This article is from Edsurge and it discusses a recent talk Danah Boyd had at a conference in Texas. As the title suggests she discusses witch measures should be taken to teach students about the challenges of helping students develop critical thinking and information literacy. What is the destination between finding reliable information challenging knowledge? What if we end up with students who onlyturn to online communities to make sense of the world around them.
Here are some points I found interesting. The whole article found here.
Most Americans believe it is now harder to be well-informed and to determine which news is accurate. They increasingly perceive the media as biased and struggle to identify objective news sources.”
In today’s world, individuals have become emboldened to believe that they can—and should—take it upon themselves to check facts and discern truths from falsehoods.
Educational groups, from Common Sense Media to PBS, have introduced online curricula designed to help teachers teach the topic. Often these tools include lessons on checking facts and analyzing sources for biases.
st that there is only one truth. We have to recognize that there are plenty of students who are taught that there is only one legitimate way of thinking, one accepted worldview,” boyd said.
By describing the goal of media literacy as a way to discover the truth, adults may actually reinforce the message that there is only one explanation, a strict, black-and-white line between what’s right and wrong. That thinking generally does not sit well for adolescents and young adults, who may be naturally inclined to challenge authority and seek alternative explanations, said boyd