PTNotts_BackToSchool18

Teaching children to
differentiate fact
from fiction online
Karthik Krishnan, Global Chief Executive Officer of the
Encyclopaedia Britannica Group, highlights the challenge
that learners (plus teachers and parents) can face due to
unsubstantiated information on the Internet.
Igrew up using the beautifully
bound Encyclopaedia
Britannica books in the
library. Perhaps you did, too,
unless you were fortunate enough
to have aset at home. At the time,
this big row ofbooks was our
central source of knowledge.
With the advent of the Internet,
people switched from using
printed encyclopaedias to sourcing
information online because of the
ease of access.
However, while alot of
information on the Internet comes
from credible sources, sadly
ahuge portion of it doesn’t.
Examples of fake information on
the Internet include, “NASA runs
achild-slave colony on Mars!”,
and “photos taken by aChinese
orbiter reveal an alien settlement
on the moon!”
Unfortunately, current search
engine algorithms are not yet
advanced enough to differentiate
between plausible and credible
information. Anumber of people
are taking advantage of this
limitation and their understanding
of the search algorithms
to get their own biased or
unsubstantiated views to the top
of the search engine results page.
So where does this leave
parents and teachers, who
recognise the incredible value
of the learning content on the
Internet, but resist allowing
children uncontrolled access due
to the unreliable quality of the
information? It leaves them looking
for credible sources of information,
sources they can trust and don’t
have to doubt.
Yetfinding credible information
on the Internet has become an
ordeal. In our busy lives we all,
and especially children, tend to
stick to the first few results on the
search page and walk away with
‘an’ answer, even if it may not
be true; and it puts the future of
knowledge at risk.
For 250 years Britannica has
curated and provided trusted
information to the world and
helped knowledge evolution. As
abrand that deeply cares about
human progress, our mission is to
help people cut through the noise
and discover reliable information in
engaging ways; we all place ahigh
value on convenience.
The opening sentence on the
first page that Britannica published
in 1768 says, ‘UTILITY ought to
be the principal intention of every
publication. Wherever this intention
does not plainly appear, neither the
books nor their authors have the
smallest claim to the approbation
of mankind.’ This remains
imperative to meet the user’s
needs in today’s digital world, now
more than ever before. The media
we work in may have changed, but
our mission has not.
So how can we help
teachers, parents
and pupils to spot
fake news?
CHECK THE SOURCE
It might sound silly,but agood
starting point is to always check
the source.Thereare hundreds
of newspapers, magazines and
websites, and while many provide
legitimate information, some are
known to be unreliable.So, look at
what you’re reading,what the URL is
or who has quoted the information
–and don’t be afraid to second
guess it. Comparethe results to
other sources and makesurethe
information you’re using is reliable
and accurate.The moreyou do this,
the moreyou’ll get used to knowing
wheretogofor trusted content!
LOOK FORLESSON
PLANS AND ACTIVITIES
It’simportant to help students
acquiretheir ownskills and habits
of mind to separate fact from fiction.
One waytoencourage this is to look
for online tips, resources and lesson
ideas that will help them identify
anything rogue.For example,just
from aquicksearch you can find
lesson activities exploring ‘The five
‘W’sofwebsite evaluation’, quizzes
of real-life examples to test their
skills, and whitepapers and video
clips providing guidance on how
to makemoreinformed decisions
about news.
ASK THE EXPERTS
If time permits, whynot try
visiting the local libraryfor
further information or consider
downloading an app or extension
that automatically fact-checks and
verifies information for you? There
areplenty of fact-checking websites,
but one example is the ‘Britannica
Insights’ Chrome browser extension,
whichisafreedownload that will
automatically highlight trusted
sources and information at the topright
corner of asearch results page
on the web.This wayyou can feel
moreconfident in separating the
facts from the fiction!