The ‘top ten’ multi-stakeholder media literacy resources for resilience to information disorder

Toolkit

These ‘top ten’ media literacy resources were highly rated by all of our participant groups (students, teachers, librarians and journalists). Our success measure was multi-stakeholder approval and these ten open access tools scored highest at our research workshops.  

1. Student Reporting Labs

PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs is a project-based learning program that supports teachers and young people to report on important issues in their community, creating impactful video reports for local media outlets and the national PBS NewsHour

This project is at the intersection of media literacy and community action taking, I think this is the way forward for responding to this problem.

Teacher

This really gets students into more active information literacy, helps to develop, through learning by doing, the critical capacity to read between the lines.

Library professional

2. NewsWise

The NewsWise unit of work has been developed by a team of news literacy, primary English and primary PSHE education specialists. It provides a three-week set of cross-curricular English and PSHE lessons composed of three themes understanding news, critically navigating news and reporting news.

This is great for reaching the age group in the UK that can’t access Media Studies in schools yet but is vulnerable to misinformation. It could have the added benefit of switching younger students onto media education.

Student

The educational remit has to be about how to question as part of a broader digital learning, but the media have a role to play as well and this is a good starting point for that partnership.

Journalist

3. NewsGuard

NewsGuard uses journalism to fight false news, misinformation, and disinformation, giving a Green-Red ratings signal to websites and “Nutrition Label” write-ups of the more than 2,000 news and information sites.

A SWAT team of NewsGuard analysts operates 24/7 to identify suddenly trending purveyors of unreliable news.

This would work really well in tandem with getting students to write their own news story, because it would involve fact checking and sourcing to make sure they got green.

Teacher

This is useful for giving young people a framework to use when they analyse news. Gives a good starting point to interrogate news and media information generally.

Library professional

4. IJ Net

These quick and easy shortcuts guide users through the step-by-step process of information verification.

This guide is spot on for teaching media literacy , it’s really useful and accurate

Journalist

Fake news is a continuum. Multiple people interpret it in different ways, but this ties together a consistent approach and I think taken together these can help create more resilience.

Library professional

5. BBC Young Reporter

BBC Young Reporter (formerly School Report) works in partnership with schools, colleges, youth organisations and charities to provide young people with the skills they need to create and understand the media.

This is a whole scheme of work, with loads of videos, all the resources. I used this with year 9 and I could pick and choose what I needed, it was great.

Teacher

The goal of this is not to be standalone, you can engage with people about what types of decisions you have to make … it does the job of humanising it, lifting the veil, really well.

Teacher

6. National Literacy Trust

These resources are designed to help primary and secondary teachers, parents and school librarians equip children with the critical literacy skills they need to survive and thrive in today’s digital world.

By year 6, and as the transition to secondary school begins, you need to start introducing media literacy education. This has resources for the key age groups.

Student

It’s the one we’ve looked at here that clearly aims to be useful for all the groups. You have to register but then the resources are free.

Journalist

7. Team Human

Team Human is about helping redefine what it means to stay human in a digital age. It grapples with complex issues of agency, social justice, and all those quirky non-binary corners of life.

It’s a great way of getting the bigger ideas across about technology and media, rather than seeing fake news as the main issue. I think for teenagers, there’s a lot of things that intrigue us. We want to dissect stuff. We really like to explore this stuff

Student

I love this broader approach. It’s what media literacy is all about, prevention rather than cure. And there aspects that media students don’t understand themselves, how search algorithms work? Media literacy doesn’t go that far, so this helps make the link

Teacher

8. Media Lens

We check the media’s version of events against credible facts and opinion provided by journalists, academics and specialist researchers. We then publish both versions, together with our commentary, in free Media Alerts and invite readers to deliver their verdict both to us and to mainstream journalists through the email addresses provided in our ’Suggested Action’ at the end of each alert.

This is important for critical media literacy, the trust question: there is always an agenda. This is about transparency, the source of the source) and who owns the information – critical thinking.

Teacher

Fake news is interesting and spices things  up a little bit. That’s how we work as humans. The first article I see Is usually the one that I read and if it doesn’t fit within what you can already see in your real life, you discredit it or discard it.  But this would make me think again about all media.

Student

9. Unesco: Fight Fake News

This handbook explores the very nature of journalism with modules on why trust matters; thinking critically about how digital technology and social platforms are conduits of the information disorder; fighting back against disinformation and misinformation through media and information literacy; fact-checking 101; social media verification and combatting online abuse.

Critical thinking is having an awareness of the source, the messages behind everything. This is great for being clear on what the sources are, where information is coming from, evaluating the quality of a source and tracking back to establish your credibility.

Library professional

The concept of media literacy itself leads to cynicism and mistrust, sometime, so this looks at how journalists do business, being transparent about what we do, have you checked your sources, basic things that build up over time to contribute to trust.

Journalist

10. Mind over Media

This web platform provides an opportunity to explore the subject of contemporary propaganda by hosting thousands of examples of 21st century propaganda from around the world. Users can upload, examine and discuss examples of propaganda from our own daily lives. By examining propaganda, rating its potential impact, and commenting on it, people share their interpretations with others.

There’s an entire curriculum here for teachers. with content.

This is developed by media literacy researchers, it’s engaging as you have to differentiate and it activates strong emotions.

Teacher

This is provocative and takes us right into the murky waters and difficult debate. I like the emphasis on input from the users. Gives you an opportunity to comment, feed into and test, an encouragement to become actively involved.

Library professional

Project Presentations

Project Presentation at World Journalism Education Congress

Project Presentation to European Commission

Project Presentation to Sussex Media Teachers Conference