What Will We Do about Internet Literacy?

This blog post by 起点传媒member Frank Baker appeared originally on on 1/26/2021, and is reprinted with permission.

The inability of many of today鈥檚 students to evaluate information online for truthfulness has become a crisis in American education.

Even though most students now use the Internet as their primary tool to learn what鈥檚 happening in the world, the education system has been slow to acknowledge the problem and begin a serious search for solutions.

I hope you鈥檙e ready to do your part, and that you鈥檒l find what I鈥檝e shared here useful in shaping a better educator response to a global trend that Oxford researchers describe as 鈥渋ndustrialized disinformation鈥� and the Rand Corporation calls 鈥渢he era of Truth Decay.鈥�

Some Facts You Need to Know

In 2016 researchers at Stanford University鈥檚 History Education Group (SHEG) labeled students鈥� lack of critical thinking about information they find on the web as 鈥渄ismal.鈥� (A听听听found college age students similarly deficient.)

Since the release of the Stanford report four years ago, 鈥減olicymakers and educators have introduced a wave of initiatives aimed at equipping students with stronger digital literacy skills,鈥� 听听noted.听鈥淏ut as the 2020 election approaches and many of those students become first-time voters, SHEG researchers have found few signs of progress鈥� in the intervening years. ()

SHEG cofounder Sam Wineburg lamented the failure as 鈥渁 threat to democracy.鈥� He urged policymakers and educators to focus on and fund effective ways to teach students how they can separate truth from fiction in digital media:

We鈥檙e still very much seeing students struggle to make sense of the information they encounter. In 2019 we released the most extensive study to date on how young people go about trying to verify a claim on social media or the internet, based on research with more than 3,000 high school students matching the demographic profile of students across the United States.

More than half of the students believed that a grainy video on Facebook of ballot stuffing provided 鈥渟trong evidence鈥� of voter fraud during the 2016 US primaries, even though the clips were actually shot in Russia. More than 96 percent failed to recognize that a climate change denial group was connected to the fossil fuel industry.

These are claims that are easily discernible in two or three steps on the internet. So sadly, no鈥攜oung people鈥檚 ability to separate fact from fiction hasn鈥檛 improved in the last four years.

In early 2020, the Rand Corporation released a major report听 Its key details and recommendations have important ramifications for current and future instruction in schools.

One major finding of the 鈥淭ruth Decay鈥� report:

. . . nearly 80 percent (of the secondary teachers surveyed) described (their students鈥�) 鈥渓imited ability to evaluate the credibility of online information鈥� as a moderate or major problem. 92 percent of the teachers said 鈥渟tudents must learn to critically evaluate information for credibility and bias鈥攊t鈥檚 a crucial citizenship skill.鈥� )

Some science teachers听听that students trust YouTube videos more than the instruction they receive in class. It appears students often believe misinformation about climate change, the flat Earth, and vaccine safety, and may challenge conventional science facts. The Rand report seems to confirm that鈥攆inding that teachers reported 鈥渟tudents have made unfounded claims in class based on unreliable media sources.鈥�

Just this week, three researchers at the Oxford University Internet Institute (OII) a report,听, that found 鈥渆vidence of organized social media manipulation campaigns in all 81 countries surveyed in 2020, a 15% increase.鈥� The report speaks of 鈥渃yber-troops鈥� which it defines as

鈥�. . . social media accounts that spread doctored images, use data-driven strategies to target specific sections of the population, troll political opponents, and mass-report opponents鈥� content so that it is reported as spam. These accounts can be either automated or human.

Facebook and Twitter revealed that they removed more than 317,000 accounts and pages from their platforms in a 22-month period (Jan 2019 to Nov 2020), but they are up against an industry that has become 鈥減rofessionalized, with private firms offering disinformation-for-hire services,鈥� says Dr Samantha Bradshaw, a researcher at the OII.鈥�

Do our K12 students realize they live in a social media-soaked world where battles like these are going in the background of their daily digital lives? Would you agree that we have a responsibility to help them understand the breadth and depth of the problem and how they can respond effectively?

