We live in a time when disinformation runs rampant and, when cleverly crafted, it can be difficult to identify. Children have smartphones at a young age, and therefore, a wealth of information at their fingertips. This has made them technologically savvy, but how do we ensure that they are media savvy when even we as adults occasionally struggle to separate fact from fiction?
To answer this question, I researched how educational institutions around the world are approaching the disinformation dilemma. I wanted to understand if - and how - we are helping our young people read through the rhetoric, and I was very encouraged by what I learned.
In 2015, the Learn to Discern program was launched in Ukrainian classrooms, in an effort to help students better identify hate speech and fake news during a time of intense conflict. The program was woven into the existing curriculum and has been extremely successful in both scope and effectiveness.
Here in the US, Cornell University’s Library offers extensive resources for their students on the topics such as recognizing fake news, evaluating news sources, identifying source bias and being data literate. They also offer workshops conducted in person and via zoom.
Sam Wineburg is a research psychologist at Stanford University. He believes that these skills should be taught from “the moment we give [kids] a smartphone.” In that spirit, he collaborated with his colleagues to create a free “digital literacy curriculum” composed of “65 classroom-ready lessons”, videos and more. These materials can be accessed at sheg.stanford.edu. Wineburg is passionate about this brand of education. He says, “On every question we face as citizens—to raise the minimum wage, to legalize marijuana, to tax sugary drinks, to abolish private prisons, you name it—sham sources jostle for our attention right next to trustworthy ones. Failing to teach kids the difference is educational negligence.” I couldn’t agree more.
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