HA Webinar: Teaching online source evaluation: from historical provenance to platform reality
Historical thinking in a digital world: how history builds digital and media literacy
Event Type: CPD
Takes Place: 2nd June 2026
Time: 4pm - 5pm
Venue: Zoom
Description: A practical session translating classic source analysis into the messy conditions of the web: reposts, screenshots, decontextualised clips, algorithmic feeds, and influencer credibility cues. We’ll explore teachable routines for evaluating online material, building on the Stanford History Education Group’s research on lateral reading (leaving a source to investigate its credibility elsewhere), triangulation across multiple sources, and reverse image search workflows as concepts — even when specific tools vary by school. The session demonstrates how to build these digital evaluation skills into existing history units without bolting on an ‘extra’ digital literacy lesson. Examples will include ‘Then and Now’ activities comparing historical propaganda with modern misinformation, digital detective lessons using historical methods to verify online claims, and source comparison activities that bridge historical documents and contemporary digital sources. International examples include civic online reasoning approaches from the US, media verification programmes from the Netherlands and Australia, and digital archive evaluation strategies from Singapore and New Zealand. Participants will leave with classroom-ready routines, assessment rubrics, and strategies for making the transfer from historical to digital source criticism explicit to students.
How to book: Booking online via the Cademy link below or via the bulk booking form to get a discount. To redeem your corporate recording offer please use the bulk booking form.
Price: £39 HA member, £67 non-member (bulk booking discount available). An extra fee is added if this is booked on Cademy.
Email: events@history.org.uk
Lecturer: Ben Walsh
Comments: Joining details are emailed to the registered attendee 1 week before the webinar with a reminder on the day. If you register within a week of the webinar you will receive this on the day only. A time-limited recording will be emailed within 2 working days