#CdnELTchat Summary for March 10, 2020 (Fake News? Misinformation and critical information literacy in #ELT)

#CdnELTchat Summary for March 10, 2020
Fake News? Misinformation and critical information literacy in #ELT
Jennifer Chow

The mainstream media is not our only news source anymore. The way we consume information has changed. Many of our students get their news from Facebook, Twitter, WeChat, WhatsApp, YouTube news shows etc. On top of that, political leaders warn against trusting the mainstream media making it even more difficult to distinguish between real and fake news. With events such as the coronavirus outbreak, the result of misinformation or fake news can provoke serious consequences. What skills and tools do students need in order to evaluate the reliability of news sources? 

These are the questions that guided our discussion:

Q1: How important are information literacy skills to English language learners?
Q2: What skills do students need to become information literate?
Q3: How can we embed information literacy skills into the curriculum?
Q4: Many students get their news information from sources in their L1. How can we teach them information literacy skills that transcend language? 

You can read all the tweets from the chat on Wakelet, Fake News? Misinformation and critical information literacy in #ELT. I highly recommend reading the tweets because there were a number of useful resources that were shared. Thank-you to everyone who participated and shared resources. 

Here are some of the key takeaways from the chat:

• critical thinking is in the Essential Skills framework and is a key part of information literacy
• information literacy skills are required for full participation as an active citizen
• it’s a skill for everyone, not just ELLs, but some key indicators might be harder for them
• better information practices lead to better immigrant settlement outcomes
• teach students how to use a tool like the CRAAP test (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) to evaluate sources as a starting point
• help students look at the design, spelling, grammar, bias, motivation etc.
• critical information literacy could be embedded in the curriculum, but it could also be an explicit unit and then tied in to any theme/topic 
• the fundamental information literacy skills are language independent 
• humour and satire can also be used to teach information literacy in a way that transcends language

We encourage everyone to continue the conversation using the hashtag #CdnELTchat. Here are all the great questions that we didn’t have time to discuss during the live one-hour chat: 

#CdnELTchat is a collaborative effort that we hope will lead to more reflective practice for all of us involved in ELT. If you have any ideas for topics or have comments about #CdnELTchat, please send @StanzaSL, @BonnieJNicholas, @Jennifermchow, or @ELTAugusta a tweet. We are also looking for guest moderators who are interested in leading a future #CdnELTchat. Send us a message with a topic of interest. 

Our Padlet, Questions and Topics for #CdnELTchat, is always open for sharing questions, ideas, and resources. We create our promo images using Canva and collect the tweets using Wakelet. 

Jennifer is passionate about learning how technology can empower her students. After experiencing how technology enabled her to stay connected as an educator, a parent and an active citizen, she is motivated to find the same opportunities for her students. Twitter: @jennifermchow