As students and staff settle into the school year, we thought we’d share some of the new resources we’ve gathered over the summer, from attending the ISTE 2019 (International Society for Technology Education) Conference, to Common Sense releasing their new curriculum. Once again digital citizenship is brought to the forefront.
We are honored and excited to have played a role in the development of media literacy resources via our connection with Common Sense Education. An example would be Hoaxes and Fakes – a 9th grade lesson that pulls from our 2016 Saturday Seminar – Digital Kids, Digital Classrooms session on fake news.
While this lesson can be taught as a stand-alone, it can also be integrated into a science, English or history/social studies class to bring an awareness to media literacy as an essential skill for today’s research projects.
Fact VS. Fiction: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in the Age of Fake News includes examples from a variety of educators (elementary through higher ed) who demonstrate how to tackle fake news with students and colleagues. We’ve added an (autographed) copy of Jennifer Lagarde and Darren Hudgins’ book to our digital citizenship library.
We would also like the share a recent video on #deepfakes from U.C. Berkeley Professor Hany Farid:
Farid created this eight minute crash course on detecting “fakery” in photos and videos as a resource for grades 5 through adult.
You might enjoy putting the skills and tips Farid has shared into action by playing the below games:
- Factitious – A fast-moving game, players swipe left when they think the article in front of them is fake, and right when they believe it’s real (Developed by American University Game Lab)
- whichfaceisreal.com – Game challenges you to see if you can tell a real face from an A.I. fake. (Developed by Jevin West and Carl Bergstrom of the University of Washington)
- Mind Over Media: Analyzing Contemporary Propaganda – A “user-generated content website” for teaching and learning about propaganda. Students and teachers are invited to upload and share samples of propaganda from their own communities. (Developed by Media literacy advocate and author Renee Hobbs)
When is your brain ready for social media? – Common Sense, KQED and PBS have collaborated on a video to bring awareness to what rights students are giving up when they “Accept” the terms of use for 13+ apps, games, etc. The video could be a great conversation starter on privacy issues.
Common Sense continues to create wonderful resources to bring parents into digital citizenship conversations. We love the new Tech Balance app for parents of 3-8 year-olds. Parents can receive free text message tips about how their family can practice healthy media habits at home. Common Sense’s Research section is continually updated with “reliable, independent data on children’s use of media and technology and the impact it has on their physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development.”
If you’ve found any new resources over the summer for us to take a look at, please reach out via comments below.
Wishing everyone a great start to the new school year.
