Information Literacy in our academic contexts requires the ability to use and understand digital tools and platforms. Requiring students to practice simple research methods will help students develop these literacy competencies in their coursework. Students will acquire the critical thinking skills needed to assess information and sources using the SIFT (Stop, Investigate the source, Find trusted coverage, Trace to the original) method.
To be able to evaluate online information for credibility and relevance:
Include resources for students in their assignments that reinforce good practices in finding information online.
Here is an example assignment that you can adapt for any discipline.
The University Library also provides a Canvas module on Evaluating Sources for your class that you can import and customize for your topics.
To be able Analyze and interpret results from AI systems
We are fortunate to have our own UM-branded GenAI tools that we can recommend to students, but they need to have a basic understanding of how GenAI works.
Students need to understand what GenAI-based tools can or cannot do. GenAI might appear to have the ability like a conscious being in a conversation or application, but they are simply very large predictive models that infer from a massive dataset.
Share these resources with your students whether or not they are allowed to use GenAI in their coursework.
You can take a short course and help your students with Cultivating Digital Literacy in a broader sense at the Adobe Education Exchange.
Or join colleagues at the University of Michigan Dearborn for more details on how to use the SIFT method with your students.
References:
Verified How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online, Mike Caulfield and SamWineburg
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/V/bo207015182.html
