Description

In this 6 week course, participants will learn how the SIFT web literacy framework (Stop, Investigate the source, Find trusted coverage, Trace to the original”) paired with lateral reading, offers excellent strategies for interrogating online information to decide what is valid and trustworthy. Ongoing culture wars, rife with conspiracy theories and social media fueled “rabbit holes,” make our fractured information landscape challenging to navigate. We will use a lesson series focusing on the NASA Apollo moon landings, contemporary YouTube “hoaxers,” as well as “flat earthers” to develop better media literacy skills! We will also create a variety of media products together, including sketchnotes, interactive whiteboards, and narrated slideshows to demonstrate our learning. By the end of the course, participants will have the knowledge and skills to teach and facilitate media literacy lessons utilizing SIFT and lateral reading, helping develop resilient skills for informed citizenship.

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Weekly introductory videos for each module are now publicly available in this YouTube playlist. (updated 29 March 2024)

Week 1: Introduction to the World of Conspiracies

1. Lesson Overview Video by Wes: Introduction and Course Overview (18 min)

2. Weekly Media Elements

   1. Lesson Video by Wes

   2. Required Media (articles, podcasts, videos, links etc)

   3. Required FlipGrid Reflection (a 1 to 3 minute video reflection about the week's topics)

   4. Weekly Create (an invitation to create and share a media product related to the week's topics) 

   5. Optional Media

   6. Optional "Outside Sharing" (via Padlet)

3. Creative Commons licensing for these lessons resources (CC-BY)

4. Week 1 Topic: Why Conspiracy Theories?

5. Required FlipGrid Reflection: Please answer 1 or more of these questions:

   2. 1. Why did you choose this course?

      2. Why is the study of conspiracy theories and teaching about them important?

      3. What are your goals for this course experience?

6. Take a look at this Showcase of Exemplary Student Projects (sketchnotes, “InfoPics,” videos)

7. Optional Media and Resources

   1. Video: "Why are We Studying about Conspiracy Theories in Media Literacy Class? (3.5 min, 17 April 2023)

   2. Optional networking option: Wes' private Facebook group, "Conspiracies and Culture Wars"

   3. Video: "A Message for 6th Grade Parents on our “Conspiracy Theories” Unit" (5.5 min, 9 Sept 2020)

   4. Additional resources: Wes' "Conspiracies and Culture Wars" project page (including Wakelet collections) and a YouTube playlist

Week 2: Why Are Conspiracy Theories Popular?

1. Lesson Overview Video by Wes (22 min) + Slides

2. Required Media

   1. Video: Conspiracy Theories and Crazy People (9 min)

   2. Video: Narrated Sketchnote: Conspiracy Theories and Crazy People by @theodd1sout (2 min)

   3. Video: Birds Aren't Real: The conspiracy theory that satirizes conspiracy theories (13.5 min, "60 minutes program," May 2022)

   4. Article: Here's why conspiracy theories about Taylor Swift and the Super Bowl are spreading (NPR, 1 Feb 2024 - 4 minute listen)

   5. WikiPedia article: Operation Paperclip

   6. WikiPedia: Birds Aren't Real

   7. Sketchnote Examples (Sketchnote resource page)

3. Required FlipGrid Reflection: "Why Are Conspiracy Theories Popular?"

4. Weekly Create (optional "outside sharing" to Padlet)

   1. Create your own "sketchnote" about the video, "Conspiracy Theories and Crazy People" OR create your own "sketchnote about the topic, "Why Are Conspiracy Theories Popular?"

   2. Bonus: Create and share a "narrated sketchnote" version also!

5. Optional Media

   1. Website: Birds Aren't Real (official)

   2. Article: Coronavirus, ‘Plandemic’ and the seven traits of conspiratorial thinking (The Conversation, 15 May 2020)

   3. Podcast: "#112 The Prophet" (34 min, Reply All from Gimlet Media, Dec 2017)

   4. Video: "Annie Jacobsen, "Operation Paperclip" (57 min, on "Politics and Prose")

   5. Video: The Harsh Truths of Operation Paperclip (NASA & Nazi's) w/Annie Jacobsen (34 min - NOT recommended for K12 students! - Joe Rogan)

