Misinformation is a big topic in terms of social media and the open web. I chose to examine the issue of misinformation and how it can show up in our learning communities. In my context of corporate learning and development, there is an emphasis on control and privacy and some control and privacy is needed. However, I believe there are valuable information and knowledge sharing opportunities to be found by opening learning for our employees outside of the classroom and closed LMS. I want to be able to make decisions for my organization that will ensure the safety of the learners and the organization while capitalizing on these open communities and information sources in an effort to create transformative and impactful learning experiences. Part of that is preparing for the pushback that will inevitably be received by the decision-makers when it comes to losing some control over the content that employees might find in exploring these new avenues for learning.
Some of the questions guiding my research are:
- What might misinformation look like in digital learning environments? What are the motivations/causes?
- How can we control content in digital learning environments and how much control is needed/reasonable?
- How do we prepare learners to identify credible sources of information?
In my organization, the learner groups are diverse. Many have no experience in navigating digital environments as a learner and some have no digital literacy skills at all. This has shifted my focus from control and censorship to individual development. Mike Caulfield is an expert in digital/media literacy skills and offers a plethora of frameworks and resources to help develop the needed skills to navigate information on the Internet. I believe this is a starting point to implementing and supporting digital learning environments in my organization and our responsibility to give the learners the tools needed to succeed.
The purpose of my exploration of this topic is ultimately to begin to create research-informed strategies for organizations looking to open up and let their learners explore beyond the confines of the current systems.
Caulfield, M. (June 19, 2019). SIFT (The Four Moves). Hapgood. https://hapgood.us/2019/06/19/sift-the-four-moves/
June 1, 2022 at 8:50 am
Melissa
I find this topic so timely. In the MOOC inquiry I am completing I actually am left curious about misinformation and if participatory networks are part of how we have possibly created the conditions for misinformation to influence society. cMOOCs, large networks of learners relying on connectivism creates, what I believe are the conditions for misinformation to potentially become part of the content. Facilitators cannot necessarily look at every contribution to the environment. How do we create a participatory, open learning experience but also mitigate misinformation taking root? How do we bring people in who are invested in misinformation as part of their identity? I still see people on the bridge in my town with their Canadian flags and cries for freedom from the trucker convoy events, and I imagine them in a course on digital media literacy. I then worry about these people getting alienated from a course like this because it might challenge their beliefs and thus they will never change, and learn. I have read it is vital we teach people how to be participatory on the open web in connectivist participatory networks of learning but I don’t understand the nuts and bolts of doing so yet. I look forward to hearing your inquiry results as it sounds very situationally clear. Thanks!