Misinformation or Ms. Information?

I believe that one of the biggest challenges right now of being a young person online is the constant flow of misinformation, exaggerated "eye-catching" headlines, click-bait, rage-bait, trends, etc. Don't get me wrong, these things were present in journalism and media prior to the invention of the internet, but the quantity of how much a single person comes across in a day has certainly increased dramatically and now with the use of AI, it can be even more tricky to filter.

I am a secondary education student majoring in Health Studies and minoring in Biology. This means that I will be teaching in a high school setting. I believe that Health Studies is the perfect class to teach digital literacy (other than it's own class with it's own curriculum). The problem I face as a teacher in Saskatchewan is that digital literacy is not mentioned in the Grade 9 Health Studies curriculum. In fact, the Grade 9 Health Studies curriculum has not been updated since 2009! The world changes every day, let alone every year. 15 years is far too long for a curriculum not to be updated, especially Health Studies.

With the curriculum we have right now, it would be really tough to fit in digital literacy but it is such an essential aspect of being a part of this new digital age we live in. If I were hired as a teacher for Grade 9 Health Studies right now, because I believe it is so essential, there are a few things I think I could do to squeeze in digital literacy.

Indicator a) of Outcome USC9.2 in the Saskatchewan Grade 9 Health Studies curriculum, "Evaluate and respond to a variety of sources of, and information about, safety in the community" could be used as a starting place to then bring in and teach the concept of digital literacy and misinformation about health online. The media is known for using buzzwords, shocking headlines, popular celebrities, and trends in it's promotion of fad diets, extreme and unhealthy nutritional "information", and products. That is by using the goals of the NCTE and online sources, students could learn how to critically examine what they are seeing online and be able to make healthy decisions in this digital age.

The goal "Explore and engage critically, thoughtfully, and across a wide variety of inclusive texts and tools/modalities" of the NCTE aligns nicely with the theme of health misinformation online and digital literacy. I think that using the “How false news can spread”, the “How statistics can be misleading”, and the “Can you spot the problem with these headlines?” videos with a following Kahoot activity or "Can you spot the fake headline?" quiz could be an engaging way to have the students learn and see real-life examples of misinformation online and allow them to practice their digital literacy skills before enacting them in their personal online use.

I also think that having visual reminders in the classroom, such as the "Beyond Fake News- 10 Types of Misleading News" poster, can help students be more aware of the problem even after you've already covered the topic. Keeping the parents and guardians up to date is another great way to encourage families to have these discussions outside of school, so utilizing tools such as Google Classroom and having a space designated to resources for students and parents could help!