Information Media and Digital Literacy for GLST 195:Global Society & Citizenship
Instructor: Prof. Chuks Ugochukwu Per Syllabus:
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES: The course meets Liberal Education Program (LEP), Goal Area 8: Global Perspective; and Goal Area 9: Ethical and Civic Responsibility objectives Goal Area 8: Global Perspective. Objective: Develop a comparative perspective and understanding of one’s place in a global context.
Students will be able to:
Describe and analyze political, economic, and cultural elements which influence relations of states and societies in their historical and contemporary dimensions.
Demonstrate knowledge of cultural, social, religious and linguistic differences.
Analyze specific international problems, illustrating the cultural,economic, and political differences that affect their solution.
Understand the role of a world citizen and the responsibility world citizens share for their common global future.
Goal Area 9: Ethical and Civic Responsibility Objective: Understand and evaluate ethical or civic issues and theories and participate in active citizenship or ethical judgment
OUR HUSKY COMPACT
Our Husky Compact is a bond shared by St. Cloud State University and its students that a SCSU education will prepare students for a life of growth and fulfillment – intellectually, professionally, and personally. When students graduate with an SCSU education, they will:
Think Creatively and Critically
Seek and Apply Knowledge
Communicate Effectively
Integrate Existing and Evolving Technologies
Engage as a Member of a Diverse and Multicultural World
Act with Personal Integrity and Civic Responsibility
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Week ???: Information – Media and Digital Literacy
Mini-Assignment: After reading the information from the links above, take a minute to write out your own definition of 1. Fake News 2. Alternative Facts
Mini-Assignment: After reading the information from the links above, take a minute to write out your own definition of 1. Misinformation 2. Disinformation. What are their main characteristics? How do they differ?
Propaganda
Mini-Assignment: What is Propaganda? How do misinformation, disinformation, fake news and alternative facts fit into the process of propaganda?
Mini-Assignment: Using the information from the links above, can you establish the connection between conspiracy theories, propaganda, mis- and disinformation, fake news, alternative news and social media?
Mini-Assignment: using the info from the links above and/or information you have collected, can you define the role of bots and trolls in social media in regard to propaganda and conspiracy theories?
Mini-Assignment:: based on your own information and experience, as well as the information offered in the links, can you define your own resistance to clickbaits?
In a short paragraph, identify the issues you see as important to address in order to improve your own news literacy. time to accomplish the assignment: ~45 min (including listening to the podcast).
Why is it important to understand these processes?
Assignment: why is it important:
In a short paragraph, share your initial feeling about Fake News / Misinformation / Disinformation. 1. Do you think, it is important at all? 2. If yes, why; if not, why. 3. If yes, what is the importance, the impact? time to accomplish the assignment: ~5-10 min
How to deal with these processes
how do we apply hands-on critical thinking to withstand these processes?
Similarly to the assessment of popular information sources, academia requires vigorous vetting if the sources you will be using for your academic work. In the 21st century, your ability to find information in peer-reviewed journals might not be sufficient to assure accurate and reliable use of information from those resources for your research and writing. After your selection of peer-reviewed literature, you must be able to evaluate and determine the veracity and reliability of those sources. How do you evaluate a source of information to determine if it is appropriate for academic/scholarly use. There is no set “checklist” to complete but below are some criteria to consider when you are evaluating a source.
Here is a short (4 min) video introducing you to the well-known basics for evaluation of academic literature: https://youtu.be/qUd_gf2ypk4
ACCURACY
Does the author cite reliable sources?
How does the information compare with that in other works on the topic?
Can you determine if the information has gone through peer-review?
Are there factual, spelling, typographical, or grammatical errors?
AUDIENCE
Who do you think the authors are trying to reach?
Is the language, vocabulary, style and tone appropriate for intended audience?
What are the audience demographics? (age, educational level, etc.)
Are the authors targeting a particular group or segment of society?
