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Monday, February 26, 2018

Checkology: Another Media Literacy Resource

My post, "Fighting Fake News," on tools to teach media literacy--especially online--received a number of responses. Among them was one from Lisa Kerscher, Education Director of Brightways Learning in Missoula, who pointed me to Checkology. Created by the News Literacy Project and designed for use in grades 6-12, the site offers 12 online lessons that (according to the site's own promotion) teach students how to 
  • Categorize information
  • Make and critique news judgments
  • Explore how the press and citizens can each act as watchdogs
  • Detect and dissect viral rumors.
My favorite statistic from the site's PR: "86% of students reported that after Checkology's lessons, they "learned to check information before they share it."

The nonpartisan News Literacy Project was founded in 2008 by former Los Angeles Times investigative reporter Alan Miller, and its partner news organizations (who endorse its mission and donate services) include the Associated Press and Reuters as well as many other news organizations. (See how I'm modeling media literacy and sourcing* here?) 

Teachers can get free premium access to Checkology during 2017-2018 school year.

*Sourcing is a historical thinking skill we all should use when analyzing informational text (including both primary and secondary sources). It starts with asking three questions of every source: Who created it, when, and for what purpose?


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