Library and Information Science Commons^™

Teaching News Literacy During A Pandemic: Adapting To The Virtual Learning Environment, R. Alan Berry, Jennifer L. Bonnet, Judith E. Rosenbaum

Library Staff Publications

In the fall of 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered universities and sent much of higher education online, a team of media and information literacy experts at the University of Maine sought meaningful ways to collaboratively teach news literacy from a distance.

The result of their efforts was a weeklong virtual program, Friend, Enemy, or Frenemy? A News Literacy Challenge, open to anyone with an internet connection and an email address. This approach to remote learning scaffolded multiple literacies (critical media, news, and information) into five days, as participants examined different aspects of news production and consumption. The overall objective …

The Covid-19 Misinformation Challenge: An Asynchronous Approach To Information Literacy, Jennifer Bonnet, Senta Sellers

Library Staff Publications

The coronavirus pandemic introduced a "new normal" to the everyday lives of people the world over, including an evolving understanding of the virus’s spread and long-term impact. With each new development, misinformation about COVID-19 proliferated, sowing confusion and uncertainty about everything from causes to cures. In response, two librarians designed The COVID-19 Misinformation Challenge, a weeklong program aimed at discerning coronavirus fact from fiction on social media, in the news, and in academic publishing. Based on the number of program participants and their overwhelmingly positive feedback, the Challenge proved to be popular, fun, and educational.