AUTHORITY
Who wrote the information found in the article or on the site?
What are the author’s credentials/qualifications for this particular topic?
Is the author affiliated with a particular organization or institution?
What does that affiliation suggest about the author?
CURRENCY
Is the content current?
Does the date of the information directly affect the accuracy or usefulness of the information?
OBJECTIVITY/BIAS
What is the author’s or website’s point of view?
Is the point of view subtle or explicit?
Is the information presented as fact or opinion?
If opinion, is the opinion supported by credible data or informed argument?
Is the information one-sided?
Are alternate views represented?
Does the point of view affect how you view the information?
PURPOSE
What is the author’s purpose or objective, to explain, provide new information or news, entertain, persuade or sell?
Does the purpose affect how you view the information presented?
In 2021, however, all suggestions above may not be sufficient to distinguish a reliable source of information, even if the article made it through the peer-reviewed process. In time, you should learn to evaluate the research methods of the authors and decide if they are reliable. Same applies for the research findings and conclusions.
Assignment: seeking reliable information
From your syllabus weekly themes: 1. Food; 2. Health; 3. Energy; 4. Environment; 5. Security, chose a topic of your interest.
For example: Food: raising cattle for food contributes to climate changes, because of the methane gas, or Health: COVID is the same (or not the same) as the flu; or Energy: Fossil energy is bad (or good) for the environment; etc.
Please consult with me (email me for a zoom appointment: pmiltenoff@stcloudstate.edu), if you need to discuss the choice and narrowing down of the topic.
Once you decide on the topic, do the research by collecting four sources of information:
The first couple of sources will be from popular media, whereas each of the two articles will be having an opposite approach, arguments and understanding of the issue. For example, one article will claim fossil energy is bad for the environment and the other one will argue fossil fuel has insignificant impact on climate change. You must be able to evaluate the veracity and the leaning of each source. The source can be a newspaper or magazine article, video (TV or Social Media), audio (podcasts, TV, etc.), presentations (PowerPoint, SlideShare, etc.).
Having troubles finding opposing resources? Feel welcome to search for your topic among these news outlets on the conservative side: https://www.conservapedia.com/Top_Conservative_news_websites
and the https://aelieve.com/rankings/websites/category/news-media/top-liberal-websites/
In the same fashion, you will evaluate the second couple of sources from peer-reviewed journals. Each source will have different approach, argument and understanding of the issue and you must evaluate the robustness of the research method.
time to accomplish the assignment: ~30 min
Module 2 (video to introduce students to the readings and expected tasks)
Digital Citizenship, Global Citizenship and Multiculturalism
Assignment:
Global Citizenship and Multiculturalism and Information and Media Literacy
Study the following tweet feed https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2021/02/18/facebook-google-australia/
If the information from the tweet feed is insufficient, research the issue by seeking reliable sources. (In a short paragraph defend your choice of reliable sources).
What do you see as more important issue: the Facebook stance that it can be a subject of Australian law or the Australian government stance that Facebook is interfering in Australian life with its news delivery? Is Facebook a news outlet or a platform for news outlets? Does Facebook need to be regulated? By who; each country do have to regulate Facebook or Facebook needs to be regulated globally?
