Peoria Public Library is working with PPS to launch a new media literacy program

PEORIA (WEEK) – Peoria Public Schools and the Peoria Public Library are kicking off Media Literacy Week with a new program that teaches students to be smarter media consumers.

The library helps students discover misinformation circulating on the internet.

That year, Illinois became the first state to require high schools to teach media literacy.

Randall Yelverton, executive director of the Peoria Public Library, said the library is working with nonprofits such as the Center for News Literacy and Freedom Forums to provide course materials that will help students identify true and false information.

“It’s often instant, it’s not always accurate, but there’s a lot,” said Yelverton.

“It can be difficult when you are inundated with all of this information to tell good from bad when there is so much of it,” he added.

PPS Superintendent Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat said media literacy is more important now than ever with apps like Facebook and Snapchat that disseminate so much information quickly.

“I would like to see the students involved in creating this unit,” said Kherat.

“Talking about the pros and cons of responsibilities,” she continued. “I think it’s exciting and it’s very timely and very, very much needed.”

Kherat said they are considering integrating media literacy into an existing course like English.

The program starts in the next school year.