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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Making Sense of the News: News Literacy Lessons for Digital Citizens by The University of Hong Kong

4.8
stars
228 ratings

About the Course

Never before has the need for News Literacy been more urgent. As news consumers are bombarded with a constant stream of fake news, propaganda, hoaxes, rumors, satire, and advertising — that often masquerade as credible journalism — it is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. While the public’s faith in the news media erodes, purveyors of misinformation have helped give rise to troubling cultural trends and alarming political movements. This six-week course will help learners develop their critical thinking skills to enable them to better identify reliable information in news reports and to become better informed about the world in which we live. The course will discuss the key elements of journalism from the viewpoint of the news audience. The language of instruction is English, but Chinese and Spanish subtitles will be available. Each week will tackle a challenge unique to the digital era: Week 1: The power of information is now in the hands of consumers. Week 2: What makes journalism different from other types of information? Week 3: Where can we find trustworthy information? Week 4: How to tell what’s fair and what’s biased. Week 5: How to apply news literacy concepts in real life. Week 6: Meeting the challenges of digital citizenship....

Top reviews

RA

Jul 23, 2017

Very informative and clear and there are some assignments to make us understand more. But there are too many links that we have to read, I prefer the video and examples and assignments.

FF

Apr 1, 2020

very good course, with tons of reference resources. I've learned a lot and felt a door opened in front me toward the world of news literacy and perception of real journalism.

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1 - 25 of 61 Reviews for Making Sense of the News: News Literacy Lessons for Digital Citizens

By Rizky S A

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Jul 23, 2017

Very informative and clear and there are some assignments to make us understand more. But there are too many links that we have to read, I prefer the video and examples and assignments.

By Randall L

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Jun 3, 2017

Informative and nicely paced. Expectations are not challenging to meet. Nice pace to follow at your leisure. Solid grounding in the subject. Quality relevant examples.

By Lynda R

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Mar 10, 2017

A super course, and available at just the right time. With journalists and journalism under assault, it's time for news consumers like me to have a better understanding of what we and our communities are up against. I truly appreciate that now I have a framework (and tools) to look at what is out there, which is helping me know what I think better and gives me strategies to talk constructively with friends and family when talking about the news. The past election, and now these first weeks of the new administration, have been real brain bangers with respect to what passes for truth in the news. As I began, a super course, and available at just the right time!

By Chuanli X

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Sep 12, 2019

This is a very good introductory course for everyone who would like to have a better understanding of news and learn the essential media literacy skills in the digital era.

By Debi G

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Jan 29, 2017

Excellent coverage. Enjoyed the resources. Gained a great deal from taking this course.

By Rick M

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Feb 25, 2017

Great course and

By Alvin O S W

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Jun 7, 2020

This is a good foundational course on News Literacy and provides useful concepts, principles, frameworks and examples to understand how news is created and disseminated to digital citizens. As a feedback, I wished that the content could be more periodically updated to keep up with current media practices in 2020 and beyond.

By Anant S

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Jun 5, 2020

Course was really interesting. Especially the lectures by anne kruger and steven reiner were loved to watch . Didn't feel bored at any time. Recommended sources were great though they were a lot in number because of which i skipped few of them. quizzes, assignments are up to the mark.

By Jonathan P W

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Jun 14, 2019

I highly recommend this course to anyone who feels inadequately equipped to navigate the ever-shifting world of news journalism in the digital age. Taught by leading practitioners in the field, this course is accessible, challenging and rewarding. Learning about the key skills we need to know when we encounter a news story - provisional truth, evidence, context, sources, storytelling, angle, fairness, independence, balance, and bias - I came away from this course feeling better equipped to take on sloppy or non-credible journalism, confirmation bias, fake news, and the like. It also helped me to recognise and note down credible news sources and understand the responsibilities and skills of both the news producer and us, the news consumers.

By Uma G

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Jul 26, 2020

The course helped me to gain a lot of knowledge in my professional field of news literacy and will aid in teaching news reporting, verification, ethics, principles to be followed. It will also aid me to make my lessons more interactive. The videos and discussion forums were well designed and added a lot of value to the course. The only concern was too many reading material which may be a put-off especially when the news value of proximity is not met for the student taking this course.

By Hamza M

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Jan 14, 2023

A very needed course that has become more relevant than ever. It has exposed me to the very dynamics that of news as a journalistic practice. The course was very helpful as it articulates the different strategies and tools at the disposal of a daily news consumer who prefers to investigate when faced with media outlets. News Literacy will definitely ater the way you percieve news' data.

By S. M R I

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Jan 19, 2021

I've really enjoyed this course & found the contents very useful as well as thought-provoking. The video lectures were easy to follow. The course assignments/quizzes were very helpful to check the understanding. Overall, for me, participating in this course was a great learning experience.

By ABIR G

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Jul 4, 2020

This is a course which should be done by all the netizens. A very well researched course with awesome delivery by both the professors. The reference study materials provided are nothing but priceless. In fine, the challenging assignments made the entire learning more fulfilling.

By Gayes M

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Jun 7, 2020

This course full of information we need about news literacy, Lecturer give a simple explanation so it's easy to understand and the reading help increasing the ability of critical thinking, but if there is an explanation for reading text will be perfect

By ayach l

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May 31, 2022

This course was extremely enlightening and practical in an age of information overload. It provides you with a set of abilities to examine everyday news and information in your environment; it is highly recommended for people interested in journalism.

By Holly D O R

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Mar 5, 2017

From its clear explanations to its relevant examples, I thoroughly enjoyed this course. I highly recommend it for anyone who's not sure what news is, what "fake news" is, what journalism is and how to get better at explaining all of these to others.

By Leonidas A

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Feb 15, 2017

excellent presentations and very useful references to online resources and services. I learned to evaluate the quality of news I am consuming but also got instructions about using helpful tools to assist my pursuit for quality journalism.

By Vivek S

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Jul 8, 2020

EASILY ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE COURSES ON COURSERA!!! Loved Professors Anne Kreuger and Steven Reiner!!! Would like to join many more courses if they would come back and teach with this same enthusiasm and efforts!!!

By Petrone B

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Mar 1, 2021

Exemplos claros e evidentes de como verificar notícias e como entender a produção jornalística. Realmente abriu minha mente e me tornou um consumidor de notícias muito mais ativo e atencioso

By Regina K

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Jul 22, 2017

This course gave a lot of insights to become a critical and responsible news consumer. The modules had a convenient length and the amount of examples helped a lot to understand the issues.

By Flecher F

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Apr 1, 2020

very good course, with tons of reference resources. I've learned a lot and felt a door opened in front me toward the world of news literacy and perception of real journalism.

By Daniel C

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Jul 20, 2017

Useful and meaningful as we are living in an age of information overload, the ability to make sensible application of information is just too important. Thanks

By Azucena U A

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Mar 18, 2018

Great content very informative, the explanations are simple and understandable even for students that have not previous knowledge of the topic.

By Patricia V A

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Feb 9, 2020

Best step-by-step course to take me from a fairly ignorant news reader to a person that knows how to gauge the veracity of the news I see now.

By Tasilova A

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Apr 14, 2022

Very interesting and educational course, helped me to understand the mistakes not only in professional activity, but also in real life.