NEWS LITERACY WORKSHOP

Timely Strategies for Navigating the News and Helping Your Students Do the Same

Rave Review of Vanessa Otero’s Webinars:
“I’ve been in journalism and communications as well as teaching for some years and have never encountered such an excellent teaching resource and workshop delivery. Excellent in every way.”—Rita E. Creane, Writer-Educator

There are many “unprecedented” things about the world today, and teaching news literacy in our current information environment is certainly one of them. Join us as we present a special four-part workshop with expert Vanessa Otero, CEO of Ad Fontes Media. These informative, interactive sessions will provide crucial skills and strategies for developing proficiency and confidence evaluating any piece of information. Accompanying blog articles will reinforce and elaborate on the material covered in each session.

Check Out the 4-Part Workshop

News Literacy Workshop:
Step-by-Step Strategies for Educating Your Students

Free, 4-Part Virtual Workshop
Learn to separate the news from the noise! Expert Vanessa Otero, CEO of Ad Fontes Media, presents four engaging webinar sessions on all aspects of news literacy.

SESSION 1
How to Evaluate Any News Content for Reliability and Bias
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Modern news literacy presents a unique challenge. Because there are so many news sources out there, true news literacy requires learning skills to evaluate any piece of content, especially if the source is unfamiliar. Today’s news consumers encounter news content everywhere on social media and the Internet generally. It is insufficient to use old shortcuts or simple tips. In this session, we cover step-by-step methods that allow readers to evaluate any news content for reliability and bias.
BONUS: How to Evaluate Any News Content for Reliability and Bias blog article.

SESSION 2
Strategies for Discussing Difficult Political Topics
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Teaching news literacy in today’s polarizing environment necessarily involves discussing political issues in the classroom. Often, polarizing news and misinformation vilifies and dehumanizes political opponents, which makes it even more difficult to read such content together. In this session, we discuss how to address political topics in a way that humanizes students’ experiences and builds understanding.
BONUS: Facing Polarization Head-On: Strategies for Discussing Difficult Political Topics When Teaching News Literacy blog article

SESSION 3
Evaluating Conspiracy Theories and Meme-Based Misinformation
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Do you ever come across something on your social media feed that is just so outlandish that you can’t possibly understand why someone would believe it or be persuaded by it? Conspiracy theories and illogical memes are rampant because they employ rhetorical devices, tropes, and logical fallacies that are inaccurate, yet compelling. They are also hard to explain and combat. In this session, you will learn how to identify these patterns and teach students to watch out for them.
BONUS: Teaching About Conspiracy Theories and Memes: The Internet’s Most Outlandish and Compelling Content blog article

SESSION 4
Strategies for Incorporating News Literacy into Any Curriculum and Being Confident in Evaluating News Content from Any Source
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Nearly every academic subject requires students to have basic news literacy competence. However, for educators who don’t regularly teach the topic, it can be intimidating to take on the challenge of showing students how to figure out what sources to trust if they aren’t fully confident about what to trust themselves. This session covers step-by-step strategies to get you comfortable with incorporating news literacy exercises that improve your skills and your students’ skills at the same time.
BONUS: How to Incorporate News Literacy into Any Curriculum and Be Confident in Evaluating News Content from Any Source blog article.

All sessions are free of charge and are 60 minutes.

ABOUT VANESSA OTERO

Vanessa Otero, CEO of Ad Fontes Media

Vanessa Otero is the creator of the Media Bias Chart®, the viral image that prompted many lively discussions around the Internet about where people get their news. She is the CEO of Ad Fontes Media, the company she founded in 2018 to fulfill the need revealed by the popularity of the Chart—the need for an easy-to-understand, reliable news rating system. Vanessa is a native of San Diego, CA, and currently resides in Westminster, CO. She has a B.A. in English from UCLA and a J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and is a practicing patent attorney. As the founder of Ad Fontes Media, she seeks to impact the way consumers, educators, and organizations deal with today’s complex media landscape.

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GETTING STARTED

Get more great information and strategies from Vanessa Otero:

Navigating the News Landscape with the Media Bias Chart: Webinar
Watch the recording

Webinar Q&A: Navigating the News Landscape with the Media Bias Chart
Read the blog article

Teaching News Literacy Through Polarizing Current Events: Webinar
Watch the recording

Why It Is Challenging to Teach News Literacy in Today’s World, and How to Do So Effectively Anyway
Read the blog article