Samaritans on the Digital Road

Becoming Informed Digital Citizens

Learning Goals

I can leverage technology to find information, conduct research, and explore new concepts and ideas.

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I can identify what AI generated media means and some strategies to spot fake images or videos.

I can identify reliable and age-appropriate digital sources for research and learning.

I can use critical thinking skills to identify bias, evaluate accuracy, assess author credibility, domain authority, and the purpose of the source.

Minds On: 10 minute Research Activity

Today we will begin with some research. You will be reading about a rare and endangered species: The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus.

Please open the following links:

Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

Won't Somebody Please Think of the Tree Octopus?

Tree Octopus

Minds On - Research Reflection

Has anyone in this class ever heard of the Tree Octopus before? Has any of the information about the Tree Octopus raised any questions in your minds? Would it surprise you to hear that these websites are actually a hoax?

That’s right: There is no such thing as the Pacific Tree Octopus.

These websites were designed to study student ability to identify fact versus fiction online and to teach these important skills.

Surprised? Let’s examine this closer…

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Research Reflection Continued

Take a look at the websites together. As a class, list some of the things that made you question the validity of these sites.

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Lesson: Becoming Informed Digital Citizens

The internet is a plethora of information. When you search a topic on Google, you are faced with seemingly endless pages of resources to sift through. However, just like the websites on the Tree Octopus, not all of the information you find is reliable.

In this lesson we will look at how to find and identify good sources of information when we are doing research and how to recognize information that is being manipulated.

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Lesson: Becoming Informed Digital Citizens

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You have probably heard the term “Fake News” before. What does this mean? There are many ways that false information can circulate. Take a look at this video:

The Role of AI

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What is AI?

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is the technology that enables computer systems to simulate human intelligence and problem-solving tasks.

There are many applications of AI which you will learn about in other lessons. This lesson will focus on how AI can be used to create images and videos that are fake and misleading or that spread misinformation.

AI makes it easier to create fake images and videos since a person isn’t required to use Photoshop or other editing tools.

Source: AI at the OCSB website - https://sites.google.com/ocsb.ca/aiattheocsb/getting-started-with-ai

AI Generated Images and Video

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Unfortunately, AI has made it more difficult to figure out what is real and what is not. This video explains how AI can be used to create fake media.

AI Generated Images and Video

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Here are some images and videos created in Canva using the Magic Media app. Discuss - What are some of the ways we can tell they aren’t real?

AI Generated Images and Videos

AI Generated Images and Videos

Anyone can create AI generated media. You just need the right app and a good description or prompt to give the AI program.

What are some pros and cons of AI generated media being so easy to create?

Add your ideas to this Canva whiteboard.

Now it’s your turn! We will use the Magic Media app in Canva to create some AI generated media. Remember - this is for learning purposes. ANY time you use AI generated images you MUST inform people that it was made by AI. Ready? Let’s go!

AI Generated Images and Videos

Go to Canva and open a new Whiteboard. Then, on the left:

1. Select apps
2. Scroll down to “More from Canva”
3. Finally, click on Magic Media

Experiment with creating your own images and videos to share with your class. Focus on creating media that is believable and appropriate. Keep in mind that it is for entertainment, NOT to spread misinformation.

Teachers, after students have had a chance to do this activity, share some examples with the class and discuss how to spot that they may be AI generated. Refer to the next slide for some ideas.

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Spotting AI Generated Images and Video

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• Unusual or Inconsistent Details: Look for abnormalities like asymmetrical facial features, odd finger placement, or objects with strange proportions.
• Texture and Pattern Repetition: Look for unnatural patterns in textures like hair, skin, clothing, or background elements.
• Lighting and Shadows: Check if the lighting on different objects in the image matches and if the shadows are consistent with the light sources.
• Background Anomalies: Many are overly simplistic, overly complex, or contain elements that don't belong. Pay attention to the background as much as the main subject.
• Facial Features: Faces generated by AI can sometimes appear slightly off. This can include oddities in the eyes (like reflections or iris shape), ears, or hair. These features are often subtly surreal or unnaturally symmetrical/asymmetrical.
• Contextual Errors: AI can struggle with context. An object might be out of place for the setting, or there might be a mismatch in the scale of objects.
• Text and Labels: AI often struggles with replicating text. It can sometimes be jumbled, misspelled, or nonsensical.
• Digital Artifacts: Look for signs of digital manipulation, like pixelation, strange color patterns, or blur in areas where it doesn't logically belong.
• Emotional Inconsistency: AI-generated faces may have expressions that don't quite match the emotion or mood the image conveys.

Source: Britannia Education, Real or AI Quiz: Can You Tell the Difference?

Note these Important Definitions

Misinformation

False or misleading information unintentionally presented as a fact.

When someone believed it was true.

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Disinformation

False or misleading information purposely distributed.

When someone knows it was untrue but shares it anyway.

So that’s what was meant with the term “Fake News!”

