Practical lesson tasks and deliverables

1. Assessing the Source

Activity: Source Credibility Investigation
Instructions:

• Select two websites reporting on the same news topic (e.g., a .gov site and a .com blog).

• Examine the “About Us” section for each site and note the publisher’s mission, funding sources, and potential biases.

• Research the authors of the articles and evaluate their expertise in the topic.

• Discuss which source appears more credible and why.

Deliverable: A one-paragraph evaluation of each source, highlighting key credibility factors.

2. Recognising Media Bias

Activity: Comparing Perspectives
Instructions:

• Read two articles covering the same topic from outlets with opposing viewpoints (e.g., a liberal and conservative news site).

• Identify language or phrasing that indicates bias (e.g., emotionally charged words or one-sided reporting).

• List any perspectives or voices that are missing in each article.

• Summarize how bias in each article shapes the narrative.

Deliverable: A table contrasting the biases and omissions in both articles.

3. Fact-Checking Information

Activity: Verify a Claim
Instructions:

• Choose a viral claim or headline from social media or news (e.g., “Study shows chocolate cures depression”).

• Use fact-checking websites like Snopes, FactCheck.org, or Google to verify the claim.

• Identify the original source of the claim and assess its reliability.

Deliverable: A step-by-step fact-checking log, including links to the sources consulted.

4. Understanding Algorithms

Activity: Algorithm Awareness Experiment
Instructions:

• Conduct a search on Google for a current event topic.

• Ask another student to perform the same search and compare results.

• Discuss how personalized algorithms may have influenced the content shown (e.g., differences in headlines, order of results).

• Reflect on how this affects your perspective on the topic.

Deliverable: A short reflection on the impact of algorithms on search results.

5. Identifying Misinformation

Activity: Misinformation Spotting Challenge
Instructions:

• Analyze a collection of headlines, including some that are accurate and others that are misinformation.

• Identify red flags (e.g., lack of credible sources, grammatical errors, sensational language).

• Cross-check a selected headline with credible sources to confirm its accuracy.

Deliverable: A checklist identifying red flags in the misinformation examples.

6. Evaluating Website Quality

Activity: Website Audit
Instructions:

• Choose a website and evaluate it for professional design, navigation, and content quality.

• Note the presence of excessive ads, unclear authorship, or outdated information.

• Compare with a .gov or .edu website on a similar topic and highlight differences in credibility.

Deliverable: A scored evaluation rubric for the website, with a summary of strengths and weaknesses.