Novel initiative Teach Out: Fake news detecting #criticalthinking #mooc

If you have just a bit of time this week, and you are interested in new ways of online teaching as well as critical thinking... this is a fabulous initiative. The “Fake news, facts and alternative facts” MOOC is part of a teach out course (brief yet meaningful just-in-time learning initiative focused on a hot topic).

Course link: https://www.edx.org/course/fake-news-facts-alternative-facts-michiganx-teachout-2x#!

Course starts on 21 April 2017 (today)

Course given by the University of Michigan, USA

This is not just a MOOC, actually, it being a MOOC is the boring part. What is really interesting is the philosophy behind the teach out, and the history behind the teach out events. This feels a bit more like an activist driven teaching, admittedly here with a renowned institute.

Brief course description

Learn how to distinguish between credible news sources and identify information biases to become a critical consumer of information.

How can you distinguish between credible information and “fake news?” Reliable information is at the heart of what makes an effective democracy, yet many people find it harder to differentiate trustworthy journalism from propaganda. Increasingly, inaccurate information is shared on social networks and amplified by a growing number of explicitly partisan news outlets. This Teach-Out will examine the processes that generate both accurate and inaccurate news stories and the factors that lead people to believe those stories. 

Participants will gain skills help them to distinguish fact from fiction.

This course is part of a Teach-Out, which is:

·        an event – it takes place over a fixed, short period of time

·        an opportunity – it is open for free participation to everyone around the world

·        a community – it will be joined by a large number of diverse individuals

·        a conversation – an opportunity to give and take ideas and information from people

The University of Michigan Teach-Out Series provides just-in-time community learning events for participants around the world to come together in conversation with the U-M campus community, including faculty experts. The U-M Teach-Out Series is part of our deep commitment to engage the public in exploring and understanding the problems, events, and phenomena most important to society.

Teach-Outs are short learning experiences, each focused on a specific current issue. Attendees will come together over a few days not only to learn about a subject or event but also to gain skills. Teach-Outs are open to the world and are designed to bring together individuals with wide-ranging perspectives in respectful and deep conversation. These events are an opportunity for diverse learners and a multitude of experts to come together to ask questions of one another and explore new solutions to the pressing concerns of our global community. Come, join the conversation!

(Picture: http://maui.hawaii.edu/hooulu/2017/01/07/the-real-consequences-of-fake-news/ )