Learning Objectives

• Understand the importance of using digital text in teaching and learning.
• Understand the ways that developing digital reading skills can contribute to lifelong learning. 

Reading in the Digital Wilderness

What was the source of the last news that you received? Television? Online news source? Social media feed? Increasingly in the past several years, our news sources have moved from print to digital. Video, article, graphic—each type of media can be used to convey information that is deemed relevant, timely, and of consequence to the majority of the public. Reading digital text for information or entertainment requires the ability to comprehend and analyze, evaluate, and reflect. Because we know they are not using eBooks or other informational text online for their primary reading source, it is important for digital natives to be exposed to digital text. When exposing them to digital text the skills they need in order to determine whether the article they are reading is accurate, biased, totally false, or satire need to be explicitly taught. Read more about how INFOhio can help students beat fake news in this Teach With INFOhio blog post.

There are many resources available to help teachers integrate the evaluation of online content into learning. However, before students can master the evaluation of the content, they should also get explicit instruction on how to read text or view other media on the internet with a critical eye for analysis and synthesis. As students grow, it is important to expose them to a variety of media from both reliable and not-so-reliable resources. The goal is to develop close readers who engage with information to determine whether it is accurate or false. Young adults who have been explicitly instructed to read digital text can be released into the digital wilderness and feel confident about their safety. 

How Safe are You in the Digital Wilderness? 

In a 2016 Pew Internet Research Center Study, 64% of Americans polled said they found made-up news caused "a great deal of confusion." Even adults can struggle to determine whether the information we find online is from a reliable source and is accurate. It requires close reading and comprehension. Try taking these quizzes to see how well you do in the digital wilderness. 

Can You Spot the Deceptive Facebook Post? The New York Times, September 2018

Can you Pick the Fake News Headline?  The Australia Broadcast Company

Reflecting on Your Learning

Answer the following questions in the Reading on the Screen Open Space group Discussions. Find the Reading in the Digital Wilderness reflection question in the Discussions tab. Review the thread and reply to other participants' responses.

1. How did you do on the quizzes? Why do you think you had the outcomes you did? Did anything surprise you?
2. What elements do you rely on to help you determine if the information is reliable or not? What reading techniques do you use?
3. How can you share what you learned in this lesson with your students? What will be of most value to them?