Some Education Context

Concerns about online misinformation have a long history among educators. In 1998, in the early days of the internet, education technologist Alan November presciently noted that not enough educators were dedicating instructional time to teaching students how to deconstruct the new World Wide Web. His now-classic essay听听is a must-read for every educator. (As you read it, ask yourself if much has changed in 22 years.)

More recently, the educational challenge has been framed as 鈥渋nternet literacy.鈥� In May 2009, the International Reading Association published 鈥淣ew Literacies and 21st Century Technologies鈥濃€攍andmark report ()听that expanded on the concept of literacy and urged educators to recognize the need to embrace 鈥渘ew literacy鈥� education.

Yet, when they were published in 2010, the influential Common Core ELA standards made only one substantive reference to the need for students to be smarter about online information. College and career-ready students were expected to 鈥済ather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.鈥�

鈥淎t the top level, they鈥檙e saying, yes, we recognize literacy means being digitally literate,鈥� said Bridget Dalton, an associate professor of literacy studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder. 鈥淏ut when you go to specific standards in reading, there鈥檚 not a lot there to guide you.鈥� ()

Dr. Donald Leu, Director of the听听at the University of Connecticut, agrees that schools are 鈥渢he key to solving the fake news problem.鈥� Yet, he noted in 2016, teachers have not been trained adequately nor do they have sufficient resources to fully address this 21st century literacy challenge. 鈥淚f I were going to invest in one thing, that鈥檚 where I would invest鈥攇iving teachers the instructional tools they can use to teach kids to think critically about online information.鈥� ()

Educators will find more guidance, from a standards perspective, in听听which recognizes the 鈥淣ew Media Ecology鈥� we live in and recommends the key skills students need. The New Media Ecology demands that educators acknowledge the 鈥渘ew communication tools require new media literacies beyond text.鈥�

Starting Down the Path to Media Literacy

How do we help students become better thinkers about everything they consume? One answer is 鈥渕edia literacy,鈥� which provides learners with the critical thinking skills to analyze, question and create media messages. Understanding how to identify credible sources is a critical skill and an important step toward full digital citizenship.

To evaluate information, students need to consider several factors: Author; Currency; Accuracy; Purpose; and Audience. I recommend that you introduce your students to each of the concepts and these questions they need to consider when evaluating information. ()

Author:

Is the author qualified to write on this topic?
Does the author have affiliations with reputable institutions?
Does the author cite other sources in a reference list?
For websites such as YouTube, is it clear who is posting the content?

Currency:

Is the information up to date for your purpose?
Is the website content current for your purpose?
Check the publication date for all content

Accuracy:

Is the information factual and correct?
Is a reference list or bibliography included?
Can the information be confirmed by research, statistics or studies?

Why Aren鈥檛 Students Better at Doing This?

Although I could not locate any current research that fully answers this question, I have some ideas. I believe that today鈥檚 students have weak media and information literacy skills because:

Teachers have had little, if any, professional development in how to teach media literacy, so they don鈥檛.
The ELA teaching standards may reference critical thinking about web content, but this standard is often not a priority and also not a part of every discipline鈥檚 standards.
Some educators have the mindset: 鈥淚t isn鈥檛 part of what I鈥檓 responsible for teaching.鈥�
Librarians have a role as teachers of 鈥渋nformation literacy,鈥� but some may not be keeping up with the times, which include widespread intentional efforts to deceive.
Colleges of education don鈥檛 offer courses so new teachers don鈥檛 get instruction.
The existing 鈥渄igital literacy鈥� curriculum is insufficient and/or ineffective.
Parents, who may not monitor their student鈥檚 online habits, don鈥檛 recognize the weaknesses in their child鈥檚 critical thinking skills or know how to address them.

Do any of these ring true in your experience?

