keep the conversation going all month with #sschat, #engchat, and other wonderful #edchats out there! #MyPLNRocks
