Category Archives: misinformation

Talking to Students About Ukraine

It is not hard to notice how much our OJCS students have been talking to one another about what’s happening in Ukraine.  When they enter the classroom in the mornings, when they play outside at recess, and as they walk in the halls, they are talking about the things they’ve heard, the TikTok videos they’ve … Continue reading Talking to Students About Ukraine

Becoming a Critical Thinker on TikTok

A middle school media literacy lesson With TikTok becoming the social media platform of choice for so many students, it is important that they learn to recognize the misinformation, hate, and propaganda on the platform.  It is also critical that they become aware of some of the TikTok controversies, like the privacy issues with the … Continue reading Becoming a Critical Thinker on TikTok

The News Literacy Project’s Checkology Program

I wanted to take a moment to highlight an incredible program for our students that is available online.  I have been both impressed and amazed by the work that The News Literacy Project is doing to help build critical thinking skills in students.  The News Literacy Project is a non-profit and nonpartisan organization that is … Continue reading The News Literacy Project’s Checkology Program

Information Credibility Slides Lesson

Learning to identify misinformation, disinformation, deepfakes and other baloney I recently created this lesson on information credibility for our OJCS middle schoolers in the interactive format of Nearpod.  I am posting the slides version here for students and teachers far and wide to use.  Our young people need this now more than ever!

The Sad Little Fact – Being a Fact-Finder in the Age of Misinformation

A fake fact is otherwise known as MISINFORMATION… Misinformation is ‘false or inaccurate information, especially that which is deliberately intended to deceive.’ Where do we hear this misinformation?  Unfortunately, the online world is absolutely full of it.  From youtube videos, to tiktok, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media, people are bombarded with fake facts and … Continue reading The Sad Little Fact – Being a Fact-Finder in the Age of Misinformation

Become a Fact-Checker – Part 2: A Little Help From My Friends

Last week we tried a new technique called ‘Lateral Reading’ to help us become better fact-checkers.  This week we are going to learn about various websites that are out there that can help us find out if what we have heard or read is factual or not. You are going to read the following article … Continue reading Become a Fact-Checker – Part 2: A Little Help From My Friends

Become a Fact-Checker… Part 1: Reading Laterally

There is a constant stream of misinformation and disinformation out there about a lot of world news and this is especially true about the Coronavirus.  Misinformation is false or inaccurate information that is often posted deliberately to deceive.  Disinformation is false information put out through certain politicians or governments to deliberately deceive.  Unfortunately, both misinformation … Continue reading Become a Fact-Checker… Part 1: Reading Laterally