In a recent webinar I hosted, one teacher offered this reason: she said her students are part of a generation that wants things fast, so they hurry and don鈥檛 bother to verify because it would take too long. Does this sound familiar? If so, what strategies might encourage them to slow down and engage?

A Call to Action

So now that we know what the problem is, what are some things we can do? In general, state and local boards of education, state departments of education, and district-level leaders in every state must make media and information literacy a much higher priority.

Only when these literacies are identified as 鈥渕ust do鈥� and appropriately assessed will teachers receive the time, training and continuing support to become media literacy educators. If federal elections and Constitutional principles are at stake, it makes sense for Congress and the executive branch to provide funding to rally educators around this goal.

At the school and district level, my colleague Chris Sperry of Project Look Sharp recommends an integrated approach that has teachers from all disciplines and grade levels engage their students in the practice of asking听听as part of content area instruction.

Through听听(Project Look Sharp鈥檚 approach), educators can teach both core subject area knowledge and media literacy habits. 鈥淚f teachers use this engaging methodology across the curriculum,鈥� says Sperry, 鈥渙ur students will be better prepared to manage current and future epistemological threats to our democracy.

Consult Your School Media Specialist

If we need to add another 鈥渉ero鈥� to our growing list in this new decade, I nominate the nation鈥檚 school librarians. They are the 鈥済o to鈥� educators for teaching the so-called 鈥渄igital natives鈥� how to not only use the Internet, but also how to think critically about that use at the same time. If you鈥檙e fortunate enough to have a teacher specialist in that role in your school鈥攁nd you have not yet collaborated to help your students get 鈥渦p to speed鈥� on verification skills鈥攏ow would be a good time.

Conclusion

Do you feel prepared or overwhelmed? Where will you go for advice and assistance? How will you proceed? I hope this post offers you some ideas and direction. Providing opportunities for our students to be engaged in critical thinking about online content is not only important, but urgent in these times of social and political unrest and uncertainty.

What action will you take? Only you can prevent media illiteracy.

Recommended Resources

鈻� From my perspective, it is clear that many students听are not taking the time听to verify what they consume. Verification skills should become a priority. If you missed my previous post,听, now might be a good time to read it.

鈻� Another MiddleWeb post,听, also explores the idea that even when students understand the basics of fact-checking and information-mining, they still need to be motivated to use their skills.

鈻� Project Look Sharp provides over 500听听for this work,听听by keyword, subject, level or standard, as well as听听for leading media decoding activities (online and in person).

鈻� The Rand Corporation has recently followed up its 鈥淭ruth Decay鈥� study with听听for schools.

鈻� 听(Hechinger Report, 2021)

鈻� 听(Common Sense Media, 2019)

鈻� 听(Google game and resources)

鈻� The听听at University of Rhode Island offers insights and free curriculum materials addressing media literacy and propaganda.

鈻�

鈻� 听(Los Angeles Times op-ed 鈥� Sam Wineberg & Nadav Ziv. 11/6/20)

鈻� 听by Renee Hobbs (Wiley Blackwell, 2017)

鈻� 听by Sam Wineberg (University of Chicago Press, 2018)

鈻� 听听(A BBC Ideas Video)

鈻� 听(ISTE Blog 鈥� Jodi Pilgrim and Elda E. Martinez 鈥� 10/23/20)

鈻� 听(Julie Coiro, Edutopia, updated 8/29/17).

鈻� 听(New York Times Learning Network)

鈻� 听(Social Education, NCSS,听Joe Kahne and Erica Hodgin (2018).

鈻� 鈥�.鈥� (Social Education, NCSS, Chris Sperry and Cyndy Scheibe (2020).

Frank W. Baker听conducts professional development workshops both face-to-face and via webinar and virtual workshops. His most recent book听听was praised as 鈥渁n incredible resource for any middle or high school humanities teachers looking to teach students how to think critically about the media they regularly consume.鈥澨鼺ollow him on Twitter听

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