   6. Book: "Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America" by Annie Jacobson

   7. Book: "How to Be a Woman Online: Surviving Abuse and Harassment, and How to Fight Back" by Nina Jankowicz

   8. Websites: Skeptical Science and Cranky Uncle by John Cook

Week 3: Contemporary Conspiracy Theories

1. Lesson Overview Video by Wes (14 min)

2. Required Media

   1. Video: Inside The Pro-QAnon, Pro-Trump, Christian Nationalist Roadshow To ‘Save America’ (19 min, MSNBC, 25 Oct 2022)

   2. Video: QAnon Conspiracies Are Tearing Through Evangelical America (14 min, Vice, 19 Oct 2021)

   3. WikiPedia: QAnon

   4. Taylor Swift PsyOp (read one)

      1. Taylor Swift-NFL conspiracy theories are the result of two sets of hardcore fans colliding (The Conversation, 9 Feb 2024)

      2. Why So Many People Believe Taylor Swift Is a Psy-Op (The Atlantic, 9 Feb 2024) - Archive.today version

      3. It’s a Love Story. Why Can’t Republicans Just Say Yes? (Politico, 6 Feb 2024)

3. Required FlipGrid Reflection

4. Weekly Create (optional "outside sharing" to Padlet)

   1. Create and share an "InfoPic" which summarizes / addresses / editorializes on this week's issues.

5. Optional Media

   1. Book: "Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy" by Talia Lavin

   2. Podcast on YouTube: Bradley Onishi: Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism--And What Comes Next (50 min, 15 Jan 2024)

   3. Book: "Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism--and What Comes Next" by Bradley Onishi

   4. HBO 6 Part Series: "Into the Storm" (Official Trailer)

   5. Video: The dangerous QAnon cult tearing families apart with conspiracies | 60 Minutes Australia (20 min, 14 March 2021)

   6. Podcast on YouTube: White Christian Nationalism and Conspiracy Theories (1 hour, 23 min - 3 Nov 2023)

   7. Website: "Taking Off the Tinfoil Hat: How Lizard People and Space Lasers Dismantled my Christian Worldview" by Cynane

   8. Book and media recommendations from Cynane on Christian Nationalism

Week 4: Moon Landing Hoax?

1. Lesson Overview Video by Wes (12 min)

2. Required Media

   1. Slides: Introducing SIFT - Analyzing a Moon Hoax Video

   2. Video: Meet a puppeteer with a gift for pulling strings (4 min)

   3. Video: 13 Reasons Why the Moon Landing was FAKE - Ultra Spiritual life episode 125 (13 min)

   4. WikiPedia article: JP Sears

   5. InfoPic Examples (InfoPic resource page)

3. Required FlipGrid Reflection

4. Weekly Create (optional "outside sharing" to Padlet)

   1. Create your own "InfoPic" about JP Sears' video on the Apollo Moon Landing

   2. Bonus: Share your InfoPic into the private Facebook group, "Conspiracies and Culture Wars"

5. Optional Media

   1. Article: How moon landing conspiracy theories began and why they persist today (The Conversation, July 2019)

   2. Video: Capricorn One (1978) Trailer (3 min)

   3. Video: Neil Tyson Demonstrates Absurdity of "Flat Earth" (9 min)

   4. Article: So Your Student Believes the Earth Is Flat: Ten ways for teachers to address science denial (Harvard Education Magazine, Jan 2022)

   5. Book: Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything by Kelly Weill

   6. Lesson Recording: "Practicing SIFT: Vertical & Lateral Reading" (46 min, from 19 Jan 2022)

Week 5: Moon Hoax Not?!

1. Lesson Overview Video by Wes (17 min)

2. Required Media

   1. Slides: SIFT Part 3 - “MOON HOAX NOT?!”

   2. Video: National Treasure (2004) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers (2.5 min)

   3. WikiPedia: List of conspiracy theories

   4. Video: Moon Hoax Not (4 seconds removed) by SG Collins (13 min)

   5. Sketchnote and InfoPic examples

3. Required FlipGrid Reflection

4. Weekly Create (optional "outside sharing" to Padlet)

   1. View some exemplary infopics and sketchnotes created by Wes' students the past couple years. (note this Padlet includes other kinds of media projects too...)