Definitions adapted from: https://www.lib.purdue.edu/misinformation-training/training-module/what-is-misinformation

Lesson: Becoming Informed Digital Citizens

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It’s important to remember that misinformation can come from anywhere, even people you normally trust! Friends and family may spread it through social media sites, emails or text messages. It’s incredibly easy to repost a picture or forward a link that someone else posted. Also, it really can be challenging to recognize manipulated media, or to differentiated between an article and an advertisement. Ask yourself: Why do I want to believe this? Sometimes we are less likely to question things we really want to be true.

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Use the SPOT Acronym

The website Spot Fake News suggests using the following acronym when consuming media:

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Lesson: Becoming Informed Digital Citizens

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Richard Culatta, author of the book Digital for Good, writes, “Not all manipulative digital media are blatantly fabricated. Digital citizens need to develop a “Spidey sense” for recognizing information that is manipulative by being used out of context, even if not technically false.”

What does this mean? Think of the phrases That’s only half the story or Let’s get to the bottom of this. This usually indicates that people have a sense there’s more to a situation than what is being communicated. Words taken out of context can be very misleading. Even charts and graphs can be manipulated to make a point.

So how do we handle this? Culatta has a list of good questions to ask ourselves when exploring information on the web.

Questions to ask when evaluating digital media

• Who is the author or creator? (Can you find anything else they have created?)
• Who is paying to make this content available? (Advertising revenue, a sponsoring organization, a paid subscription?)
• What is the goal of the author? (Share an opinion, present research, sell ads, and so on.)
• Is the content endorsed by an organization you trust?
• Do the URLs check out? (We read URLs from right to left so media.cnn.com would be from CNN, but cnn.media.com would be from a site called media.com, .edu or .gov should be reliable sources as well)
• Can you validate the claims with another source? (Are there citation to support the claims of the material? If it sounds like a stretch, does a search on a fact-checking site like Snopes reveal anything?)
• How old is the information?
• Does the content use hyperbolic, alarmist, or emotional language?
• Do photos or graphs appear manipulated? (Use Google Image search or TinEye.com to see where else the images have been used; check for tricks on graph presentation).

Source: Culatta, Richard. Digital for Good. Boston, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, 2021, pp. 81-82.

What are some reliable sources?

By now you are probably wondering where you SHOULD go to find good information. As regular Google users, you can certainly continue using this powerful search engine, especially now that you are better equipped to evaluate the results of your search.

**Remember: To properly evaluate a website you MUST open the website entirely. Of course, YOU would never just scan and use the limited script that shows up on the Google Search Results List! YIKES! No way! Not you! You know that this is incomplete information and could potentially lead someone (not you) to spread misinformation.

As an alternative to Google, you can also try other search engines such as kidtopia or kiddle for safe and reliable results. You still have to open the websites listed!

What are some reliable sources?

There are many great links on the Student portal. Have you tried using Gale? How about National Geographic Kids, Wonderopolis or ON-Core? All of these will bring you to quality resources that you can rely on. Your library technician can also help you use other databases to search if you are having trouble getting the results you are looking for.

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Check these out on our very own Student Portal! It’s at the bottom!

More resources can be found here!

What are some reliable sources?

Here are a few other sources that you can depend upon for verified information:

• Museum Publications and other publicly funded institutions (e.g., Toronto Zoo, Ontario Science Centre, the Louvre in France etc.)
• Educational Institution websites (such as universities and colleges, like Harvard, Oxford) and Academic Publishers (e.g. Taylor & Francis)
• Official Government websites (including the Government of Canada, Statistics Canada; UN; EU, NASA)
• Historical Archives & Libraries (e.g., Library & Archives Canada, US Library of Congress)
• Recognized Non-Profit Organizations (WWF, Amnesty International, Oxfam, etc.)
• Professional Associations (e.g. The Canadian Medical Association, Intl. Olympic Committee, WHO)
• Major Newspapers (CBC, The Globe and Mail, etc.)
• Research Organizations (eg.PEW research centre, CIFAR, Canada’s National Research Council)
• Encyclopedia Britannica, TED-Ed
• Scholarly Journals (e.g. Nature, Science, etc.)

And there are many more that can be added to this list!

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How to Bookmark a Website

First! What is bookmarking? Bookmarking is saving a page on the internet so that you can get back to it quickly and easily rather than having to search for it later and waste time.

Second! Let’s learn how to bookmark a page. Check out this helpful video from our very own Learning Technologies department on how to do it.

Third! Let’s watch and learn how to create a folder to further organize your bookmarks. This is a great idea when you are researching and want to keep everything together!

*NOW you are ready to conduct some research using reliable sources and keeping them organized so you can access them quickly after closing down your device.

Activity: Passion Projects Research

Choose a topic you are interested in learning more about. It can be anything from hummingbirds to Jupiter, from sport legends to nanotechnology. Fill in the following:

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Review the questions to ask when evaluating media before starting your research.

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My topic of research is:

Start Researching!

You can use Google or any of the links from your student portal. Can you find 5 good sources of information for your research? Bookmark them! Fill in the following table:

Closure

With so much media available at our fingertips, it’s important that we continue to practice our ability to discern between fact and fiction, or misleading representations of media. As technology continues to advance, this skill becomes more crucial.

Being an informed and responsible digital citizen requires us to use our critical thinking skills when we engage with online content, no matter the source.

By doing this, we can contribute positively to our online environment and help stop the spread of misinformation.