Ellen C. Carillo is professor of English and writing coordinator at the University of Connecticut. She is the author of The Radical Case for Teaching Skim Reading in First-Year Writing (2025), The Hidden Inequities in Labor-Based Contract Grading (2021), Teaching Readers in Post-truth America (2018), and Securing a Place for Reading in Composition: The Importance of Teaching for Transfer (2015).

• AcknowledgmentsList of IllustrationsPreface for InstructorsWhy Digital Literacy?Features of This GuideNew to the Third EditionThe Crucial Role of Librarians1. What Is Digital Literacy?Principles That Inform This GuideHow This Guide Is Organized2. Understanding Filters and Algorithms, Bots, and Visual ManipulationFilters and AlgorithmsAlgorithmic BiasBotsVisual ManipulationRead about It"The Polarization of Extremes," by Cass R. Sunstein3. Understanding Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) ToolsWhat is GenAI?How Is GenAI Trained?Uses of GenAI ToolsGenAI and ReadingSearch Engines and Additional Research Tools Powered by GenAIPrompting GenAIEvaluating GenAI OutputEthical Considerations Surrounding GenAITRY IT1. Ponder the benefits and limits of GenAI.2. Research and try out a GenAI tool.3. Practice prompting a text-based GenAI tool.4. Create an image using GenAI.5. Use a GenAI tool to locate sources.4. Understanding Online SearchesWhat Is the Difference between the World Wide Web and the Internet?Understanding Domain NamesScholarly Peer ReviewTRY IT1. Represent the relation between the Internet and the World Wide Web.2. Practice keeping track of your daily website visits.3. Test your knowledge of domain names.4. Ponder the role of domain names in judging credibility.5. Review types of online information sources.5. Conducting Online ResearchChoosing Keywords to "Catch the Tenor" of the ConversationConducting Broad SearchesConducting Narrow SearchesNavigating Google ScholarPracticing Inclusive Search and Citation HabitsUsing a Search Engine's Help FeaturesSearching Library Catalogs and DatabasesReviewing Your Search ResultsDetermining a Source's RelevanceTRY IT1. Contemplate your role in source-driven writing.2. Understand relevance.3. Recognize the value of inclusive search and citation practices.4. Practice documenting a broad search.5. Practice narrowing online searches.6. Go to the (Primary) Source!What Are Primary and Secondary Sources?I Found the Primary Source—Now What?TRY IT1. Practice finding primary sources.2. Practice distinguishing primary sources from secondary sources.3. Practice rhetorical reading.4. Compose a rhetorical analysis of a visual source.5. Practice writing a twenty-five-word summary.7. Surveying the Conversation by Reading LaterallyWhat Is Reading Laterally?Lateral and Vertical Reading ComparedPlanning Where to Go NextUnderstanding Your Biases and Emotional Responses As You Read LaterallyRecognizing Psychological Phenomena As You ReadTRY IT1. Understand what it means to read laterally.2. Practice reading laterally.3. Practice recognizing your emotional responses to sources.4. Address the implications of psychological phenomena on your research.8. Exploring the Credibility of SourcesExploring an Author's CredibilityExploring a Source's Credibility through Publication ContextRecognizing Bias: A Closer LookWhat about the Credibility of Wikipedia and Other Wikis?Can GenAI Technologies Like ChatGPT Help Me Find Credible Sources?Recognizing Misinformation and DisinformationTRY IT1. Practice determining an author's credibility.2. Practice determining sources' biases.3. Pay attention to an author's word choice.4. Notice labeling.5. Explore Wikipedia.Read about It"A Real History of Fake News," by John Maxwell Hamilton and Heidi Tworek9. Working with Your SourcesHow to Use SourcesSynthesizing Your SourcesAvoiding PlagiarismTRY IT1. Explore how an author uses sources.2. Explore how an author contributes ideas to a conversation.3. Practice using sources for more than support.4. Annotate to reflect on your use of sources.5. Conduct research about how a discipline uses sources.10. Additional Strategies and ResourcesFact-Checking Websites and ChatbotsConducting Reverse SearchesGenAI ResourcesTRY IT1. Ponder the uses of reverse searches.2. Practice conducting a reverse image search.3. Practice using fact-checking sites.4. Locate other fact-checking sites and determine their biases.5. Determine hoaxes.11. Composing in Digital SpacesDrawing on What You Already Know about Digital CompositionCreating Multimodal Projects in Digital SpacesRhetorical Considerations for Multimodal Composing in Digital SpacesAdditional Considerations for Composing in Digital SpacesTRY IT1. Identify the five modes of communication.2. Practice working with the modes of communication.3. Practice conveying a visual argument.4. Understand accessibility.5. Define Creative Commons licensing.12. Customizing Your Online ExperienceAdjusting Your PreferencesMaking Informed Decisions about Social Media PlatformsUsing Sharing, Liking, and Other Social Signals to Your AdvantageAvoiding ClickbaitTRY IT1. Ponder the value of customizing your online experience.2. Research social media platforms.3. Practice adjusting filters4. Develop clickbait headlines.5. Recognize how clickbait works.Appendix: Sample Lesson PlansLesson Plan 1: Searching for Sources and Analyzing Their CredibilityLesson Plan 2: Reading SourcesLesson Plan 3: Exploring the Concept of Fake NewsLesson Plan 4: Understanding Algorithmic Bias and PersonalizationLesson Plan 5: Reading Rhetorically with GenAIWorks CitedIndex

