Information Literacy 

An information literate student is one who can locate, evaluate, use (and cite) information in all its many forms, whether textual, graphical, technological, symbolic, oral or digital.  According to the Association of College and Research Libraries, 

"Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning."

Information literacy includes Media Literacy and News Literacy. Viral news is prolific. And it moves fast. But how much of it is true, and how do we know? Studies reveal that middle, high school and college-level students are ill-equipped to decipher between real and fake news today.   Stanford University's 2016 study showed "a dismaying inability by students to reason about information they see on the Internet."   The 2019 Stanford study states,  "The results were no better than a 2016 analysis of high school and college students." 

Yet a separate study by the Pew Research Center revealed that 62% of U.S. adults get their news on social media. 

“Our ‘digital natives’ may be able to flit between Facebook and Twitter while simultaneously uploading a selfie to Instagram and texting a friend,” state the researchers from the Stanford History Education Group, “But when it comes to evaluating information that flows through social media channels, they are easily duped.” 

What can we do about it? Educate ourselves. Educate our students. Discuss the relationship between news and advertising, and how clicks = revenue for online sources. Help students understand the tools they can use to identify credible, reliable sources.