(TNS) — As dozens of Cupertino high school students wandered into class one morning in January, they encountered an image on the blackboard: Donald Trump praying alone in church.
“Is there something strange about the photo?'' urged journalism teacher Julia Satterthwaite.
The class immediately noticed that the former president had an extra finger on his right hand. An AI-generated image of the president's piety was recently making the rounds on the internet after President Trump shared it on his own Truth Social account.
In small groups, students discussed the deep impact of these types of computer-generated photographs and other manipulated images they see online. What efforts should the public make to find the truth? Could fake news and images influence the 2024 presidential election?
Welcome to Monday's Media Literacy at Monta Vista High School. This year it will be held in a classroom in nearby California.
The lesson is a precursor to a new law that will require schools in the state to teach media literacy to all students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Assembly Bill 873 directs the California Educational Quality Commission to add the content to her four core subjects: English Language Arts, Science, Mathematics, History, and Social Studies the next time the curriculum framework is revised. doing.
Satterthwaite, who has been a teacher for more than 19 years, said: “As AI becomes more prevalent, media literacy is probably the most important skill high school students need right now.”
After realizing that her students were spending hours each day on social media, Satterthwaite created her own curriculum consisting of Ted Talks, documentaries about the dangers of social media, and articles about TikTok's algorithm. I started. Then she added her AI-enhanced images to the mix. Its mission is to provide students with tips and tools to think critically about what they see and hear online. Kids will also learn how to become better digital citizens while creating their own content.
Rep. Mark Berman (D-Menlo Park) wrote AB 873 after witnessing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and election fraud being spread on the web. The bill passed with bipartisan support and went into effect on January 1 without significant opposition from outside groups.
“A large part of society really believed these lies that were spread so quickly and easily online,” he said.
Research shows that many students struggle to tell the difference between fact and fiction online. A 2019 Stanford University study found that 96% of high school students surveyed would judge a climate change website solely by its presentation, and wondered why its backers, the fossil fuel industry, influence a site's credibility. I hadn't considered that possibility. Fifty-two percent also believed that a grainy video claiming to show ballot stuffing in the 2016 Democratic primary was real evidence of voter fraud, but an online search would reveal errors in the video. There was supposed to be an article debunking it.
“We just gave them the tools, we didn't give them any guidance. So who gets hurt? They all get hurt. The girls are hurt. The boys are hurt. It changes their lives,” said Erin McNeil, CEO and founder of Media Literacy Now, a nonpartisan national organization advocating for the new law.
The more children are bombarded with online content, McNeil said, the more likely they are to develop mental health issues, experience cyberbullying, and even encounter groups that seek to radicalize young minds. It is said to increase sex.
California is only the fourth state, joining Delaware, New Jersey and Texas, to require such instruction for K-12 students. However, rollout to classrooms will likely be delayed.
Many school districts in the Bay Area, including Hayward Unified and Fremont Unified, said they were waiting for statewide direction to teach classes. According to the California Department of Education, the Commission on Educational Quality has not set a deadline for when the updated curriculum framework will be released.
Still, some school districts are starting to incorporate media literacy lessons into classrooms sooner.
Dublin Unified in Alameda County will offer a new high school elective course this fall titled “Media Literacy: How to Trust What You Read and Hear,” and San Mateo County's Jefferson Union High School District will offer KQED will rely on curriculum tools.
Over the summer, 22 teachers in San Jose's East Union High School District gathered for a day-long training session aimed at improving media literacy. The event, held by the Santa Clara Department of Education, provided staff with free resources and curriculum to help them build their lessons.
School librarian Tara Holcomb left the session hopeful that the curriculum could help reduce misinformation and fake news around the world, and help children become responsible media navigators. Ta. Already, she said, she's seen students showing interest.
“They understand what kind of information they're consuming and the importance of identifying reliable sources,” Holcomb said. “I think this is making them stop and pause and really think about what kind of information they’re consuming.”
Not all parents are on board with this plan. Lance Christensen, a parent activist and associate director of education policy at the California Policy Center, a conservative public policy think tank, said that without a statewide curriculum and proper implementation, many instructors are reluctant to have difficult conversations. He said there would be a lack of capacity to cope.
He worries that teachers will skew media literacy lessons with their own biases, teaching students what to think rather than how to think critically. Christensen argued that students would be better off if teachers stuck to their subject matter expertise rather than rushing into serious questions.
“Most teachers aren't media savvy to begin with, so we're now encouraging people to be more vocal about what they think is true or false,” Christensen said.
However, Taryn Lunn, a senior at Monta Vista High School, said she has benefited from her lessons by becoming a better reader and writer when using online content.
Now, at the end of the school day, she can sit across her father's dinner table and have a productive conversation without raising her voice.
“We have different perspectives because of the news outlets we read, and through that we talk, 'What did you hear?' 'What did you hear?'” Lunn said. “And we're uncovering more about the story and doing research.”
©2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
