There's a website that I used to help kids evaluate information. Its called dhmo.org. The information is accurate, but is presented in an over-the-top, inflammatory way. Dhmo stand for dihydrogen monoxide. Its states, among other things, that it's involved in all drownings, is found in tumors and that the government refuses to do anything about it.
It contains links to valid websites. If you remember your chemistry you will know that it is H20 or water. I tell the kids after they are done reacting to the information they find.
In 1999, my life science teacher was basically Mrs. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus. the year started by looking up whatever we wanted in the Skeptic's Dictionary, the DHMO site, and a couple others I no longer remember, to help shift our thinking in the right direction.
Thank you for this post, Hana. I'm going to send it around the staff at my school as you suggest some very useful strategies for evaluating sources of information. I really like the way you listed activities under each framework. We have some similar frameworks in Australian states (where I'm from). One is the New South Wales Department of Education 'Information Fluency Framework'. While it is designed for our primary students (I think that equates to Elementary students in the US), it can be adapted for older students.
Hana, this is priceless. Kids need to know how to question a source's authority in context, trace the motivation behind information, and refine their own questions as new answers arrive. If they don't, we all lose — because a democracy that can't distinguish inquiry from manipulation isn't governing itself, it's being governed.
But you've got me wondering: how do we teach this to adults?
Most of the people who most need these skills learned to read in an era when authority was simpler and trust was institutional. They weren't taught the reference interview — they were taught to defer. The information environment has changed completely; their evaluative habits haven't. Your framework is exactly right for kids. How do we create a version of it for the rest of us?
Number 1 is the toughest sell, don't think adults fully understand it. They instinctively fold to the 'widely accepted in one field must mean expertise in all' (it is a power dynamic).
And the corollary to 1 should be that non-experts without vested interests can learn and make intelligent, well researched, verifiable public arguments too. Just because someone is not renowned does not mean they cannot contribute/don't have the right to participate in a larger discourse. This applies to smart kids too.
I’m not sure which legacy media show featured a segment on how Finland teaches their children in school from kindergarten/ first grade on up to learn how to recognize propaganda and misinformation that is appropriate for each grade level. They do this because of their close proximity to Russia and how Russia uses propaganda to spread misinformation. I think we should start to incorporate this in our schools. So that we may never travel down this road we are on because there were people ( other factors too) who told lies, spread misinformation and propaganda and most couldn’t use critical thinking skills to decipher what was going on.
We must start somewhere my friend. I don’t think the majority of Americans truly understand that we have been fed our own propaganda for decades. So I believe we must change. To not rely on AI but to be exposed to human interactions. This will also allow children to recognize body language, facial expressions not matching body movements, voice patterns etc. These skills will be developed as they grow into adults who will be able to critically evaluate the information presented to them. Unlike the adults of today.
Perfect timing (April is school library month)! Teachers--you don't have to do this alone! Use your school librarian (if you're lucky enough to have one).
Great work. One of the ideas that stayed with me is that information literacy isn’t really about information. It’s about intellectual character. Curiosity. Humility. Patience. The willingness to sharpen a question before settling for an answer. Those qualities matter just as much in families, organizations, and communities as they do in libraries.
Fantastic information and timely. I am on the board of a private Episcopal school. I feel this information is essential as we are in a small poor town where parents/guardians do not necessarily have higher education and the understanding to help their children. I will be sharing with the principal soon.
This is a rare topic, the importance of “Information Literacy,”
The notion is useful, since it adds purpose behind the word "Literate." This essay reminds us that we are learning to read in order to accomplish a meaningful task, and in this case it would be "The Ability to Discern Information from Misinformation."
However, the most obvious criticism for this idea would be the notorious saying: "Noise Makes News."
even if “Information Literacy” were to be adapted, it would still found itself ineffective in front of the human mind which has the liberty to choose whatever pleasure it desires most.
People will choose the news that spite certain emotions, mostly the negative ones, and they will choose to support that organization.
Most importantly, the tasks the author recommends: "Who benefits if I read this," is a task that fails to persuade the participant of the rewards that reach if they partake in said task.
I believe the notions in this essay may relate to independent thinkers or scholars, those who have curiosity and find pride in holding intelligence, but it will be difficult to apply to the masses because #1. It is hard. #2. It is boring. #3. It doesn't feel rewarding.
Overall, interesting thought experiment, I am curious to see how our author will overcome these limitations, if we are to pursue this concept of "Information Literacy."
Thank you for your compliment sir :D As I work on social medias, I realize that high-nutrition content often gets un-clicked, so sometimes we need to use the old “Trojan Horse” strategy haha, and sneak some healthy insights in
While I applaud the sentiment of this article, it strikes me as similar to the notion of critical thinking, which I consider more of a distraction and something that is useful. It's time we in the west get over ourselves and start teaching epistemology directly to our students, like we do math. But, I fear, that will never happen because whosoever controls the epistemology, the rules of thinking, controls the mind.
There's a website that I used to help kids evaluate information. Its called dhmo.org. The information is accurate, but is presented in an over-the-top, inflammatory way. Dhmo stand for dihydrogen monoxide. Its states, among other things, that it's involved in all drownings, is found in tumors and that the government refuses to do anything about it.
It contains links to valid websites. If you remember your chemistry you will know that it is H20 or water. I tell the kids after they are done reacting to the information they find.
