Ailments affect all kinds of people. But images doctors see in their textbooks and research journals don’t often reflect that. AI just makes it worse. Two medical illustrations by artist Ni-ka Ford. On the left is a depiction of botox injections. On the right is...
The movie “Civil War” gives little backstory, leaving viewers to experience war in the moment, the way the reporters in the film cover it. Scene from the movie Civil War. Credit: A24 This article was produced exclusively for News Decoder’s global news...
Our new board member wants to foster the insatiable curiosity we all have, whether through a book pulled off a shelf or a digital site like News Decoder. Audrey Chapuis giving a talk at the American Library of Paris. (Credit: Krystal Kenney) Ask Audrey Chapuis what...
News and media literacy groups are calling on Europe to include journalism in media literacy education. Students need to know how to spot news they can trust. A teen points to a site that can be trusted while another gives a different site a thumbs down. Illustration...
Young people engage with the news in its many, diverse forms but they can’t always trust its reliability or may not verify sources. It is vital that young people be able to discern between real news and fake, verified trustworthy sources and polemic, propaganda or clickbait. In this piece, Aralynn Abare McMane talks to news and media literacy groups and explores why they are calling for Europe to include journalism in media literacy education.
Exercise: In order to better understand the wider issues surrounding media literacy, ask students to choose one of the organizations or projects mentioned in the article. They should undertake independent research into what they do. In groups, they can look into their chosen organization or project and prepare a short presentation summarizing what they do and the key issues they address. They should then reflect on why this organization exists, what problem it solves and how its objectives help students like them in the real world.
Ask an AI app if it will kill off journalism and you get a nuanced answer. But from a human point of view, things seem more black and white. A room filled with computer servers serves as a newsroom. (Illustration by News Decoder) This article was produced exclusively...
Courts around the world are considering promises made via text message as legally-binding contracts. Text messsages depict a reneged deal. (Illustration by News Decoder) This article was produced exclusively for News Decoder’s global news service. It is through...
Amina McCauley experienced climate change in the ancient forests of Tasmania. Now she wants students around the globe to understand its effects. Amina McCauley sits among the fern trees in Wellington Park, Tasmania. (Photo courtesy Amina McCauley) Concern about...
If a child is old enough to learn to read, it’s time to teach them to be media literate. But how to implement that in schools takes some problem solving skills. A teen shrugs at the difference between two computer screens. One shows an article by the New York...
Today’s students are digital natives, but are they digitally literate? In this Classroom #Decoder, guest writer Michael Leedom of the University of Toronto surveys media literacy curriculums around the globe, finding that media literacy education in Finland may be the world’s most robust.
Exercise: Read the article with your class, then have students try their hand at “lateral reading”. This is defined in the text as “checking the credibility of a claim by consulting other sources. Rather than remaining on a website with questionable information to find answers, known as ‘vertical reading’, students are taught to open a new tab and see if new information conflicts with what more trusted websites offer.” Present students with a web page and have them verify the credibility of that page by practicing lateral reading.
In more regions around the world people want to keep some books out of the hands of youth. But these are the books that engage kids the most. A heavy chain and lock covers three novels at the heart of book banning controversies. (Illustration by News Decoder) This...
Book bans have historically been linked to authoritarian regimes. In recent years, we’ve seen the rise of book bans in democratic countries, too. This is a disturbing trend, and young people are noticing, too. In this piece from high schooler Emily Ireland of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in the U.S. state of Mississippi, prompt student thinking on censorship and banning books with an evidence-based reasoning activity.
Exercise: Read the article with your class. Then, launch a class discussion on whether there are book topics that should or shouldn’t be banned in public schools in your country. Be sure to get into the nuances of this complicated topic: if some topics are inappropriate for certain audiences, who should be responsible for restricting access? Should it be governments, parents, schools? How might these parameters change from country to country, depending on context? This activity is well-suited to be a complementary teaching tool on a lesson about civil liberties (e.g. in the United States, the Bill of Rights).
From Gaza to Israel to the United States some people are turning to social media for civil discussion. Can we stop disinformation about the Middle East? Posts on an imaginary social media page calling for civil dialogue about the Middle East. (Illustration by News...
Social media can be a double-edged sword — with the power to unite and to divide. How can students differentiate between disinformation and credible content? Journalism undergraduate student Ella Gorodetsky from the University of Wisconsin-Madison looks at social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war to investigate.
Exercise: After reading the article together, have students come up with a social media campaign to stop the spread of disinformation. In 160 characters or less, students should invent a catchy slogan to help others distinguish between credible and fake content. This activity should be done in groups of 2-3.