Making Sense of the News: News Literacy Lessons for Digital Citizens
- Offered byCoursera
Making Sense of the News: News Literacy Lessons for Digital Citizens at Coursera Overview
Duration | 15 hours |
Start from | Start Now |
Total fee | Free |
Mode of learning | Online |
Difficulty level | Beginner |
Official Website | Explore Free Course  |
Credential | Certificate |
Making Sense of the News: News Literacy Lessons for Digital Citizens at Coursera Highlights
- Shareable Certificate Earn a Certificate upon completion
- 100% online Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
- Flexible deadlines Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.
- Beginner Level
- Approx. 15 hours to complete
- English Subtitles: Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), English, Spanish, Polish
Making Sense of the News: News Literacy Lessons for Digital Citizens at Coursera Course details
- Never before has the need for News Literacy been more urgent. As news consumers are bombarded with a constant stream of fake news, propaganda, hoaxes, rumors, satire, and advertising ? that often masquerade as credible journalism ? it is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. While the public?s faith in the news media erodes, purveyors of misinformation have helped give rise to troubling cultural trends and alarming political movements.
- This six-week course will help learners develop their critical thinking skills to enable them to better identify reliable information in news reports and to become better informed about the world in which we live. The course will discuss the key elements of journalism from the viewpoint of the news audience.
- The language of instruction is English, but Chinese and Spanish subtitles will be available. Each week will tackle a challenge unique to the digital era:
- Week 1: The power of information is now in the hands of consumers.
- Week 2: What makes journalism different from other types of information?
- Week 3: Where can we find trustworthy information?
- Week 4: How to tell what?s fair and what?s biased.
- Week 5: How to apply news literacy concepts in real life.
- Week 6: Meeting the challenges of digital citizenship.
Making Sense of the News: News Literacy Lessons for Digital Citizens at Coursera Curriculum
Making sense of the news is more important than ever
Why news literacy matters
Power of information
Shoot the messenger: Why journalists become targets
Communication models and media
News cycles in the age of social media
Recommended resources: Why news literacy matters
Recommended resources: Power of information
Recommended resources: Why journalists become targets
Definitions: "Social media" and "News cycles"
Recommended resources: News cycles in the age of social media
Power of Information
The responsibility of digital citizens
What is news and who decides?
What makes journalism different
Information Neighborhoods
Blurred lines
Universal news drivers
Editorial judgment
Recommended resources: What makes journalism different
Recommended resources: Information neighborhoods
Recommended resources: Blurred lines
Recommended resources: What makes news
Exercise: Editorial judgment
Tell us more about yourself [optional survey]
What is news and who decides?
What makes some information newsworthy?
Where can we find trustworthy information?
Truth
Evidence
Why verification fails
What is media bias?
Cognitive dissonance, confirmation bias
Opinion journalism and bloviation
Recommended resources: Truth is provisional
Recommended resources: Evidence and fact checking
Recommended resources: Why verification fails
Recommended resources: Understanding bias
Recommended resources: Testing our own bias
Recommended resources: Opinion journalism
Truth in Journalism
Media bias, audience bias
Says who?
How do we find fairness?
The importance of sources
Evaluating sources: IM VAIN
Evaluating anonymous sources
Recommended resources: False equivalence
Recommended resources: Sources
Recommended resources: What makes a source reliable
Recommended resources: Anonymous sources
Fairness and balance
Source evaluation
How do I apply news literacy skills?
News Deconstruction Steps
Debunking the viral news
News best covered by print
Stories that benefit from images, audio and video
Power of new media
Recommended resources: Debunking
Recommended resources: Fake news
Recommended resources: Stories for print journalism
Recommended resources: Power of images
Recommended resources: Online news
Deconstructing News
Medium is the message
Meeting the challenges of digital citizenship
Numbers in context: Opinion polls and surveys
Numbers in context: Health science
News angles
Recommended resources: Essential statistics guide for smart news audience
How did you find the course? [optional survey]
Beyond the news literacy basics
News deconstruction
Making Sense of the News: News Literacy Lessons for Digital Citizens at Coursera Admission Process
Important Dates
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