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Ellen C. Carillo is professor of English and writing coordinator at the University of Connecticut. She is the author of The Radical Case for Teaching Skim Reading in First-Year Writing (2025), The Hidden Inequities in Labor-Based Contract Grading (2021), Teaching Readers in Post-truth America (2018), and Securing a Place for Reading in Composition: The Importance of Teaching for Transfer (2015).

• AcknowledgmentsList of IllustrationsPreface for InstructorsWhy Digital Literacy?Features of This GuideNew to the Third EditionThe Crucial Role of Librarians1. What Is Digital Literacy?Principles That Inform This GuideHow This Guide Is Organized2. Understanding Filters and Algorithms, Bots, and Visual ManipulationFilters and AlgorithmsAlgorithmic BiasBotsVisual ManipulationRead about It"The Polarization of Extremes," by Cass R. Sunstein3. Understanding Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) ToolsWhat is GenAI?How Is GenAI Trained?Uses of GenAI ToolsGenAI and ReadingSearch Engines and Additional Research Tools Powered by GenAIPrompting GenAIEvaluating GenAI OutputEthical Considerations Surrounding GenAITRY IT1. Ponder the benefits and limits of GenAI.2. Research and try out a GenAI tool.3. Practice prompting a text-based GenAI tool.4. Create an image using GenAI.5. Use a GenAI tool to locate sources.4. Understanding Online SearchesWhat Is the Difference between the World Wide Web and the Internet?Understanding Domain NamesScholarly Peer ReviewTRY IT1. Represent the relation between the Internet and the World Wide Web.2. Practice keeping track of your daily website visits.3. Test your knowledge of domain names.4. Ponder the role of domain names in judging credibility.5. Review types of online information sources.5. Conducting Online ResearchChoosing Keywords to "Catch the Tenor" of the ConversationConducting Broad SearchesConducting Narrow SearchesNavigating Google ScholarPracticing Inclusive Search and Citation HabitsUsing a Search Engine's Help FeaturesSearching Library Catalogs and DatabasesReviewing Your Search ResultsDetermining a Source's RelevanceTRY IT1. Contemplate your role in source-driven writing.2. Understand relevance.3. Recognize the value of inclusive search and citation practices.4. Practice documenting a broad search.5. Practice narrowing online searches.6. Go to the (Primary) Source!What Are Primary and Secondary Sources?I Found the Primary Source—Now What?TRY IT1. Practice finding primary sources.2. Practice distinguishing primary sources from secondary sources.3. Practice rhetorical reading.4. Compose a rhetorical analysis of a visual source.5. Practice writing a twenty-five-word summary.7. Surveying the Conversation by Reading LaterallyWhat Is Reading Laterally?Lateral and Vertical Reading ComparedPlanning Where to Go NextUnderstanding Your Biases and Emotional Responses As You Read LaterallyRecognizing Psychological Phenomena As You ReadTRY IT1. Understand what it means to read