AllSides is a knowledge-centered tool that aims to expose media bias in news articles on trending topics (e.g., in 2022, trending topics included COVID-19, 2022 Elections, Economy and Jobs, and Russia-Ukraine Conflict). AllSides rates media bias from a left, center, and right point of view. It encourages individuals to critically examine media and make it easier to see how left-, center-, and right-leaning media outlets use text and images in different ways to inform and persuade the public. It is a great tool for promoting constructivism in and outside of the classroom for students (and the general public). AllSides provides a media bias chart that can be useful for a variety of media literacy activities and critical analysis in classrooms. AllSides is a great tool for promoting critical thinking, better judgment, knowledge, and educative dialogues.
Price | Free; Sustaining Membership (ranges from $49-$199 per year) |
---|---|
Learning | Constructivism |
Ease of Use | ★★★★✩ |
Privacy | ★✩✩✩✩ |
Accessibility | ★★★✩✩ |
Class Size | Unlimited |
Login Required | No |
ISTE*S | Knowledge Constructor |
COPPA/FERPA Compliant | AllSidesl is not designed for minors and therefore AllSides doesn’t abide by COPPA |
AllSides offers free membership to the general public. However, if you desire a membership, then the price will depend on the contribution level you decide to donate to AllSides. These price ranges typically range from $49.00 to $199.00.
AllSides offers a constructivist approach to learning by encouraging students to enhance their knowledge about different topics by actively reading, interpreting, and making their own judgments based on different politically leaning news articles.
AllSides earned a rating of four stars for ease of use, because of how manageable it is to choose articles and access different sites. When learning about AllSides and how to navigate its system can be overwhelming and confusing, because of the number of advertisements and articles presented on its main page. However, it takes about five minutes to learn how to navigate the tool and access different resources within the tool. AllSides offers a FAQ that is focused on answering the questions and/or concerns that arise when using the site. Featuring a space in which individuals can express their concerns and/or questions makes their experience much more enjoyable. AllSides provides a brief overview video explaining how its website it’s organized.
AllSides was given a rating of one star for its privacy since it has failed to protect its guests, and children using the website, and it is not COPPA/FERPA compliant. AllSides states throughout their privacy policy that they are collecting personal information from their users. It does not matter if you are signed in with your member account or signed as a guest. The online tool fails to protect the privacy of its younger users. It does not provide the best wording on its children policy, therefore leaving it up to parents to approve whether they want their information to be given away to third parties and AllSides. They are not complying with the regulations of COPPA that are stated on their website. For more information about their privacy and children's protection, it can be useful to visit “Privacy Protections for Children Using the Internet”. AllSides does have a section for California residents in which it has all the information for California Privacy Notice.
AllSides earned a three-star rating after testing, researching, and using the online accessibility checker for tools and apps. AllSides does not offer an accessibility statement on its website. Some of the images on their website were missing alt text or had descriptions that were difficult to read or followed along. When I conducted the no-mouse challenge, I was able to navigate the site with my keyboard with ease. Overall, Allsides has the potential for great improvement by fixing broken links, and alt text images, and adding an accessibility statement.
The class size for AllSides is unlimited since any student can access the site on their device.
AllSides does not require a login to use the site. If you have a membership - paid or free membership - then you would have to login with your email/username and password.
Knowledge Constructor is one of the main ISTE Standards for Students that AllSides aligns with. Students can construct knowledge about different topics and then use this knowledge to make their own judgments and develop their own perspectives on a variety of subjects.
**AllSides Online Tool Video Transcript**
Dr. Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR model offers a lens for examining how technology is adopted in a classroom. As you strive to incorporate online tools into your classroom, we encourage you to use this model as an analytic tool.
Students can compare and contrast the similarities in bias that are presented in real-life media and novels that have been read and discussed in class.
Students will use AllSides to analyze the ways in which the issue of climate change is approached from a left, center, and right perspective.
Aggarwal, S., Sinha, T., Kukreti, Y., & Shikhar, S. (2020). Media bias detection and bias short-term Impact assessment. Array, 6, 100025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.array.2020.100025
Gearhart, S., Moe, A., & Zhang, B. (2020). Hostile media bias on social media: Testing the effect of user comments on perceptions of news bias and credibility. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2(2), 140–148. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.185
This page was created by Gabriela Rodriguez Lopez.
This content is provided to you freely by EdTech Books.
Access it online or download it at https://edtechbooks.org/onlinetools/allsides.