fake news

fake news

A guide to political (mis)information

A guide to political (mis)information

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During any election season, voters are bombarded with messages regarding candidates, policies and the potential outcomes of a particular candidate’s victory.  Yet much of that messaging is distributed as lower-quality information, sometimes fact-free in its entirety.  Voting is an incredibly important duty for American citizens, and that means it’s doubly important to know how to find good quality information.  This is a guide to help locate facts and navigate the current political information environment. Memes are horrible sources of information Goofy cat pictures.  Images of celebrities saying or writing things they might not in a real-world situation.  Dogs in glasses.  These things seem harmless, but they’re not.  Why are memes so bad?  As defined by Richard Dawkins, memes are units … Continued
Media Literacy Week

Media Literacy Week

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Media Literacy Week, hosted by National Association for Media Literacy Education, will be held from Monday, October 24 to Friday, October 28.  Now in its eighth year, Media Literacy Week is intended to promote the important role of media literacy in education today. To celebrate, IU East will be hosting a panel discussion on Thursday, October 27, at 2:00 in Hayes 142 (in the library.)  In addition to IU East, multiple IU campuses are hosting Media Literacy Week events, including IUPUI and IUPUC, and most of these other events are available on Zoom.  The IU East panel discussion will focus on voting and will feature faculty members Andrea Quenette, E. Scott Lee and KT Lowe. Dr. Quenette is Associate Professor … Continued
News Media Know-how

News Media Know-how

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Different sources of information are good for different purposes.  Despite its glaring security issues, TikTok is increasingly being used as a way to search for more socially important information, such as where to find a restaurant or comparing two similar items.  But social media has no filters to determine the accuracy of its content.  For assessing information from non-academic sources, a good grounding in media literacy is essential. The SIFT Method One of the more accepted tools in basic media literacy is the SIFT Method.  Developed by Michael Caulfield of the University of Washington, the SIFT Method consists of four sections: Stop Investigate the source Find trusted coverage Trace claims to their original source The first step, Stop, is the … Continued
Digital Gardening: Instruction Librarian KT Lowe shares her first-person perspective

Digital Gardening: Instruction Librarian KT Lowe shares her first-person perspective

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In December 2021, I was fortunate to be a member of the inaugural class of Digital Gardening Faculty Fellows at Indiana University. Thirty-five faculty members from throughout the IU system were selected to participate in the Digital Gardening Initiative, which aims to pull together faculty from diverse IU institutions and backgrounds to help them develop digital literacy pedagogy. The Fellowship consisted of a series of required workshops and meetings every two weeks, plus additional workshops and speakers that were voluntary.  The required workshops covered topics such as Adobe Express and the Information Literacy Online Toolkit, while voluntary sessions brought in both student and professional presenters on topics such as Minecraft for Education. All IU East faculty, staff and students  have … Continued
Fact-checking in a time of crisis

Fact-checking in a time of crisis

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When major world events occur, facts can become harder to come by.  In a media climate where 53% of Americans get their news from social media, it is imperative that we as a society learn how to find good quality information when international conflicts can interrupt the flow of news coverage.  Here are some tips on how to stay informed. Double check images. Images are harder to check than text – they require extra effort to decipher their meaning and accuracy, and many people are more willing to believe fake news when there is a visual component.  Fake news sites will capitalize on fear and outrage by reusing images from older events or other locations that are unrelated to the … Continued