Course ID: | JRLC 3600. 3 hours. |
Course Title: | Media Savvy Becoming Digitally Literate |
Course Description: | Clickbait. Deepfakes. Disinformation. Bias. Hoaxes. Fake news. The media shapes what an individual knows about their community and the world, and being savvy about the news is essential to making decisions. This course enhances the ability to discern between news and misinformation through critical examination of how we access, analyze, verify, and create media messages. We will look closely at the critical role news organizations play in informing us and its significance for our democracy. |
Oasis Title: | Media Savvy Becoming Digitally |
Duplicate Credit: | Not open to students with credit in JRLC 3600E |
Semester Course Offered: | Offered every year. |
Grading System: | A-F (Traditional) |
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Course Objectives: | • Students will identify and understand the typology of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation.
• Students will identify concepts like filter bubble, homophily, confirmation bias, echo chambers, as well as bots, trolls, and sock puppets on various digital platforms.
• Students will use tools to practice digital fact-checking.
• Students will employ a codified digital verification process for news and digital journalistic content.
• Students will understand how journalists work by fact-checking journalistic stories and reflecting on effectiveness of the effort.
• Students will participate in a newsroom simulation to employ conceptual knowledge and tools gained from course. |
Topical Outline: | Nature and types of misinformation in the digital age
Digital fact-checking tools and processes
Role of news organizations and journalists in age of “fake news”
Project-based debunking of disinformation and crafting credible, transparent media messages |