Check the Facts! Cross Check the Facts! Lessons & Media

Fact checking is essential in a (mis) information rich environment. 

FactCheck.org
Brilliant resource from the Annenberg Public Policy Center. There is also a six year archive of contents. As you would expect, the current materials focus on the health care debate.  For a truly balanced view of things, when the facts have been checked, and all varieties of political spin revealed this is my new FIRST STOP for FACTS.  This is a treasure trove!

Tags: media, research, factcheck, 21cif, evaluation

FactChecked.org
Luckily, FactCheck.org also has a highly developed classroom section that provides in-depth lesson plans and media links. These are highly polished materials for educators seeking a way to teach critical thinking and evaluation skills to their students. The Lesson Plan Archive ( http://www.factchecked.org/LessonPlans.aspx ) will intrigue any educator looking for a way to engage students. These plans are edgy and up to date. If you've been looking for a way to teach thinking and evaluation of media.

I've been vitally interested in Investigative Searching for sometime. Fact checking, triangulation of data, skeptical and inquisitive attitude has been part of that package all along. However, I hadn't focused on Fact Checking until I reviewed the results of our summer work with 1000 teenagers who took our new Investigative Searching 20/10 online course. The data clearly shows that Fact Checking is an area of great weakness. Teenagers HATE to fact check.

This resource could change all that because once you break through the barriers, this works is stimulating, engaging, and fun. In fact, I may try one of the plans with my current group of undergraduate teacher candidates. Monty Python and the Quest for the Perfect Fallacy really appeals to me!

If you decide to use this resource, let me know what you think! (Emphasis on the think. 8-)

~ Dennis In San Diego,  remembering Joe Friday's essence "Just the facts..."


Posted from Diigo. The rest of Information Fluency group favorite links are here.

Bing & Google Side by Side: Compare Search Results

Bing vs. Google

• Tags: Google, Bing, searchengine, search, 21cif

  • Can't choose default search engine? Want to compare Bing & Google results?
    
    This is the right place to be. Just put your query in the search box and press Enter. You'll see results from both engines side by side.
    
    Search provider for Internet Explorer 7/8 and Firefox is also available - search both engines from your browser!

• Google Jolts Search Engine With Caffeine - New search tech under the hood?

  Tags: google, search

  • Google engineers unveiled the news in a blog and said that they have been working on this "secret project" over the past few months.
  • The changes may be more apparent to Web developers and power searchers, so Google is opening up a Web developer preview to get their feedback.

  • Another tester liked the fact that Caffeine also provides more results from social networking sites.
    

    
    "I've noticed more Twitter pages in the results with this version of Google. Quite like having that - makes it easier to find people and companies."
    

• information fluency @ Bing vs. Google

  Here's a side by side comparison of Bing Vs Google results on the term: Information Fluency
  
  21cif.com ( formerly 21cif.imsa.edu ) has been online for 10+ years and dominates the Google Search results. Nothing in the top ten for Bing? Google ranks our old url #1 and our new url #4. Give this a try for your self with the same terms? I'll bet you get radically different results from Google than I do. Since I've worked on the 21cif project for nearly 8 years, I know the materials well. Also Google has adapted to my search habits and provides me with more links relevant to my interest. On the Google page I'm given a link to my search-wiki results: http://tinyurl.com/21cif-search-wiki

  Tags: google, bing, search, 21cif

  • Here's a side by side comparison of Bing Vs Google results on the term: Information Fluency
    
    21cif.com ( formerly 21cif.imsa.edu ) has been online for 10+ years and dominates the Google Search results. Nothing in the top ten for Bing? Google ranks our old url #1 and our new url #4. Give this a try for your self with the same terms? I'll bet you get radically different results from Google than I do. Since I've worked on the 21cif project for nearly 8 years, I know the materials well. Also Google has adapted to my search habits and provides me with more links relevant to my interest. On the Google page I'm given a link to my search-wiki results: http://tinyurl.com/21cif-search-wiki - By Dennis OConnor

Posted from Diigo. The rest of Information Fluency group favorite links are here.

Information Forensics Goes to School: NECC 2009

Here's a video broadcast of our recent presentation from the ISTE Vision Network:



Links to Materials:

Information Forensics Goes to School

Prezi (the un-slide show)

Investigative Searching 20/10
(8 hours of self-paced online training in website evaluation.)

Open the Door to Free Google Goodies: Google For Educators

• Google For Educators

  Tags: google, e-learning, education, tools, teaching, resources, 21cif

  • At Google, we support teachers in their efforts to empower students and expand the frontiers of human knowledge. That’s why we’ve assembled the information and tools you’ll find on this site. Learn more about Google for Educators.

• Home ‎(Google Teacher Academy Resources)‎

  Tags: google, education, technology, resources

  • This site was created to support the Google Teacher Academy (GTA). Anyone may view the site and take advantage of the resources shared here. Only Google Certified Teachers (GCT) are free to edit and add to the site. Google Certified Teachers, please follow the Guidelines when you edit the site.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of Information Fluency group favorite links are here.