PHUV9510 Knowledge and Misinformation: Teaching and Learning in a Digital Society Course description

Children and young people are growing up in an increasingly digital society, and research is needed to understand how they navigate and live with ubiquitous technology permeating the fabric of their everyday lives. Digital technology can be a powerful tool for transforming learning. It can help affirm and advance relationships between educators and students, reinvent our approaches to learning and collaboration, shrink long-standing equity and accessibility gaps, and adapt learning experiences to meet the needs of all learners. Simultaneously digital technology can bring with it several challenges, such as the spread of misinformation, online harassment, and overall ethical concerns. Ultimately digital technology can tremendously impact how people communicate and engage with each other while also increasing the knowledge available. This course seeks to deepen understanding of how digital technology, schools and society interact.

Historically, the culture of education has tended to be local, rooted in neighborhood schools, yet the problems facing education today are no longer confined to local issues and concerns. This is partly due to the increasing use and importance of digital technology in society, which now means that the boundaries of the classroom have been expanded and can include input, information, and knowledge from outside the classroom. What happens outside of school can also affect what happens inside the classroom. As a result, educators are confronting challenges in a variety of areas, from the onslaught against democratic practices the rise of nationalism and populism, as well as the continued inequities made all the more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this course, we are concerned with an understanding of, in general, citizenship but particularly, digital citizenship. For practitioners, scholars and policy makers, it is crucial to understand how education and society can enable children and young people to manage and be resilient to many of the challenges that arise due to digital technology including issues such as safety, health, cyberbullying, and misinformation (fake news) while also being aware of their rights and responsibilities in the digital world as digital citizens.

This course will be taught in English.

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After completing the course, the student shall have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student will:

• Recognize and understand the various sources from which financial data can be gathered, including government databases, company filings, etc.
• Learn essential data science techniques such as data collection, data cleaning, and data visualization.
• Gain a foundational understanding of key financial terms, jargon, and frameworks

Skills

The student will:

• Learn how to use basic programming skills (i.e. Python, R or Excel), to collect and manipulate data for reporting.
• Gain hands-on experience in using data visualization tools to make complex financial data more understandable to the general audience.
• Acquire the skill of narrating complex financial stories in an easy-to-understand manner, including infographics, charts, and other visual aids.

General competence

The student will:

• Understand and apply ethical guidelines in financial reporting
• Develop the ability to critically evaluate financial data, statements, and sources for credibility, bias, and other potential issues.
• Become proficient in communicating complex financial topics in a way that can be easily understood by the general public.

Preparations for the course

Candidates are expected to read the syllabus and prepare a ten-minute presentation on their dissertation work related to the course topic before the course to be able to participate in discussions and activities.

The coursework requirements

Mandatory participation, an oral presentation, a paper draft and oral feedback to a co-student’s paper.

1. Mandatory participation: During the course days, full participation is required. If a participant has attended at least 75% of the course, but less than 90%, they must submit an extra paper of at least 2000 words, plus a reference on a given topic.
2. The oral presentation is to be prepared before the course starts and presented on the second day of the course. The oral presentation should be no longer than ten minutes. The topic of the presentation must relate to the course topic in a way that is relevant to the student’s PhD projects. Following the presentation, there will be a five- to ten-minute discussion.
3. The oral presentation will serve as the foundation for a paper draft. The paper draft should be a minimum of 1000 and a maximum of 1500 words.
4. Oral feedback: Each student will comment orally (3-5 minutes) on one co-student’s presentation.

The candidate will write an individual paper based on the presentation and the comments by the student and staff, of 3500 words (+/- 10%) plus a reference list. The paper must be written in English, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish.

New and postponed examination

In case of a failed exam/valid absence, the candidate may have a new exam under the same conditions when a new/postponed exam is arranged. If the paper is graded with "fail", the candidate must submit a revised version within a given time limit.

The exam consist of an individual analytical report, 6 - 8 pages where the students engage in a critical discussion and reflection on their findings in the group project. The project must be handed in as an attachment to the exam.

The students must write the exam in English. 

Font type and size: Arial / Calibri / Verdana 12 pt. Line spacing: 1.5  

All aids are permitted, as long as the student complies with the rules for source referencing.

The paper will be assessed by two course coordinators, except in cases where the exam is written in Norwegian, Danish or Swedish the essay will be examined by one of the course coordinators and a member of the academic staff involved in the PhD-program with relevant expertise on the course topic.