"Fake Facts", Connected, Level 4 – Seeing Beyond, November 2019
14 November 2019
This article addresses the issue of fake news. Digital technology creates huge opportunities for us to create and share information but also exposes us to information that can be false or can do harm. The article encourages students to take a critical gaze on information and suggests strategies for evaluating what information is based on facts and worth sharing.
You can find the article and the teaching notes here:
"Fake Facts", Connected, Level 4 – Seeing Beyond, November 2019
Other useful resources
- Demystifying fake news stories – Netsafe is New Zealand’s independent, non-profit, online safety organisation. They have put some tips together to help you figure out what’s real and what's fake.
- Fighting 'the irrational ape' with critical thinking – This article and audio is about Dr David Robert Grimes and critical thinking being the key to not falling for false information.
Discussion questions
These could be class discussions with teacher guidance.
- Explore different types of digital information outcomes that students are familiar with. Determine the proper function of these from an analysis of both the design intent that drove the outcome’s development as well as how it is most commonly used.
- How have these digital technology outcomes been used by end-users for purposes other than what they were originally designed for?
- Discuss information students maybe sharing as they develop digital outcomes. How can they ensure, as critical thinkers, that this information is true and accurate?
Indicators of progression for discussion starters
| Component | Indicator | Level |
| Characteristics of technological outcomes |
| 4 |
| Technological area | Progress outcome | |
| Designing and developing digital outcomes | PO2: In authentic contexts and taking account of end-users, students make decisions about creating, manipulating, storing, retrieving, sharing, and testing digital content for a specific purpose, given particular parameters, tools, and techniques. They understand that digital devices impact on humans and society and that both the devices and their impact change over time. | |