Next week, I’ll be attending the 6th annual New Jersey GAFE summit. In addition to facilitating a few workshops, I’m also very honoured to have been invited to deliver the opening keynote at the event. My presentation, titled Developing critical literacies: What students need to know in a “fake news†world, addresses what I see as one of the key challenges facing educators today: preparing students to survive and thrive in our post-truth reality.
In anticipation of this event, I’ve compiled a small collection of key readings, viewings, and other resources on the Padlet found below.
I’d love for you to take some time to explore the information collected on the Padlet and then to think about how you might start to address the issue of fake news in your own school context. Then, please take a few moments to respond, by commenting on this post OR by submitting your own video response to the Flipgrid below. Even if you won’t be attending the New Jersey summit, I’d still love to hear your thoughts on this important issue in education!
You have some very powerful resources embedded within your pre-summit links. Kathy Schrock has been a reliable resource for years. When she was a high school media specialist she started the groundwork of this information. I am fortunate to have heard her speak back then. This area has always been her passion and she shared her resources with her fellow media specialists at Morris County School Media Specialists meetings on several occasions. Her work continues to be as relevant today as it was back then.
With more devices and easier access to the Internet, digital tools, and hardware to do research, often the “guidance†previously relied upon by the Media Specialist is over-looked. Some teachers/adults assume students “know†reliable sources and research-based skills, when in reality they rely on the “fake news†type of research skills and rarely check for reliability and credibility. Many of the resources you have provided emphasize these basic research skills that need to be addressed.
I look forward to the “Summit†experience and hope this provides greater awareness of the need to allow time for dedicated instruction in critical evaluation of resources.
Connie Smay