MisinfoDay 2019
University of Washington Information School hosts 200 students & educators for the inaugural MisinfoDay event, held at the Husky Union Building on UW’s Seattle campus.
SCHEDULE
9:30 | Doors Open |
10:00–10:15 | Welcome Introductory comments from Dean Anind Dey, Pre-Survey |
10:15–10:45 | Lecture: Mis/Disinformation 101 What is misinformation? Disinformation? How does it spread – and why do people create it in the first place? UW professors will teach you about the current state of misinformation in the United States. Presenters: Kate Starbird, Emma Spiro, Ahmer Arif |
11:00–11:40 | Workshop: Why Your Brain Loves Fake News* Break into groups of 25-30 to learn why your brain falls for fake news and what you can do about it. Facilitators: UW Librarians Amanda Hornby, Emilie Vrbancic, and Linda Whang; iSchool professor Jevin West |
11:50–12:25 | Lunch Franziska Roesner’s mini-lecture on how your data is tracked online Carl Bergstrom’s mini-lecture on misleading data graphics |
12:35–1:15 | Workshop: Fact Checking Tips & Tricks* Break into groups of 25-30 to learn tips for fact-checking the news and try your hand at checking some articles and social media posts. Facilitators: UW Librarians Jessica Albano, Alyssa Deutschler, and Kian Flynn; MLIS student Liz Crouse |
1:30–2:00 | Ask the Experts: MisinfoDay Panel Hear from a panel of experts from Snopes, the Seattle Public Library, and UW about their work. Come with questions about misinformation, fact-checking, confirmation bias, and more. Presenters: Vinny Green, Di Zhang, Jevin West |
2:00–2:20 | Post-Survey + Closing Remarks |
*Workshop order will be switched for half the groups
PARTICIPANTS
MisinfoDay 2019 was attended by students and educators from four high schools, three from the Seattle area and one from Toledo, WA. The number of students attending from each high school ranged from 11 to 55. Some Seattle-area educators also attended on their own to get ideas to use in the classroom.
PARTNERS
MisinfoDay 2019 was made possible by:
- Presenters from the UW iSchool, Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering, Department of Biology, and Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.
- Presenters from the Seattle Public Library and factchecking website Snopes.
- UW librarians, assisted by iSchool researchers and MLIS grad students, who facilitated the small-group workshops.
- iSchool staff and MLIS grad students who helped with set up, welcoming participants, supervision, and clean up.
DETAILS
Swag & Food: We provided snacks and MisinfoDay T-shirts, stickers, pins, and pens.
Materials: When students arrived they were given a folder that held their schedule for the day, a map of campus with important routes highlighted, speaker bios, and workshop handouts.
Groups: We wanted students to work with people from other schools during the small group (25-30 students) workshops. To mix up the schools, we wrote a number on each folder that corresponded to the group they would join for the workshops. In the workshop, we asked them to form groups of three with people from other schools. Most students seemed to work well with this set up, though a few expressed anxiety at being separated from peers they felt comfortable with.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Less is more: We were so excited to have students come to campus that we packed the day a bit too full. Students and teachers liked the content but said it felt rushed. In the MisinfoDay 2020 schedule, you’ll see that we opted for three main sessions instead of four, and left the lunch time free.
Read more about MisinfoDay 2019 here:
- iSchool’s ‘MisinfoDay’ Gives Teens Tools to Find Truth
- 'Misinfo Day' at UW teaches teens to scrutinize social media
- MisinfoDay: Bringing Media Literacy to High School Students, Teachers, and Librarians (page 16)