Navigating Digital Literacy in the Age of Misinformation

Shaelynn Farnsworth is a literacy technology consultant who is talking about the Future of Ed Tech Librarian and Media Specialists. Farnsworth witnessed firsthand how education can help break the cycle of poverty by being the first in her family to graduate with an undergrad as well as a graduate degree. Her parents strongly emphasized the importance of education, and it eventually led her to the path she is on today. As she explains, “[They] always valued education and wanted us to know that we could conquer and do anything we wanted to as long as we went to college and received a degree to open different opportunities.”

Part one in a two-part series

As a consultant, Farnsworth focuses on exploring the interrelationship between technology, literacy, differentiation, and systemic change. Communication technology, in particular, is an area Farnsworth has noticed an exceptional amount of change. She adds, “When you look at technology’s role in education and life, communication is the area that has transformed the most. If you look at the SAMR model and all of those different acronyms that we use in education, communication and being literate [has been] completely redefined because of the technology in the world we live in.”

Literacy is Farnsworth’s passion, specifically as it relates to digital information. She asks the question, “How can we be information literate in this contemporary age?” while highlighting the importance of discernment. “It brings in the whole notion of information, misinformation, disinformation, and fake news. It’s one of my specialty areas where I deep dive into ‘deepfakes’ and AI and how we can hone those skills of information literacy in the classroom,” she says.

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