In 1999, my life science teacher was basically Mrs. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus. the year started by looking up whatever we wanted in the Skeptic's Dictionary, the DHMO site, and a couple others I no longer remember, to help shift our thinking in the right direction.
Thanks! I'm going to send this along to our science teachers.
Thank you for this post, Hana. I'm going to send it around the staff at my school as you suggest some very useful strategies for evaluating sources of information. I really like the way you listed activities under each framework. We have some similar frameworks in Australian states (where I'm from). One is the New South Wales Department of Education 'Information Fluency Framework'. While it is designed for our primary students (I think that equates to Elementary students in the US), it can be adapted for older students.
https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/media/documents/Information_fluency_framework.pdf
I’m writing a children’s book series about which qualities will help them navigate in the AI era https://a.co/d/06pDQJuU
Hana, this is priceless. Kids need to know how to question a source's authority in context, trace the motivation behind information, and refine their own questions as new answers arrive. If they don't, we all lose — because a democracy that can't distinguish inquiry from manipulation isn't governing itself, it's being governed.
But you've got me wondering: how do we teach this to adults?
Most of the people who most need these skills learned to read in an era when authority was simpler and trust was institutional. They weren't taught the reference interview — they were taught to defer. The information environment has changed completely; their evaluative habits haven't. Your framework is exactly right for kids. How do we create a version of it for the rest of us?
Number 1 is the toughest sell, don't think adults fully understand it. They instinctively fold to the 'widely accepted in one field must mean expertise in all' (it is a power dynamic).
And the corollary to 1 should be that non-experts without vested interests can learn and make intelligent, well researched, verifiable public arguments too. Just because someone is not renowned does not mean they cannot contribute/don't have the right to participate in a larger discourse. This applies to smart kids too.
I’m not sure which legacy media show featured a segment on how Finland teaches their children in school from kindergarten/ first grade on up to learn how to recognize propaganda and misinformation that is appropriate for each grade level. They do this because of their close proximity to Russia and how Russia uses propaganda to spread misinformation. I think we should start to incorporate this in our schools. So that we may never travel down this road we are on because there were people ( other factors too) who told lies, spread misinformation and propaganda and most couldn’t use critical thinking skills to decipher what was going on.
The irony is that Russian propaganda is child’s play compared to the onslaught in western corporate media organs.
We must start somewhere my friend. I don’t think the majority of Americans truly understand that we have been fed our own propaganda for decades. So I believe we must change. To not rely on AI but to be exposed to human interactions. This will also allow children to recognize body language, facial expressions not matching body movements, voice patterns etc. These skills will be developed as they grow into adults who will be able to critically evaluate the information presented to them. Unlike the adults of today.
Perfect timing (April is school library month)! Teachers--you don't have to do this alone! Use your school librarian (if you're lucky enough to have one).
Great work. One of the ideas that stayed with me is that information literacy isn’t really about information. It’s about intellectual character. Curiosity. Humility. Patience. The willingness to sharpen a question before settling for an answer. Those qualities matter just as much in families, organizations, and communities as they do in libraries.
I appreciate your work. I reviewed and linked to this article in my weekly letter today. https://loveandworkcatalog.substack.com/p/democracy-begins-where-you-live-kinship
Fantastic information and timely. I am on the board of a private Episcopal school. I feel this information is essential as we are in a small poor town where parents/guardians do not necessarily have higher education and the understanding to help their children. I will be sharing with the principal soon.
This is a rare topic, the importance of “Information Literacy,”
The notion is useful, since it adds purpose behind the word "Literate." This essay reminds us that we are learning to read in order to accomplish a meaningful task, and in this case it would be "The Ability to Discern Information from Misinformation."
However, the most obvious criticism for this idea would be the notorious saying: "Noise Makes News."
even if “Information Literacy” were to be adapted, it would still found itself ineffective in front of the human mind which has the liberty to choose whatever pleasure it desires most.
People will choose the news that spite certain emotions, mostly the negative ones, and they will choose to support that organization.
Most importantly, the tasks the author recommends: "Who benefits if I read this," is a task that fails to persuade the participant of the rewards that reach if they partake in said task.
I believe the notions in this essay may relate to independent thinkers or scholars, those who have curiosity and find pride in holding intelligence, but it will be difficult to apply to the masses because #1. It is hard. #2. It is boring. #3. It doesn't feel rewarding.
Overall, interesting thought experiment, I am curious to see how our author will overcome these limitations, if we are to pursue this concept of "Information Literacy."
I loved this article, but I also loved your pitfalls list: hard, boring, unrewarding.
Thank you for your compliment sir :D As I work on social medias, I realize that high-nutrition content often gets un-clicked, so sometimes we need to use the old “Trojan Horse” strategy haha, and sneak some healthy insights in
While I applaud the sentiment of this article, it strikes me as similar to the notion of critical thinking, which I consider more of a distraction and something that is useful. It's time we in the west get over ourselves and start teaching epistemology directly to our students, like we do math. But, I fear, that will never happen because whosoever controls the epistemology, the rules of thinking, controls the mind.
I appreciate and love this article. Thank you for sharing this perspective. As both a mom and educator, I see the evidence in this a decent amount.
It’s like the old anesthesiologist’s joke about surgeons. Sometimes right, sometimes wrong. But never in doubt.
This is excellent! Thank you.
good information thanks