Monday, October 21, 2019


I think the following affects all of us as we use social media, read/listen, and communicate in the various parts of our lives!

My Lilly conference presentation last Friday was partly on using the fact-checking process when coming across information:

  1. Lateral reading” – use a right-click to open new tabs to investigate claims, authors, etc., via searching
  2. Practice “click restraint” by spending time to skim the results & reading bits and pieces before choosing to click any link (slow down, don't rely on the 1st site that shows up)
  3. Always “verify” by double-checking outside of the original source of information.

Research described in 2 articles below, shorter one first:

Breakstone, Joel, Sarah McGrew, Mark Smith, Teresa Ortega, and Sam Wineburg. (2018). Why we need a new approach to teaching digital literacy. Phi Delta Kappan, 99(6), 27. https://www.kappanonline.org/breakstone-need-new-approach-teaching-digital-literacy/

  • states that checklists (e.g., CRAAP test) do not help students evaluate resources, as they keep the students focused on the material itself rather than seeking to verify externally

Wineburg, Sam, and Sarah McGrew. (2017). Lateral Reading: Reading Less and Learning More When Evaluating Digital Information. Stanford History Education Group Working Paper No. 2017-A1. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3048994

  • longer article with all of the research and the process spelled out