A few times in class the problem of Internet Literacy has been addressed, mainly along the lines of whether or not internet literacy should be a part of the definition of literacy, or if the definition of literacy is changing so that email, facebook, twitter, etc. are the main types of literacy used today. In another class we were discussing verifying sources and this website came up: http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
This is a website entitled Save The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus. It provides pictures and information on the tree octopus and information on groups that are working to help save this endangered species. My professor informed the class that in a study 25 out of 25 students, after reading this article believed that the Tree Octopus is a real thing, despite references to Sasquatches and an organization for the ethical treatment of pumpkins, along with numerous other clues that the information is false.
This brings up an interesting problem. If internet literacy becomes part of formal literacy, how are students supposed to navigate through stories like this that present themselves as reliable? In the past students have used other books to support their papers and opinions. Books are peer edited, a scientist can't publish information that other scientists read and are able to prove false. On the internet, any Jim, Bob, Dick or Jane can publish whatever they want. They can even purchase degrees online to make themselves appear legitimate. Even more, I recently found out that one can purchase an .edu domain for $20. Many students (and teachers) assume that .edu sites give only reliable information.
It seems to me that teaching internet literacy and being able to navigate articles and reports on the internet presents a huge problem to future generations (and our generation).
Should internet literacy be tested to make sure that students can tell the difference between a phony story and a verifiable article?
With the technological advancements in our society it is almost impossible for literacy to stay in the books and out of the internet. How does society prepare for such a change?
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3 comments:
As rule of thumb, I was always told if I had to research a subject I would be best off to cite articles from scholarly journals (available via J-Stor, Google Scholar, et cetera). Usually one can find an article on what they're looking for by means of these avenues, unless your searching for a guacamole recipe.
Everyday we navigate this world of what's "true"/"false", propaganda/persuasion, butter/really...I can't believe it's not butter, blah, blah.
With the internet proving to be such a powerful tool, like in the case of Egypt, I doubt we'll see much censoring of it, which can be both postive and negative in many aspects; but false information is like crying wolf - it can only sustain that stance for so long (it took wikipedia 3 days to find my friend changed "2012 - disaster film" to "2012 - film disaster"). I feel a good education and cautionary talk on the realities of the internet should be suffice.
As far as the "25 out of 25 students" are concerned...
“Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!” -George Carlin
Your example of the false tree octopus article reminded me of the famous “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast by Orson Wells that aired as a fictional show in 1938. Many listeners believed the show as breaking news and started to panic that the world was ending with an invasion of aliens. People started fleeing to Canada and taking other extreme measures all because of a fictional drama.
My point here is that people are naturally gullible then and today. When something is broadcasted over the world, most people unthinkingly take it as truth. The only difference is the medium used. Back then it was the radio; now, the internet. Will this problem go away any time soon? Probably not. But, I do think it is a good idea to continue to educate students to be watchful of propaganda and to check and recheck with others sources to determine the validity of the information. Especially with the ease of acquiring information with the use of the internet, I think it is vital that we teach students to double check their facts with another source, even a book perhaps!
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