Will Richardson

What does it mean to be "literate" when everyone is a media outlet? It means our conception of "literacy" is changing. It has to.The explosion of social media and easy to publish-to-the-world tools has been happening for over two decades. And in many ways, that has given voice and reach to many amazing thinkers and doers and creators who we couldn't connect and learn with in the past. But ubiquitous publishing has its downsides. Now, in a world where almost anyone can say anything, fact and truth become less clear. And right now, we are in the midst of an "infodemic" of scary proportions. Every day, more and more misinformation, "fake news," and abject lies are shared online to increasingly larger audiences who are looking to confirm their own biases of how the world should look and operate. If we cannot discern what's true and what is a fact, we are in very serious trouble, as a society, and as a planet. More than at any time in recent history we need the skills, literacies, and dispositions to separate good information, people, and technologies from bad. This session dives into the scale and scope of the Infodemic, the challenges for schools and classrooms, and some tools and strategies to help "vaccinate" ourselves from the harm it causes.