AI has made a mark in many places and one of those is the classroom. A publishing company magazine for students and teachers is looking at how AI impacts media literacy.
This year, Media Literacy Week is Oct. 26-30. It is hosted by the National Association for Media Literacy Education.
Audra Wallace, the senior director at Scholastic Magazines, said the magazine editors reached out to advisors about the use of AI in schools.
“Concerns are that AI is here to stay and that many kids are already encountering it,” Wallace said, “but they just don't have the media literacy that they need to recognize bias, differentiate between fact and opinion, recognize inaccuracies.”
Wallace said it’s important for students to have critical thinking skills so that they can ask questions about the sourcing of the materials. She said Scholastic Magazines’ articles can be used to compare the information that AI gives.
“Look through our archives and say, ‘hey, how has Scholastic News or StoryWorks covered this?’” she suggested. “And kind of go through and see how we presented it. Because one of the things that AI doesn't do that editors and reporters like you and I do is -- we're questioning human beings.”
Scholastic Magazines has 30 different magazine titles for students from pre-K through high school. The magazines have covered many topics related to AI. Wallace says the publication Scholastic News has an article coming out called “Does AI Belong in the Schools?”
