Developing Digital Detectives: Essential Lessons for Discerning Fact from Fiction in the ‘Fake News’ Era

From the authors of the bestselling Fact vs. Fiction, this book offers easy-to-implement lessons to engage students in becoming media literacy “digital detectives,” looking for clues, questioning motives, uncovering patterns, developing theories and, ultimately, delivering a verdict.

The current news landscape is driven by clicks, with every social media influencer, trained and citizen journalists chasing the same goal: a viral story. In this environment, where the race to be first on the scene with the most sensational story often overshadows the need for accuracy, traditional strategies for determining information credibility are no longer enough. Rather than simply helping students become savvy information consumers, today’s educators must provide learners with the skills to be digital detectives – information interrogators who are armed with a variety of tools for dissecting news stories and determining what’s real and what isn’t in our “post-truth world.”

This book:

• Shares meaningful lessons that move beyond traditional “fake news” protocols to help learners navigate a world in which information can be both a force for good and a tool used to influence and manipulate.
• Includes resources and examples to support educators in the work of facilitating engaging, relevant (and fun!) instructional opportunities for K-12 learners, in both face-to-face and digital learning environments.
• Unpacks the connection between social-emotional learning and information literacy.
• Includes access to the Digital Detective’s Evidence Locker, an online collection of over 100 downloadable and remixable resources to support the lessons in the book.

As the authors state: “Remember, the detective’s job is NOT to prove themselves correct. Their job is to detect the truth!” This statement reflects the way they approach the lessons in this book, providing clear and practical guidance to help educators address and overcome this ever-expanding issue.

Audience: K-12 educators and library media specialists

Jennifer LaGarde (@jenniferlagarde) has spent her adult life working in public education. She has served as a classroom teacher, teacher-librarian, digital teaching and learning specialist, district-level support staff and statewide leader as a consultant for both the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the Friday Institute for Instructional Innovation. LaGarde currently works with teachers, librarians, instructional technologists, instructional coaches and building- and district-level leaders around the world to develop innovative instructional practices. Her work has been recognized by Library Journal, The New York Times and The Carnegie Corporation. She’s also the author of the award-winning blog “The Adventures of Library Girl” and co-author of the book Fact vs. Fiction (ISTE, 2018).

Darren Hudgins (@dhudgins) is a former secondary social studies and career tech education teacher, staff developer and coach who joined the Organization for Educational Technology and Curriculum (OETC) team in 2007. Since becoming the director of instructional technology, he’s led, facilitated, presented on and developed technology integration programs in districts to help foster unique learning experiences. In addition to his professional development responsibilities, he is the OETC events lead for several different boutique events, including IntegratED Portland | AcceleratED Portland, SPARK and Leading Schools. Hudgins holds an M.Ed. and dual bachelor’s degrees in human development and social sciences. He is co-author of the book Fact vs. Fiction (ISTE, 2018).