Applying Critical Thinking to Navigate Online Information with Confidence

Applying Critical Thinking to Navigate Online Information with Confidence

  • Secondary
  • Year 7 - 10
  • English
  • Informative writing
  • Persuasive writing
  • Text Analysis
  • Reading
  • Discussion
  • Social
  • Social and Emotional Learning
  • Online safety
  • ...

Course summary

Learn how to use critical thinking to interpret and verify content online with RMIT University lecturer, Sushi Das. This course will explain different types of false and misleading information, why people spread it and how you can avoid being fooled by it. You’ll learn how to check sources and understand the nature of bias. You’ll also find tips on how to evaluate information in the form of text, photos and videos. Becoming a critical thinker and applying some basic fact-checking skills will build strong resilience to bad information and help you navigate the online landscape with more confidence.

You will learn:

  • to identify the qualities required when employing a critical mindset
  • skills to identify false and misleading information
  • how to check sources, tips on evaluating information and basic fact-checking skills.

Course time:

This course is expected to take 2 hours. You will have ongoing access via your user dashboard.

Accreditation:

This course is mapped to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

  • 4.5 Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically 
  • 6.2 Engage in professional learning and improve practice
  • 6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice.
Item saved in resources

Save

Share

Course Content

Applying Critical Thinking to Navigate Online Information with Confidence

Applying Critical Thinking to Navigate Online Information with Confidence

01.
Intro
02.
What is critical thinking?
03.
Understanding information disorder
04.
Who spreads false information and why?
05.
Six-point strategy for critical thinking
06.
Cultivating a critical thinking mindset
07.
Deep dive into checking sources
08.
Deep dive into understanding bias
09.
Evaluating social media accounts
10.
Evaluating news sites
11.
Evaluating images online
12.
Evaluating videos online
13.
Transferring these skills to the classroom
14.
How can I share what I’ve learnt with others?
15.
Reflection
16.
Congratulations

Course instructor

Sushi Das is an award-winning journalist and lecturer with RMIT University’s Information Integrity Hub. For more than 20 years, she worked as a journalist for The Age newspaper in senior editorial positions, including news editor and opinion editor. More recently, she was Head of Fact-Checking at RMIT, where she led a team of fact-checkers who worked in partnership with Meta to verify inaccurate and misleading information on social media platforms. She lectures in journalism and produces educational resources to help build resilience against false and misleading information that can undermine democracy and cause serious harm to people’s health and finances. Sushi is also researching fact-checking for her PhD.

Frequently asked questions

Can I log this PD with my states teaching authority?

Yes! Our courses are mapped to the Australian Professional Teacher Standards (AITSL), and your completion can be logged as elective PD hours with your state's teaching regulatory authority. To do this, grab your certificate of completion from your personal dashboard once the course is complete.

How long will this take to complete?

This course is expected to take two hours. You will have ongoing access via your user dashboard.

Will I get proof of completion?

You will get a Cool.org certificate when you finish to prove that you have completed this course. You can access this certificate (and your course progress!) anytime via your personal dashboard.

Is this course accredited?

All of our courses are mapped to the Australian Professional Teacher Standards (AITSL), and your completion can be logged as relevant, teacher-identified professional development activity with all Australian state teaching regulatory authorities. To do this, grab your certificate of completion from your personal dashboard once the course is complete.

  • 4.5 Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically 
  • 6.2 Engage in professional learning and improve practice
  • 6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice

Who are the instructors?

This course is designed in consultation with teachers, principals, psychologists, counsellors, scientists, and all manner of experts in the education field.

Cool.org's curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum and best educational practice, so you can be sure your learning is at the cutting edge of education theory.

Partners

Item saved in resources

Save

Share