Key Concept 17

17.1 Candidates will be able to understand concepts of information literacy and can apply those to help students and educators improve their information literacy skills on the path to becoming dialectical readers.

In ET630, our cohort spent quite a bit of time discussing digital and critial information literacy. Through forum discussions on Google Classroom to our Digital Literacy Project, the importance of understanding the concepts of these literacies was made clear. It isn't enough that we understand them, however; we must be able to help our colleagues and, most importantly, our students be able to identify the skills needed to be more dialectical readers, especially in today's media climate.

As an English teacher, I see many similarities between the concept of "fake news" and the Salem Witch Trials. For my Digital Literacy Project, I created resources for teachers and students which help them compare the Witch Trials, the Red Scare of the 1950s, and today's "fake news" concerns. Through this project, teachers can guide students to a better understanding of how media manipulates people, how propaganda works, and what they can do to be critical readers, viewers, and listeners. It is full of readings, videos, and activities to test their critical literacy skills. I employed multiple strategies for this, including the CRAP (Currency, Reliability, Authority, Purpose) Model, the Media Bias/Fact Check website, and even having students create their own guides to help them navigate these stormy media waters.