Digital literacy: Can the republic ‘survive an algorithm’?

SEATTLE — Shawn Lee, a high school social studies teacher in Seattle, wants to see lessons on the internet akin to a kind of 21st century driver’s education, an essential for modern life. The title of a talk for a recent gathering of Lee’s group: “How to talk about conspiracy theories without getting fired.” “It’s not teaching what to think, but how to think,” said Julie Smith, an expert on media literacy who teaches at Webster University in Webster Groves, Missouri. Media literacy lessons are often included in history, government or other social studies classes, and typically offered at the high school level, though experts say it’s never too early — or late — to help people become better users of the internet. “Media literacy was one of our priorities before the time of the internet,” Petri Honkonen, Finland’s minister of science and culture, said in a recent interview. “Basic communication is part of our information economy, and there will be huge implications for our economy if we don’t get this right.” The driver’s education analogy comes up a lot when talking to media literacy experts.