INVESTIGATE
The resources in this module engage students in thinking about how to understand and analyze civic information online, while at the same time considering what information they can trust.
INVESTIGATE
UNDERSTAND AND ANALYZE CIVIC INFORMATION ONLINE,
CONSIDER WHAT INFORMATION YOU CAN TRUST
QUESTION ONE:
WHy is credibility important?
How can I judge the
credibility of civic
information online?
Activity #1: Credibility in the Digital Age Video & Discussion
(20 min)
First, have students watch the following video, Credibility in the Digital Age created by the MAPP Project, Pivot TV, and HitRECord that focuses on how we assess the quality of information we encounter online.
After watching the video, ask students to discuss the questions below in small groups. You may want to ask students to write down some of their thoughts first before discussing the ideas in their group. In their small groups, you could ask students to let each person go around and share about Question #1 before openly discussing it so everyone has a chance to speak first. They could then repeat the same process for the other questions.
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When you see something in media (any media), how do you know if it's true or not?
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How do you judge the credibility of a source? What is your thought process?
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Is there such a thing as a fact?
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Have you ever been fooled? Did you initially believe something only to find out later that it wasn't true? How did you react? Or, did you ever assume something was false then later find out that it was actually genuine?
Ask several volunteers from various groups to share some key highlights from their discussion.
Click here to download this exercise as a PDF.