Based on your exploration of three items from the above, on issues related to finding authentic information within a socially networked world, identify two essential take-home messages that you believe will inform your work as an information professional. Post a 350 word summary outlining your two take-home messages to your learning journal.

When using the internet as a source of information, it is important for people to be able identify which sources of information are authentic and credible, and which are not. Two key concepts that will inform the future career and work as an information professional are:

1. The way students’ source information – Using information found in a report, Johnston (2018) claimed that schools are not teaching students how to evaluate information effectively. In the future, this will guide my choices both as a teacher and as a librarian as I will endeavour to offer lessons for both staff and students about evaluating information. Given that the report quoted by Johnston (2018), showed 61% of students trusted television sources and 51% trusted online sources, the need for critical evaluation is quite high (Office of the eSafety Commissioner, & Department of Education and Training, 2016). The lessons will teach critical thinking skills which will allow them to evaluate information they see out in the world, but in particular in the news on television and online.
2. Using Wikipedia can be useful – Having spent the last few years teaching students that Wikipedia is not a trusted source because anyone can edit it, watching the Seeker (2013) video which emphasised the usefulness of the website has caused some ideas to be reviewed. As the sources which are used to create the pages are often reasonably credible, they add a layer of credibility to Wikipedia itself. However, that does not mean that on its own Wikipedia can be trusted. The website is useful as a starting place for gathering information. From there the information can be checked through other, more credible sources. In the future, when people are uncertain about a topic and would like a place to start their research, I will direct them to Wikipedia to get a basic understanding of the topic, before using the sources on Wikipedia and their own newfound understanding to delve deeper into the topic.

Both of these key ideas will be important for students in the future as the proliferation of information on the internet continues and algorithms alter the information shown online based on what a person has already watched or read.

References

Johnston, N. (2018). Living in the Post-Truth World: Recent Research and Resources. InCite, 39(3/4), 26–27.

Office of the eSafety Commissioner, & Department of Education and Training. (2016). Young people’s trust and confidence in online information sources. Retrieved from
https://esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent/trustand-confidence-infographic

Seeker. (2013, October 5). Is Wikipedia a credible source? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHrGsxSpM5E