Educational and technical resources are regarded as central in combating disinformation and safeguarding democracy in an era of ‘fake news’. In this study, we investigated whether a professional fact-checking tool could be utilised in curricular activity to make pupils more skilled in determining the credibility of digital news and to inspire them to use digital tools to further their transliteracy and technocognition. In addition, we explored how pupils’ performance and attitudes regarding digital news and tools varied across four countries (France, Romania, Spain, and Sweden). Our findings showed that a two-hour intervention had a statistically significant impact on teenagers’ abilities to determine the credibility of fake images and videos. We also found that the intervention inspired pupils to use digital tools in information credibility assessments. Importantly, the intervention did not make pupils more sceptical of credible news. The impact of the intervention was greater in Romania and Spain than among pupils in Sweden and France. The greater impact in these two countries, we argue, is due to cultural context and the fact that pupils in Romania and Spain learned to focus less on ’gut feelings’, increased their use of digital tools, and had a more positive attitude toward the use of the fact-checking tool than pupils in Sweden and France.

The evolution of MOOCs in the last decade has been constant and dynamic. The first cMOOC and xMOOC models eventually evolved into different postMOOC modalities, such as sMOOC, which conjugates interaction among students with a participation model based on social networks. This work is focused on carrying out a systematic review of the state-of-the-art scientific literature referred to the concept of MOOC and its diverse types. Moreover, in this article, a new generation associated to sMOOC is unveiled: the tMOOC (Transfer Massive Open Online Courses). The methodology of study is based on the content analysis of those categories resulting after compiling 707 entries from Web of Science, plus an in-depth study of the 70 articles which were quoted at least 10 times. In addition, a case study has been carried out from European ECO Project’s “sMOOC Step by Step”, as an example of innovative pedagogical model based on collaborative learning to train future e-teachers. The results of the analysis show the very recent –and still scarce– research on the different types of MOOCs, as well as the finding of a new modality based on pedagogical transformation, learning transference and intercreative talent. As a conclusion, the analysis of all key factors in the configuration of tMOOC has encouraged us to propose a new taxonomy based on the 10 T’s.La evolución de los MOOC en la última década ha sido constante y dinámica. Como antecedentes, los primeros modelos de cMOOC y xMOOC se transforman en otras modalidades postMOOC, como los sMOOC, que conjugan la interacción entre los estudiantes con el modelo de participación implantado en las redes sociales. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo realizar una revisión sistemática del estado de la literatura científica sobre el concepto MOOC y sus distintas tipologías. En este artículo, se descubre una nueva generación asociada a los sMOOC, los tMOOC (Transfer Massive Open Online Courses). La metodología de estudio se basa en el análisis de contenido de las categorías resultantes en los 707 registros recogidos de Web of Science, profundizando en los 70 artículos que obtuvieron al menos diez citas. Además, se ha realizado el estudio de caso del sMOOC «Paso a paso» del Proyecto Europeo ECO, como modelo pedagógico innovador, centrado en el aprendizaje colaborativo para la formación de futuros e-teachers. Los resultados del análisis muestran la reciente y escasa investigación sobre los diferentes tipos de MOOC, así como el hallazgo de una nueva modalidad basada en la transformación pedagógica, la transferencia del aprendizaje y el talento intercreativo. Como conclusión, el análisis de todas las claves de la configuración del tMOOC nos lleva a proponer una nueva taxonomía basada en las 10 T’s.

The fight against rampant disinformation has triggered two major answers: fact-checking and news literacy. These affect the established fields of journalism and of Media and Information Literacy (MIL). They create opportunities for new entrants from the margins to enter professional fields in need of revamping. Using information and communication sciences research on policy and organizations and on the interplay between agency, platforms and networks, this analysis focuses on three main criteria for evaluating the field-configuring role of disinformation: policy rules and professional canons (to regain some lost political and economic ground), key events and projects (to provide sense-making strategies), and interactions with audiences and communities (to restore trust and reputation). Focusing on the European Union as main terrain of analysis due to its pioneering initiatives, this analysis first considers the mutual benefits afforded by the fight against disinformation. Then considers three main challenges: MIL risks being reduced to news literacy, digital journalism risks being reduced to fact-checking, and the disinformation discourse risks downscaling the emphasis on information. It concludes with the implications for the future for all actors to effect real field change in MIL and journalism.

Algorithms, indispensable to understand Artificial Intelligence (AI), are omnipresent in social media, but users’ understanding of these computational processes and the way they impact their consumption of information is often limited. There is a need for Media and Information Literacy (MIL) research investigating (a) how MIL can support algorithm literacy (AL) as a subset of competences and with what working definition, (b) what competences users need in order to evaluate algorithms critically and interact with them effectively, and (c) how to design learner-centred interventions that foster increased user understanding of algorithms and better response to disinformation spread by such processes. Based on Crossover project research, this paper looks at four scenarios used by journalists, developers and MIL experts that mirror users’ daily interactions with social media. The results suggest several steps towards integrating AL within MIL goals, while providing a concrete definition of algorithm literacy that is experience-based. The competences and design considerations are organised in a conceptual framework thematically derived from the experimentation. This contribution can support AI developers and MIL educators in their co-design of algorithm-literacy interventions and guide future research on AL as part of a set of nested AI literacies within MIL.

This paper analyses the major modifications created by the “social turn” i.e. the emergence of social media. It presents the drastic change of ecosystem created by the three “continents” of the Internet. This sets up the context of deployment for “information disorders” such as radicalisation and disinformation. The analysis then considers the risks and opportunities for Media and Information Literacy: on the one hand, the rise of fact-checking and the increasing interference of social media platforms; on the other hand, the augmentation of the Media and Information Literacy epistemology and the Media and Information Literacy paradigm shift entailed by information disorders. It concludes on an agenda for Media and Information Literacy in 21st century.