你将学到什么
Learn how to address post-truth problems through metaliteracy
Evaluate your biases and those of others when interacting with information
Show that you are able to consume, produce, and share information in ways that you can be proud of
课程概况
The post-truth world is a divided and partisan environment in which factual information has been displaced by subjective and biased viewpoints. Facts and expertise no longer matter when isolated communities deny truth and scientific reasoning in favor of whatever information suits their needs or aligns with their beliefs. Social media and emerging technologies have the power to connect global participants in a meaningful way; yet, they have also led to disconnected communities that fail to communicate past their own self-imposed boundaries. In this course, you will gain insights to recognize your own biases and identify preconceptions in today’s dynamic social information environment. Through metaliteracy, you will practice self-reflective, metacognitive processes and reexamine fixed mindsets. Together, we will consider the importance of facts and expertise in reinventing a truthful world based on inclusive communities of trust. This course will empower you to be a reflective consumer and a creative, responsible producer of information, and to raise and share your voice in this post-truth milieu.
课程大纲
Empowering Yourself for the Post-Truth World
What is the post-truth world? In a post-truth world, subjective biases and uninformed opinions have challenged or replaced objective facts and scientific reasoning. Technologies originally designed to connect global participants have created a profound disconnect among users based on partisan ideologies and beliefs. Metaliteracy empowers learners to traverse this partisan landscape; it it supports metacognitive thinking to reflect on individual biases, as well as the preconceptions or prejudices that are embedded in content and participant viewpoints. As a metaliterate learner, you will learn how to take charge of your learning by identifying your own strengths and areas for growth.
In this module we will introduce you to the metaliteracy model, which will prepare you to be an informed consumer and creative producer. You will explore the active roles you take on as a creator of new information, such as communicator, researcher, and teacher in collaborative social environments.
Who Are the Experts?
This module will delve into the realms of expertise and authority in connection with both people and information sources. How are expertise and authority connected? How does one determine authority? What impact do one’s beliefs have on perceptions of authority? The module will also consider the impact that the participatory Web has had on our ability to find, process, and respect the voices of experts. There are many advantages to having the world at our fingertips--but how can we be more aware of our biases and those of others so that we can develop metaliterate ways of being responsible information consumers and creators within our own communities?
Can We Build Trust Online?
In this module, we will explore how metaliteracy prepares individuals to understand the risks and opportunities involved with online environments. In addition, we will describe the active roles that metaliterate learners play in participatory environments to help build communities of trust. Generally, we create communities by working collaboratively toward a common goal and producing information that is authentic and reliable. As part of this module, we will work together to expand the definition of trust in online communities. This will include the exploration of challenges in the post-truth world when online environments can be divisive, untrustworthy and unsecure.
How do we know what and who to trust in online environments, especially when the meaning of truth itself has diminished in the larger societal and political landscape? In this module, we will explore security breaches involving social media platforms in which the personal data of trusting participants was shared without permission. We will raise questions about the accountability of the social media providers as well as your responsibility to critically examine online platforms as you participate in these communities.
Reinventing a Truthful World
Through the creation and sharing of your final project, realize your vision for how you would reinvent a truthful world as an empowered metaliterate learner. Reflect on how you would apply the lessons learned in this MOOC to address the challenges of the post-truth world. Imagine how we would work together to effectively build a new future of truth and reason based on interrelated communities of trust. Think about how we move past the use of social media and emerging technologies to simply connect individuals in order to build online communities in which participants collaborate in purposeful ways to solve problems and make meaning. Reflect on what is required to move from post-truth circumstances to a future built on truth, trust, and both individual and community empowerment.
