Due to the huge range of information sources, TV channels, web sites, e-mails, SMS, blogs, wikis, podcasts, tubes, movies, books and so on, most people who are looking for the truth are lost in an endless labyrinth of speculations and doubts. What makes it worse is the facility for everyone to access the internet and circulate false information; this makes it imperative to draw the students’ attention to the hazardous consequences if they take anything presented for granted.More importantly, the students have to do research; so they need to own the tools necessary to assess the authenticity and validity of the piece of information they get from any of the sources especially those which are not controlled or those with ill-intentions. Everyone can publish and share their thoughts with the others via the internet, even children and untrustworthy people use social networks and can propagate false news, information and rumours. They can even turn gossip to facts.
The styles and techniques used are copious and varied. We need to protect ourselves from being fooled and being made a jerk of us. How is that possible if we don’t know how?! Now it becomes imperative for everyone to use critical thinking to evaluate and sift among the flood of information encircling us from all sides.
The Mathematical Sciences Students participating in the workshop are introduced to this “process of determining the authenticity, accuracy and worthiness of information or knowledge claims” Beyer (1987)
Based on an activity of study skills in their text-book (Ticket 2 English), the students got the opportunity to discover the power hidden in their ability to think logically and critically.
