This resource combines the short online course, Evaluating News and Other Sources, designed to help older high school and college students understand and assess bias and evaluate sources, as well as an issue of the ASCD Express newsletter, Critical Literacy in the Age of Clickbait, focused on the same topics.
Credo Education released its online micro course in response to concerns over students’ inability to identify fake news stories, however, it can help build information literacy and critical thinking skills for any purpose. The course, Evaluating News and Other Sources, consists of two modules: Bias and Assumption, and Evaluating Sources. Each module includes 4 to 5 lessons with explanatory text, videos, and scenarios to practice making informed choices, and ends with a short quiz. Educators may use quizzes to gauge student’s current level of information literacy or let students take the whole course to improve these skills.
The articles included in Critical Literacy in the Age of Clickbait offer links to information, tips, and strategies on the following topics:
- The Critical Need for Critical Literacy
- Strategies to Cultivate Literacy in Young Learners
- Three Identifying Questions for Identifying Bias
- Four tips for Effective Lesson Plans on Fake News
- Questioning Authority in a Fact-Optional World
Interested educators might introduce the online course to their students after reading the newsletter issue to gain insights on building critical literacy and analysis skills.
Source Organizations: Credo Education and ASCD