I enjoy writing about this seeing that I actually teach students how "To Be" the media. They are taught to write and produce without bias or opinion as an ethical journalist. It is so difficult nowadays to find a true journalist that just writes true hard substantiated facts. So when I try and find examples to present to my students of good and ethical practices, I also try and find a poor example (what they should not strive to be like). When asked the question about whether all information we look or read is equal-the answer is no. Some information is instructional, some informational, some for entertainment or interest. Is the information you find accurate-yes and no would be my answer to that. You usually have to sift through a lot of fluff in order to find something that you can utilize for the classroom. Is the information and the outlets used worthy of attention-absolutely. They are where this new generation is headed. Social media and internet use is now a given in today's students. We as teachers need to be aware of the outlets and what they are delivering.
How do I decide what information to use and what to discard depends solely on what point I am trying to get cross and what lesson I am teaching. Some lessons may be more beneficial from having information from these outlets than others. According to our documents, Information Literacy is your ability to evaluate media across the board. You should be able to recognize what is needed for usage and what you can discard. You should also be able to use it effectively using technology, communication networks and electronic resources. I make sure that I know exactly what I am looking for before I begin my search. I have an exact plan, therefore, I am not wasting my time.
As a teacher in order for you to make your students information literate-you must first be literate. How can you expect them to be proficient in this area if you can not help guide them. Through CTE I make sure that the students are well aware that they can gather information and do their research in the various platforms mentioned earlier. Through all media outlets and the web they can efficiently maneuver around to find what they are looking for. In various projects we do throughout a semester, they will use their cell phones, internet, newspapers, TV and radio in their research. I will direct them to certain pages to choose from so that they have a guideline to go by. In doing that I will also be teaching them how to accurately choose information from a selected group of sources.
I too find it important to teach our students the difference between acceptable and unacceptable forms of information gathering. So many times when we are discussing a current event, my students are familiar with the topic (good thing), but don't have the proper information or facts (bad thing). Most of them get their information from social media, leaving a lot of room for errors and skewed opinions. Though I am glad that today's generation discusses worldly matters on social media outlets, I emphasize daily the importance of fact checking. Of course we all want to believe what we read, see, or hear from media outlets, but they have to understand that there is usually subjectivity with such discussion.
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