HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) unveiled a toolkit to develop the information literacy skills of educators, students and families to help the next generation of Pennsylvanians learn how to discern fact from fiction online.
“Our children are being fed half-truths, prejudices and propaganda every day on their phones and social media,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said. “I’ve heard from teachers across our Commonwealth about how kids find misinformation online and bring it into the classroom, where our educators are forced to confront it. We need to address that – and the first step is giving teachers and parents more tools in their toolbox to help teach our kids how to think critically about what they find online. That’s why I directed the Pennsylvania Department of Education to develop a toolkit for teachers and parents on digital literacy and critical thinking. Because we need to ensure our young people are equipped with the skills to tell fact from fiction and navigate online spaces safely and responsibly.”
The kit, representatives said, delivers on a promise Shapiro made in his budget address earlier this year,
“The media landscape of the 21st century offers a richness of information available to anyone with an Internet connection and the curiosity to click. But it is also complicated, messy and difficult to interpret – even for those of us who have been consuming news and information online for decades,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin. “We must be thoughtful and deliberate about empowering our children with the skills they’ll need to navigate this ever-evolving world of information at our fingertips. That’s why we developed this toolkit — to help Pennsylvania’s educators incorporate age-appropriate media literacy into their lesson plans and their conversations with students.”
The information literacy toolkit, which is available to the public on PDE’s website, offers resources about how to recognize biases, distinguish between credible information and misinformation, and create and share content responsibly. Through a collection of evidence-based resources, the toolkit encourages critical thinking, active participation in society, and contextual understanding of past and current events.
Resources in the toolkit are primarily geared toward educators, but there are also tools to help families and their children navigate the media landscape.