laterally.2. Practice reading laterally.3. Practice recognizing your emotional responses to sources.4. Address the implications of psychological phenomena on your research.8. Exploring the Credibility of SourcesExploring an Author's CredibilityExploring a Source's Credibility through Publication ContextRecognizing Bias: A Closer LookWhat about the Credibility of Wikipedia and Other Wikis?Can GenAI Technologies Like ChatGPT Help Me Find Credible Sources?Recognizing Misinformation and DisinformationTRY IT1. Practice determining an author's credibility.2. Practice determining sources' biases.3. Pay attention to an author's word choice.4. Notice labeling.5. Explore Wikipedia.Read about It"A Real History of Fake News," by John Maxwell Hamilton and Heidi Tworek9. Working with Your SourcesHow to Use SourcesSynthesizing Your SourcesAvoiding PlagiarismTRY IT1. Explore how an author uses sources.2. Explore how an author contributes ideas to a conversation.3. Practice using sources for more than support.4. Annotate to reflect on your use of sources.5. Conduct research about how a discipline uses sources.10. Additional Strategies and ResourcesFact-Checking Websites and ChatbotsConducting Reverse SearchesGenAI ResourcesTRY IT1. Ponder the uses of reverse searches.2. Practice conducting a reverse image search.3. Practice using fact-checking sites.4. Locate other fact-checking sites and determine their biases.5. Determine hoaxes.11. Composing in Digital SpacesDrawing on What You Already Know about Digital CompositionCreating Multimodal Projects in Digital SpacesRhetorical Considerations for Multimodal Composing in Digital SpacesAdditional Considerations for Composing in Digital SpacesTRY IT1. Identify the five modes of communication.2. Practice working with the modes of communication.3. Practice conveying a visual argument.4. Understand accessibility.5. Define Creative Commons licensing.12. Customizing Your Online ExperienceAdjusting Your PreferencesMaking Informed Decisions about Social Media PlatformsUsing Sharing, Liking, and Other Social Signals to Your AdvantageAvoiding ClickbaitTRY IT1. Ponder the value of customizing your online experience.2. Research social media platforms.3. Practice adjusting filters4. Develop clickbait headlines.5. Recognize how clickbait works.Appendix: Sample Lesson PlansLesson Plan 1: Searching for Sources and Analyzing Their CredibilityLesson Plan 2: Reading SourcesLesson Plan 3: Exploring the Concept of Fake NewsLesson Plan 4: Understanding Algorithmic Bias and PersonalizationLesson Plan 5: Reading Rhetorically with GenAIWorks CitedIndex

Select Guide Rating

Ellen C. Carillo is professor of English and writing coordinator at the University of Connecticut. She is the author of The Radical Case for Teaching Skim Reading in First-Year Writing (2025), The Hidden Inequities in Labor-Based Contract Grading (2021), Teaching Readers in Post-truth America (2018), and Securing a Place for Reading in Composition: The Importance of Teaching for Transfer (2015).

