A course run by St. Thomas University teaches students how to sort out misinformation online. Education Minister Dominic Cardi suggests teaching the same to primary school children.

The Fredericton-based university indicated that it is offering a new course from the English Department called “Digital Literacy”, saying that it It will equip students with the skills they need to be critical thinkers in the age of social media and fake news .

David Shipley, CEO of Beauceron Security, a Fredericton cybersecurity company, shared it, adding: I love him, but we need him in high school Minister of Early Childhood Development Dominic Cardi.

Primary school mother… Dominic Cardi replied.

The effect of misinformation

The new course for young people on Twitter and the exchange that should have been given to recipients of such education comes after several experts sounded the alarm about the impact of disinformation on public trust in institutions, society and democracy in general.

This week the Chief Elections Officer of Canada released a report on the last two federal elections. Among other things, online platforms are required to publish policies outlining how to tackle the spread of misinformation. Distorts election procedures during the election period .

In March, the Canadian Election Disinformation Project, run by McGill University in Montreal and the University of Toronto, revealed that posts claiming that Canadians who had not been fully vaccinated would not be able to vote were widely disseminated on social media during the recent election.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a wave of misinformation about vaccines and the severity of the disease.

” I think it’s wonderful. It is badly needed. This is something we should probably see earlier in the school system, at least at the secondary level, but perhaps even as a starting point at the elementary level. »

Teaching people how to think critically is an absolute asset to the world we live in now. he completed.

Vertical and lateral readings

Andrew Klein, associate professor at St. Thomas University, set up the course with colleague Katherine Thorstenson.

He said the course was born out of the recognition that college students rely more on online materials not only to do their homework, but also to shape their worldview.

One of the concepts included in the course is vertical reading versus side reading.

Through vertical reading, students are instructed on what to look for when analyzing an article or piece of information for biases or agendas, Andrew Klein noted.

Side reading is the practice of consulting multiple sources of information online when researching a particular event or topic.

Andrew Klein said the concept is key to being able to analyze how an event or idea is presented and then compare it to how other sources do it.

“I think of things like the case of the recent Freedom Caravan in Canada, for example. Depending on which social media platforms or news outlets you check, you get a very different story of what happened.

According to a CBC report