Description
Book SynopsisInformation has become one of the most crucial commodities in today’s world. From multinational corporations to single individuals, we all make critical decisions based on the information available to us. However, modern ease of access to information does not often guarantee access to good information. In this digital age, where facts can be easily manipulated to align with political, social or monetary aims, media literacy has become an essential skill.
Media Smart: Lessons, Tips and Strategies for Librarians, Classroom Instructors and other Information Professionals is an invaluable toolkit for navigating the fraught information landscape. From the history of media manipulation to practical applications of media literacy, this book will offer a thorough grounding in teaching students to defend themselves from mis-and dis-information. It discusses how technology affects the information we receive, offers a brief look at the psychology behind how we process information, describes the various means by which media can be manipulated and provides tips about how to recognize and avoid false or misleading information. Featuring numerous classroom exercises and case studies specific to each aspect of media manipulation, this book is essential reading for students and educators in communications, media and information literacy as well as librarians and anyone interested in developing their media literacy skills.
Trade Review"This newly published book is a CPD must-have for any librarian who delivers an information and media skills programme. It covers a huge amount of information including the history of media and manipulation, selecting sources and evaluating them, and the language used in media messages. Bots, trolls, algorithms, deep fakes, trending, and representation of cultural groups and stereotypes are just a few of the topics covered. Extremely interesting and accessible, and backed-up with recent research, there are suggestions on how we can help in the classroom as well as exercises designed to engage students that can be adapted for different age groups."
* Barbara Band, Amazon UK Review *
Table of ContentsChapter 1 A brief history of media and media manipulation
Chapter 2 Psychology of memory and learning
Chapter 3 The Internet, technology and the media
Chapter 4 Selecting information sources
Chapter 5 Expertise, authority and Credibility
Chapter 6 Language in media messages
Chapter 7 Algorithms, Bots, Cyborgs and Artificial Intelligence
Chapter 8 Statistics and data visualizations
Chapter 9 Images, Reverse Image Searching and Deepfakes
Chapter 10 Media manipulation and Fact Checking
Chapter 11 The ethics of likes, clicks, shares and data harvesting
Chapter 12 How we can help ourselves
