Active learning ideas
Evaluating information is perhaps the most vital skill in the Digital Media Literacy specification. Students must learn to navigate a world of 'fake news,' deepfakes, and biased reporting. This topic teaches them to apply critical thinking frameworks, such as the CRAAP test (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose), to everything they read online. In Ireland, where students are exposed to a mix of local, UK, and US media, understanding the source and intent of information is essential for informed citizenship.
Activity 01
The class 'puts a headline on trial.' One group acts as the defense (arguing it's true), another as the prosecution (arguing it's fake), and a third as the jury. They must present 'evidence' from their own lateral reading and fact-checking.
How can I tell if a website is trustworthy?
Activity 02
Display various social media profiles and news snippets around the room. Students move in small groups to identify 'red flags' (e.g., weird URLs, lack of author bio, inflammatory language) using sticky notes to mark their findings.
What is fake news and why is it created?
Activity 03
Students are given a suspicious website. Instead of staying on the site, they must open three new tabs to see what *other* sites say about that source. They then share with a partner whether they would trust the original site based on their outside research.
How do I fact-check an online claim?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
If a website looks professional and has no typos, it must be true.
Modern misinformation is often highly polished. Using a 'Gallery Walk' of professional-looking but biased sites helps students realize that design is not a proxy for truth, and they must look at the 'Authority' and 'Purpose' instead.
Fact-checking is only for 'big' news stories.
Students often believe rumors in group chats don't need checking. A collaborative investigation into how a small rumor can escalate helps them see that the same evaluation skills apply to their personal social circles.
Methods used in this brief