Today’s noteworthy tweet comes from Ross Dawson (@rossdawson)
It seems amazing to me that media and information literacy has never been a core part of the school curriculum.
However Estonia teaches it K-12 with a ‘media and influence’ course compulsory, treating it as a foundational skill.
Great piece in @BBC_Futurehttps://t.co/5S2A6hpDAO— Ross Dawson (@rossdawson) January 31, 2022
We are in the age of disinformation and it is growing worse every year. It is one of the most pressing issues of our time. IMHO, education on information literacy is one of the best ways to address the issue. Back in the late 1990’s I served on the first campus committee to develop resources on information literacy for our students. The material included training on how to use email, the web, and productivity software. But that was a generation ago. Now we need to provide training on how to evaluate the quality, credibility, and validity of information. And this training is needed not just for college students, but for society at large.
I highly recommend you read the article from the BBC mentioned in the tweet: “The country inoculating against disinformation.” I commend Estonia on their efforts to combat disinformation. Can this be replicated in the United States? I have my doubts. I hope that higher education redoubles their efforts to provide this type of training.