Sharp Minds, Skeptical Eyes

AFTER COMPLETING THIS COURSE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO:

• Teach students how to evaluate news and AI-generated content using the News Literacy Project’s seven standards
• Design classroom-ready lessons that help students question sources, claims, and credibility in real time
• Address common student misconceptions about what makes information trustworthy or credible
• Integrate news literacy instruction across subject areas through collaboration with teachers and faculty
• Lead conversations about misinformation and AI-generated content in ways that are clear, credible, and deliberately non-partisan

If you are someone who:

• Watches students confidently share information that is inaccurate, misleading, or completely fabricated
• Feels pressure to teach news literacy but is not sure how to keep up with AI-generated content
• Wants to integrate evaluation skills into instruction without it becoming a separate, hard-to-schedule unit
• Struggles to balance critical thinking instruction with the need to stay neutral and credible
• Is trying to get teachers or faculty on board with integrating news literacy across disciplines

This course was built for you.

This course is especially helpful for:

• High school librarians supporting research, instruction, and digital literacy
• Early college and dual enrollment librarians working with students navigating academic sources
• School library staff collaborating with teachers across subject areas
• Educators responsible for teaching information literacy, media literacy, or research skills

If you are helping students make sense of information in a fast-changing digital landscape, you will see yourself in this course.

Session 1 | 1:00 - 1:15 pm ET

Framing the Challenge

The information landscape in the age of AI is evolving quickly, and along with it, the feeling that misinformation is more abundant than ever. This introductory session will frame the challenge and start a conversation about the use of news literacy skills to evaluate, verify, and inform judgment.

Session 2 | 1:15 - 1:30 pm ET

News Literacy as Cross-Disciplinary Work

News literacy skills are connected to core skills already taught in schools, colleges, and universities. This session will uncover existing opportunities to partner with classroom teachers and faculty to integrate news literacy across content areas.

Session 3 | 1:30 - 2:05 pm ET

Mini Verification Lab #1: Investigating Visual Claims

This session is an opportunity to practice verification skills that you can teach your students. Through an interactive activity, you’ll apply principles from the New Literacy Project to identify claims, trace the original context of the claims, and evaluate evidence.

Break | 2:05 - 2:15 pm ET

Session 4 | 2:15 - 2:40 pm ET

Mini Verification Lab #2: Lateral Reading & Source Investigation

In the second interactive activity, you will practice effective verification through lateral reading techniques. You’ll leave this session with a realistic lesson plan idea you can add to your teaching toolbox.

Session 5 | 2:40 - 3:00 pm ET

Mini Verification Lab #3: Evaluating Claims & Statistics

In the final activity, you’ll explore skills that can be applied to information sources that lack context, nuance, or transparency. The learnings from this activity will prepare you to teach students about such things as context and representation when evaluating sources.

Break | 3:00 - 3:10 pm ET

Session 6 | 3:10 - 3:30 pm ET

AI and the Future of Verification

Verification is more challenging with the proliferation of AI-generated content. This session will cover types of content found in common information channels, how algorithms shape visibility and engagement, and thoughtful ways to approach conversations about AI and misinformation.

Session 7 | 3:30 - 3:50 pm ET

Instructional Strategies & Practical Application

The last session of the day will focus on practical instructional approaches. Through modeling, structured activities, and integrating verification into everyday instruction, you can create learning opportunities across grade levels and subject areas.

Reflection and Closing | 3:50 - 4:00 pm ET

COURSE INSTRUCTOR

Cathy Collins, Ed.D., Library Media Specialist

Cathy Collins, Ed.D., is a Library Media Specialist at Sharon Public Schools (MA) and serves on the ISTE+ASCD Board. A National Board Certified Teacher and ISTE Certified Educator, she is the author of Teaching News Literacy in the Age of AI: A Cross-Curricular Approach and writes the Substack newsletter, Smarter News Literacy in an AI World. She has presented nationally on media literacy, digital verification, and the evolving role of AI in education, with a focus on translating these concepts into practical, classroom-ready instruction. Her work helps educators teach students to think critically, verify information, and navigate today’s complex information landscape with confidence and clarity.

WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE

This course is designed for high school and early college academic librarians, school librarians, and educators who teach research, information literacy, media literacy, or critical evaluation of sources.

SESSIONS AND PRICING

Early bird pricing ends one month before the session deadline. 

GROUP OPTIONS

Training a team? Choose the setup that matches how you want to plan and pay:

Group course enrollment: Enroll 3+ staff in this course and save.

Bulk course credits: Prepay once, get the highest per-seat discount on every course, and assign seats later.

Unlimited annual licensing: System-wide access for a year with no per-course approvals.

Request Discounted Group Pricing

Questions? Email groupsales@libraryjournal.com.

COURSE FORMAT

This will be a live 3-hour course and will include:

Live session: A 3-hour live session focused on practical, classroom-ready approaches to teaching news literacy in the age of AI.

Facilitated discussion: Audience participation in Q&A and discussion during the live session.

Online classroom: The virtual learning platform holds all course content and remains accessible for six months after the course date.

EXPECTED TIME COMMITMENT

If you attend or watch the recording of the live session, you will spend approximately 3 hours on this course. You will earn 3 hours of professional development credit and a School Library Journal certificate of completion.

ALL THE DETAILS

Build your capacity to teach news literacy with confidence, credibility, and a framework designed for the realities of today's information environment.

Helping students think critically about the news has always been important library work. In the age of AI-generated content, it's urgent. This three-hour live session is built around the News Literacy Project's seven standards and explores how those foundational concepts apply directly to the AI-generated content your students are already encountering and too often trusting.

You'll develop practical, classroom-ready approaches to news literacy instruction and explore how to collaborate with teachers to integrate those approaches across disciplines. You'll also examine strategies for news literacy advocacy that are grounded, credible, and deliberately non-partisan, so you can navigate the information landscape with your students.

ON-DEMAND ACCESS

All live sessions are recorded and available on demand for six months following the initial broadcast as part of your purchase.

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Complete all course requirements to earn 3 professional development credit hours and a School Library Journal certificate of completion. Certificates are emailed upon completion.

ACCESSIBILITY

All video recordings feature auto-captioning. If you require accommodations, please email course-support@libraryjournal.com upon registration and we will make our best efforts to support your needs.

SUPPORT

For technical or course-related support, please contact course-support@libraryjournal.com.