If you follow me on social media, you may have noticed that I've started posting a regular series of media literacy related videos on Mondays. As we head into an election cycle that is poised to produce more mis-, dis- and mal- information than ever before, sharing my work in this area feels empowering; it feels like doing something in an environment that seems designed to keep us from doing anything; put another way, it feels like making a difference. What's more, as I worked with educators around the country this summer, I found a feeling of empowerment to be in short supply - especially when it comes to preparing our kids for the largely crowdsourced, profit driven and influencer obsessed information landscape where we all spend so much of our time. Here are a few of the videos I've posted so far (click on the image to watch):
Developing Digital Detectives Book Club:
Like a lot of librarians, (I'm guessing), I have always dreamt of writing a book. Years spent putting books on shelves and into the hands of young readers makes it impossible not to dream of one of those spines someday containing your own name. Still, I'd be lying if I said that those dreams included me writing a book (or two!) on information literacy. However, when the call came, asking if I'd like to contribute a professional text for a school library audience, I knew three things:
the only topic that I felt a sense of urgency around at that time was information literacy (and by the way, I still feel that same sense of urgency!)
I would need a collaborator, and the only person on that list was Darren Hudgins, and finally...
we would need to expand our audience beyond librarians
Thus, our two books Fact VS Fiction and Developing Digital Detectives were born. And while I'm proud of both of them, Developing Digital Detectives is special to me, because it focuses more on strategy than theory. Darren and I spent well over a year creating and testing lessons that were both DIFFERENT from anything we'd seen in the existing information literacy world and that educators could implement right away. I'm proud of this book.
With that in mind, starting in October, Bookelicious is holding a PD Book Club based on Developing Digital Detectives. The cost is $45 and that includes a copy of the book, access to 3-90 minute webinars and a bunch of new/updated resources and activities that you won’t find anywhere else. I'm excited about this work, because, much like the videos I mentioned earlier in this post, it feels like doing something; it feels like making a difference.
I hope you'll join me. Let's make a difference together!
