Access, Not Distribution

Dan Gillmor started his presentation about news literacy discusssing this concept of access versus distribution. He was, of course, speaking of media and news today being sought out by consumers, as opposed to being distributed by, frankly, anyone. Our society is hungry for informtion--so hungry, it seems, that we are likely to dismiss the idea of credibility. I know I have been guilty of this, and I know my students are guilty of this regularly. Gillmor discussed using a credibilty scale which runs from -30 to +3, noting that credibility can be less than 0.


What a great visual to use to explain this to our students, and to remind ourselves. Gillmor's quote
"That would be interesting if its true" also gives us, and our classes, something to think about. Every class day I have my student journalists report out on community and world news they have read and/or heard within the last 24 hours. I think my new response to them will be "That would be interesting if its true." If I say it enough, hopefully it will resonate with them as they tackle their own stories and seek out (and trust or not trust) their own sources.

Back to the concept of "access, not distribution"--I hope this trend in news and media jumps into the realm of education and learning in general. I want my sudents to access knowledge. I do not want to be the one constantly distributing it, standing at the front of the room, lecturing or passing out handouts. The flipped classroom we discussed in class with Alan Weintraut is one way to meet this challenge head on. I think that incorporating more digital literacy into my classroom or curriculum (for example, twitter accounts, blogging, Facebook an updated website, a newspaper online...). Im ready to try!

Amelia Wright
West Morris Central High School
Chester, NJ