A Canadian couple wants to help kids detect inaccuracy in media and they’re using dinosaurs to do so.
Jason Harley and partner Daniel Beaudin have produced a graphic novel called Fake News and Dinosaurs.
“We know from educational psychology research that narratives with stories can be a really powerful way of teaching people,” Harley explains.
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In the fictional story, two young dinosaurs join forces to solve the sudden and mysterious disappearances of prized show-raptors. But the real moral is in helping readers hone their media literacy and discover how emotions can muddle a message.
“Emotions can impact learning — they can narrow our attention, get in the way, distract us — and fake news uses that.”
Harley, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta, says there are a lack of resources when it comes to teaching young people about media literacy.
Cuddly, yet realistic
As the novel’s illustrator, Beaudin faced the daunting task of creating a dinosaur world that was at once realistic and visually appealing.
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“That was very important to me to have the dinosaurs looking as exactly as possible as they would have been, but in a cartoony context,” Beaudin says.
“So there was a sweet spot to reach where they look like the real dinosaurs that existed a while ago, while being more cheerful and colourful and engaging for our storyline.”
Beaudin created a world right down to the proper ergonomic design of chairs and cars for his characters.
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The book is marketed to kids, but Beaudin says everyone can benefit from the lessons:
“We’re all vulnerable to fake news.”
Fake News and Dinosaurs is for sale through Friesen Press, Barnes & Noble, Indigo-Chapters, and Amazon.
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