九色 researcher for the College of Education, Graduate School, and Research Center for Social Science and Education Prof. Camilla J. Vizconde, Ph.D., served as speaker at the 17th EdukCircle Convention on Education Studies held on November 17, 2024, at University of the Philippines – Diliman.
Anchoring her framework on the concept of critical digital literacy by Hinrichsen and Coombs (2014), Vizconde provided insights from research about detecting fake news and helping teachers and students alike to learn more about AI.
Engaging with more than 600 pre-service teachers and supervising teachers onsite, and over a hundred online participants, Vizconde spoke to participants from various teacher training institutions in Luzon. Presenting the findings of their recent research on fake news, Vizconde appealed to teachers to make sure that students are explicitly taught the skills and strategies in detecting false, misleading, satirical, and fake information in media, especially on social media platforms. She warned that such information is more rampant during the local and national elections.
She added that critical digital literacy is closely connected to artificial intelligence, which remains one of the tools for learning and teaching. Teachers should use AI effectively as part of their repertoire of resources, especially when students already use AI as their learning partner. AI use, however, should always be guided by legal and ethical policies.
Ultimately, she emphasized the importance of critical digital literacy, which empowers teachers and learners to confidently evaluate the reliability of information, identify biases, and detect the persuasive techniques used in media.