time to accomplish the assignment: ~30 min
Module 3 (video to introduce students to the readings and expected tasks)
here some examples from a long list of free services:
Addigy, a cloud-based Apple device management platform, has announced free 60-day access for colleges and universities. The program helps organizations deploy, manage, and track new and existing Apple devices from a single console; automate IT tasks and implement IT policies related to deploying software, updating security settings, running scripts, managing groups of users, and distributing and updating software; and troubleshoot problems for users remotely and in real-time. https://addigy.com/covid-19-addigy-60/?utm_content=covid-19-addigy-60
Arizona State University’s EdPlus is working with Complexly’s Crash Course on a series of entry-level course videos, starting with English composition. (Complexly and Crash Course are an initiative of the Green brothers, hosts of a popular vlog and best-selling fiction.) The new content in “Study Hall,” won’t offer credit or replace any degree programs, but rather will serve as a supplement for high school or college learners. Each subject will be the focus of about 15 videos 15 minutes long, covering major points in the topic. Those are being hosted on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNrrxHpJhC8mNXjrAL3Ey1Q6iI35cymzl
Babbel is offering three months of free language learning to U.S. students through mid-June 2020 in any of its languages: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Dutch, Turkish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Indonesian, and English. https://welcome.babbel.com/en/student-discount/
Gale is offering educators and librarians free access to digital content and resources to enhance instruction and learning. Resources include: interdisciplinary, curriculum-aligned resources to support online learning; live and on-demand training materials; e-books on virtual learning; and more. https://www.gale.com/covid19support.
Through July 1, Google is allowing G Suite for Education customers to use the Hangouts Meet premium functionality for free. People can host virtual meetings with up to 250 people and live streams with up to 100,000 viewers. Additionally, they’ll be able to save recordings of their meetings to Google Drive. https://support.google.com/meet/answer/9760270?hl=en
vlog is simply a blog in video form. In a vlog, you can share anything you might do in a blog post, such as a tutorial or a story from your life.
Consistency is best for vlogging. If you post a vlog here and there, you won’t gain much traction.
the purpose of a vlog is to help people discover you. Videos that may be suitable for YouTube but that don’t help people discover you, such as a product commercial or an introduction to your company, don’t make great vlog posts. To be discovered, think of the users who are searching for a concern, a specialty, or the answer to a question. Think about what a potential customer or audience member might want to know, create a video about the topic, and upload it to YouTube.
What It Takes to Vlog
develop a strong message before you begin your video.
the camera is a vehicle delivering your message to people. When you talk to viewers the way you talk to another person, you do much better on camera.
ROI on Vlogging
the return on investment for vlogging, you need to focus on your goals. Don’t worry about vanity metrics such as followers, likes, and subscribers. Instead, measure what actually matters for your goals. For example, if your goal is to get clients, consider how many clients you need to acquire to make the hours you put into vlogging worthwhile.
goals and milestones are important for determining your ROI.
Consistency is another element for raising your channel’s profile on YouTube. If you post a video only here and there, you don’t consistently bring traffic and grow.
Whether you’re using a smartphone or a DSLR camera, one thing Roberto recommends before recording is to check the environment. Look for and remove any distractions from the background. For example, if there’s noise from cars driving by you can change your location. If there’s a part of your office that needs to be cleaned, you can tidy up.
He also says you should think about the context of your background. For instance, when Roberto does personal vlogs as motivation for creatives and entrepreneurs who might be thinking about giving up, he uses his bookshelf as the backdrop. It’s appropriate because there is literally a collection of people behind him who put something out there and could have quit just as easily.
Roberto also notes you should consider audio, the lighting in the room, and take a photo of the shot, to check framing and composition, before you film. The photo gives you a way to make sure the video will be shot at the angle you want. Roberto shares that if he’s filming with his camera, he’ll use the remote or a timer to take a photo of him in the shot. With a smartphone, he says you can use a selfie stick, or tripod, or the timer feature.
Adobe Premiere Clip, which is simple to use. All you need is a free Adobe account, which you can sign up for via email. It can upload video directly to YouTube and Facebook for you. It also has color grading filters, lets you loop background audio (they have a few tracks which are royalty free), mix down the audio, edit clips together, cut things out, and more.
Plus, if you have professional software, like Adobe Premiere Pro at home, you can do a rough cut of everything in Premiere Clip from your phone, and then save it to Creative Cloud, go back to your desktop, and then tweak and do all the advanced editing there.
Ideas and directions:
Peruse over the 3 groups of directions and ideas and choose one. Study it. Outline what do you anticipate being useful for your future work. Add at least 3 more ideas of your own, which complement the information from this group of information sources.