   2. View Wes' 5 minute "Narrated Sketchnote: Analyzing “Moon Hoax NOT” by SG Collins"

   3. Create and share EITHER an "InfoPic" or "a Sketchnote" which summarizes / addresses / editorializes on this week's issues. Or, if you are a super-student, create a "narrated version" of your own sketchnote! (Like the example above.)

   4. Share: To our class Padlet and (only if you want to join) Wes' "Conspiracies and Culture Wars" private Facebook group.

5. Optional Media

   1. Video: Why the Moon Landing COULDN'T Have Been Faked | Adam Ruins Everything (5 min)

   2. Video: Restored Apollo 11 Moonwalk - Original NASA EVA Mission Video - Walking on the Moon (NASA, 3 hours: You're not expected to watch the entire thing, but realize many students today have never seen this footage!)

   3. Video: Astronaut Eugene Cernan runs and jumps on the Moon - Daily Mail (30 sec)

   4. Check Yourself with Lateral Reading: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #3 (14 min)

   5. Video: "Media Literacy Sample Lesson by Dr. Wesley Fryer" (47 min, Recording of Wes teaching this lesson on 25 Oct 2021)

   6. Video: "Conspiracy Theory Media Literacy Lesson 3 of 5" (20 min, Recording of Wes teaching this lesson in Sept 2020)

Week 6: Culminating Project and Reflection

1. Lesson Overview Video by Wes (9 min)

2. Required Media

   1. Watch Mahee's final video project on "Froot Loop Conspiracy Theories."

   2. Watch at least TWO more examples of student culminating projects about SIFT, Lateral Reading and "Froot Loop Conspiracy Theories."

3. Optional Media

   1. Check Yourself with Lateral Reading: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #3 (Jan 2019)

   2. Recent posts about contemporary conspiracy theories, shared in the "Conspiracies and Culture Wars Private Facebook Group" (which you are invited and welcome to join!)

      1. Who Killed JFK Podcast by Rob Reiner and Soledad O'Brien

      2. The Pentagon’s Ex-Ufo Chief Is Blaming the Government for Conspiracy Theories (Futurism, 9 Feb 2024)

      3. Police chief bans 'Thin Blue Line' imagery, says it's been 'co-opted' by extremists (NBC News, Jan 2021)

      4. Parker County ‘White Nationalist Fight Club’ Leader Exposed (Texas Observer, 15 Feb 2024)

      5. "Blood Tribe March in Nashville" episode on I Dont' Speak German Podcast, 19 Feb 2024

      6. On Christian Nationalism: "Rob Reiner and Dan Partland: God & Country" (The Bulwark Podcast, 23 Feb 2024)

      7. Nazis mingle openly at CPAC, spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories and finding allies (NBC News, 24 Feb 2024)

      8. Christian Nationalism is Reshaping Fertility Rights, and Books Dominate at the Oscars (On the Media Podcast, 23 Feb 2024)

      9. Book: “The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy” by Matthew D. Taylor

      10. The Taylor Swift 'psy op' conspiracy theory offers a troubling lesson (New Scientist, 21 Feb 2024)

      11. Cameo is being used for political propaganda — by tricking the stars involved (NPR, 27 Feb 2024)

4. Culminating Project Guidelines

   1. Purpose: Reflect on your entire course experience and how it has impacted your understanding and approach to teaching about conspiracy theories and media literacy.

   2. Media Options

      1. Video: Develop a short video project (3-5 minutes) summarizing key learnings from the course. This could involve a case study of a specific conspiracy theory, a reflection on the evolution of conspiracy theories, or strategies for teaching about these topics.

      2. Media Bricolage: Create a combination of sketchnotes, InfoPics, original artwork, images created with AI, or images found online, to represent your key takeaways from our course.

      3. Essay: Write an essay and share it (as a Google Doc with a PUBLIC link, for example) about your course experiences and reflections.

   3. Sharing

      1. Required: Share your final project in Pathright ("inside sharing")

      2. Optional: Share the link to your final project on our dedicated Padlet board for class feedback. ("outside sharing")

      3. Bonus: Share the link to your final project into the private Facebook group, "Conspiracies and Culture Wars" ("outside sharing")

   4. Peer Feedback

      1. Please view and provide feedback on AT LEAST TWO classmate final projects.