Tree-Dwelling Octopuses Prompt Media Literacy Discussion

What do the concepts of biology, media literacy, and April Fool's Day have in common? Potentially... quite a bit, in fact. Actually, it seems cephalopods of all sorts have been getting my attention as of late.

Today's lesson in Principles of Biology was essentially: pay attention.

Students were directed to a teacher-led discussion prompt and associated website on the "Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus"- a rare, endangered, and absolutely amazing animal. The only fact not disclosed in the very vague discussion prompt here is the fact that this animal is... not... an animal. It is perfectly false. It is wonderfully false. It is very over-the-top false. Anything beyond a surface skim shows the weakness in the presentation. How well do your students "read?" How well do we discern sources of information? How "media literate" are we? Do you teach these skills in your subject area? Or is this perhaps the exclusive domain of the Communication Arts department?

CLICK HERE for the post and the discussion...

(this one was quite fun!)





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