• AcknowledgmentsList of IllustrationsPreface for InstructorsWhy Digital Literacy?Features of This GuideNew to the Third EditionThe Crucial Role of Librarians1. What Is Digital Literacy?Principles That Inform This GuideHow This Guide Is Organized2. Understanding Filters and Algorithms, Bots, and Visual ManipulationFilters and AlgorithmsAlgorithmic BiasBotsVisual ManipulationRead about It"The Polarization of Extremes," by Cass R. Sunstein3. Understanding Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) ToolsWhat is GenAI?How Is GenAI Trained?Uses of GenAI ToolsGenAI and ReadingSearch Engines and Additional Research Tools Powered by GenAIPrompting GenAIEvaluating GenAI OutputEthical Considerations Surrounding GenAITRY IT1. Ponder the benefits and limits of GenAI.2. Research and try out a GenAI tool.3. Practice prompting a text-based GenAI tool.4. Create an image using GenAI.5. Use a GenAI tool to locate sources.4. Understanding Online SearchesWhat Is the Difference between the World Wide Web and the Internet?Understanding Domain NamesScholarly Peer ReviewTRY IT1. Represent the relation between the Internet and the World Wide Web.2. Practice keeping track of your daily website visits.3. Test your knowledge of domain names.4. Ponder the role of domain names in judging credibility.5. Review types of online information sources.5. Conducting Online ResearchChoosing Keywords to "Catch the Tenor" of the ConversationConducting Broad SearchesConducting Narrow SearchesNavigating Google ScholarPracticing Inclusive Search and Citation HabitsUsing a Search Engine's Help FeaturesSearching Library Catalogs and DatabasesReviewing Your Search ResultsDetermining a Source's RelevanceTRY IT1. Contemplate your role in source-driven writing.2. Understand relevance.3. Recognize the value of inclusive search and citation practices.4. Practice documenting a broad search.5. Practice narrowing online searches.6. Go to the (Primary) Source!What Are Primary and Secondary Sources?I Found the Primary Source—Now What?TRY IT1. Practice finding primary sources.2. Practice distinguishing primary sources from secondary sources.3. Practice rhetorical reading.4. Compose a rhetorical analysis of a visual source.5. Practice writing a twenty-five-word summary.7. Surveying the Conversation by Reading LaterallyWhat Is Reading Laterally?Lateral and Vertical Reading ComparedPlanning Where to Go NextUnderstanding Your Biases and Emotional Responses As You Read LaterallyRecognizing Psychological Phenomena As You ReadTRY IT1. Understand what it means to read laterally.2. Practice reading laterally.3. Practice recognizing your emotional responses to sources.4. Address the implications of psychological phenomena on your research.8. Exploring the Credibility of SourcesExploring an Author's CredibilityExploring a Source's Credibility through Publication ContextRecognizing Bias: A Closer LookWhat about the Credibility of Wikipedia and Other Wikis?Can GenAI Technologies Like ChatGPT Help Me Find Credible Sources?Recognizing Misinformation and DisinformationTRY IT1. Practice determining an author's credibility.2. Practice determining sources' biases.3. Pay attention to an author's word choice.4. Notice labeling.5. Explore Wikipedia.Read about It"A Real History of Fake News," by John Maxwell Hamilton and Heidi Tworek9. Working with Your SourcesHow to Use SourcesSynthesizing Your SourcesAvoiding PlagiarismTRY IT1. Explore how an author uses sources.2. Explore how an author contributes ideas to a conversation.3. Practice using sources for more than support.4. Annotate to reflect on your use of sources.5. Conduct research about how a discipline uses sources.10. Additional Strategies and ResourcesFact-Checking Websites and ChatbotsConducting Reverse SearchesGenAI ResourcesTRY IT1. Ponder the uses of reverse searches.2. Practice conducting a reverse image search.3. Practice using fact-checking sites.4. Locate other fact-checking sites and determine their biases.5. Determine hoaxes.11. Composing in Digital SpacesDrawing on What You Already Know about Digital CompositionCreating Multimodal Projects in Digital SpacesRhetorical Considerations for Multimodal Composing in Digital SpacesAdditional Considerations for Composing in Digital SpacesTRY IT1. Identify the five modes of communication.2. Practice working with the modes of communication.3. Practice conveying a visual argument.4. Understand accessibility.5. Define Creative Commons licensing.12. Customizing Your Online ExperienceAdjusting Your PreferencesMaking Informed Decisions about Social Media PlatformsUsing Sharing, Liking, and Other Social Signals to Your AdvantageAvoiding ClickbaitTRY IT1. Ponder the value of customizing your online experience.2. Research social media platforms.3. Practice adjusting filters4. Develop clickbait headlines.5. Recognize how clickbait works.Appendix: Sample Lesson PlansLesson Plan 1: Searching for Sources and Analyzing Their CredibilityLesson Plan 2: Reading SourcesLesson Plan 3: Exploring the Concept of Fake NewsLesson Plan 4: Understanding Algorithmic Bias and PersonalizationLesson Plan 5: Reading Rhetorically with GenAIWorks CitedIndex

Select Guide Rating