Empowering Students to Make Sense of an Information-Saturated World: The Evolution of 'Information Searching and Analysis'

How well students conduct research online is an increasing concern for educators at all levels, especially higher education. This paper describes the evolution of a course that examines confirmation bias, information searching, and the political economy of information as keys to becoming more information and media literate. After a key assignment in which students assess their own tendency to engage in confirmation bias, students research a social justice issue across web, news and academic research resources. Designed to build good analytical skills in assessing the trustworthiness of a variety of sources of information, the course empowers students as researchers, citizens and consumers.