Teaching News Literacy in the Age of AI by Cathy Collins is a practical guide for helping young people make sense of the current information landscape. I picked this up because I am preparing to home educate my son and wanted a strong resource around which to teach news literacy, which I think is extremely important in this era of fake news and AI-generated content.

The book is clearly structured and easy to use. It moves from the foundations of what news literacy is and why it matters, to misinformation, bias, conspiratorial thinking, AI-generated content, and the role of journalism itself. The key focus is not on telling students what to think, but rather on teaching them how to question and evaluate information for themselves. The book contains lesson ideas, guiding questions, reflection prompts and practical activities that would make it a very useful classroom ressource. I liked that each topic includes suggestions for teaching both primary and secondary students as well as lots of links to exercises online (including hoax websites).

A recommended read for educators and parents looking for practical ways to teach media literacy and responsible engagement with news in the age of AI.

Thank you to NetGalley and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful book for teaching news literacy. It picks you up from the beginning and explains important terms and the context of media literacy. It's easy to understand and written in a very engaging and encouraging way. Additionally there are tons of resources listed as well as project ideas and lesson plans.
I'm still shocked by the 82% of middle learners who can't differentiate sponsored content from news articles but it emphasizes how important this book and the teaching of media literacy are.

Interesting book, explains clearly the definition of modern terms in the digital world and why they matter. Covers the role journalism and the issues with Ai-generated content and misinformation.

The book is a helpful tool for educators and its aim is to teach children and young people news/media literacy in a world of AI. Lots of helpful lesson ideas and activities too. I enjoyed reading this and would recommend to anyone who wants to help children navigate the age of AI, I also found it helpful as an adult.

Teaching News Literacy in the Age of AI: A Cross-Curricular Approach by Cathy Collins is a practical, engaging resource for K–12 educators. The activities are flexible and easily adaptable across age groups. I found myself considering how many could translate directly into my own instruction.

As an academic librarian working with college students, I see firsthand how critical early exposure to news and media literacy can be. Many students arrive navigating a complex information landscape without a strong foundation in how news is produced, framed, and evaluated. This reflects the complexity of today’s information environment and the pace at which it continues to evolve.

One of the strengths of this book is its emphasis on developing students as lifelong learners. Collins encourages educators to start with how students already engage with news, especially through social media, and build from those habits rather than dismiss them. I especially appreciated the discussion of citizen journalism and the responsibilities that come with reporting and sharing information. Framing students not just as consumers, but as participants in the information ecosystem, is an empowering approach that resonates strongly with today’s learners.

I also found the chapter on emerging careers in journalism, media, and AI particularly valuable. Students are already thinking about their futures, often through aspirational or economic lenses, and that can create pressure to perform or make premature decisions early on. Including this topic in a book for this audience serves as an important reminder that we need to be having these conversations with students earlier and more intentionally. It reinforces the idea that there is no single path to a successful career and that students benefit from seeing a range of possibilities. That kind of framing supports flexibility and resilience, which are essential as students navigate an uncertain and evolving future.

My main critique is the use of URLs to point to specific online resources, as these may become outdated over time. Even so, the underlying concepts and activities remain strong.

Overall, this is a valuable resource for educators looking to build news literacy in a way that is relevant, adaptable, and empowering. I would recommend this to the pre-service teachers I work with as a resource for developing curriculum that aligns with standards for digital and media literacy.

A really really fantastic book that I think should be taught to kids and adults of all ages. I learned so much from this book, and i think it was structure so well to be able to provide informative, thoughtful information that teaches you how to think about news and literacy rather than just prescribing you things to memorize to look out for.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this copy to me.

This was informative and helpful for a classroom teacher dealing with the influx of AI with both planning and student use.

TEACHING NEWS LITERACY IN THE AGE OF AI by Cathy Collins, an award-winning library media specialist, is an excellent resource. I wish that more schools made this topic (helping students to "recognize quality journalism, spot deepfakes, challenge misinformation, and critically analyze conspiracy theories") a priority, but Collins has done a great job of compiling suggestions of resources (including multimedia tools and learning standards) related to these issues. A few examples (not all of which are free) include: Checkology (including several of their helpful posters); The News Literacy Project; ISTE (she extensively references their standards); PBS Learning Media; and Newsela. Some of her information is revealing, but from a decade ago and warrants updating, as do her references to Stanford History Education Group, now called Digital Inquiry Group. However, the more I read, the more excited and interested I became. It does take a while to get to the section on "Learning Activities," but that is filled with ideas related to Social Studies, Science, Health, Mathematics and more. Also, this text could work well in a secondary newspaper class – an entire lesson could review the Code of Ethics for the Society of Professional Journalists or the eight factors (e.g., timeliness, proximity, interest, conflict) which Collins lists that "news organizations might use to evaluate whether to cover a particular event." There are multiple Appendices, including a News Literacy Glossary. As Collins writes, "The future of informed citizenship is less about passively consuming information and much more about actively interrogating it. ... Teaching them to question what they see, seek diverse viewpoints, and practice self-regulated attention is more important than ever."

A few Relevant Links:

https://checkology.org/
https://newslit.org/
https://iste.org/standards
https://www.inquirygroup.org/
https://newsela.com/
https://klru.pbslearningmedia.org/
https://www.spj.org/spj-code-of-ethics/

As educators in the time of AI becoming increasingly more prevalent, it is important to consider strategies to assist our students to think critically, verify sources, and engage with news media. The book includes not only suggested resources but activities that are grouped by academic level and aligned with ISTE standards as well as cross-curricula suggestions. I was particularly interested in possible applications for my High School English course and Newspaper Club. News literacy is a must have skill to navigate media outlets. This book is a good resource for any teacher.
Thanks @Netgalley and @Independent Book Publishers Association for the Advanced Digital Copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book tackles the difficult reality teachers face in an AI-saturated world.

This book presents an excellent approach to teaching literacy and critical thinking in the age of artificial intelligence. Media literacy is not just about spotting obvious mistakes in AI-generated images. It is about understanding the purpose of an article, evaluating sources, and thinking critically about the message being presented. These skills will become increasingly important moving forward.

No matter a teacher’s stance on artificial intelligence, they will have to teach about it, work around it, and interact with it in some capacity. This is a must-read for educators.