AverPoint

AverPoint turns media literacy into a dynamic, daily practice on real websites. Through daily practice, you can develop the skills, knowledge, and personal drive to apply media literacy in the real world.

We have a Classroom version that's meant for high school and college social studies and ELA classes. We have a Community version that's for adult news readers.

We're grounded in a cognitive approach to media literacy, trying to help you build autonomy over two things:

1. The media they consume and
2. the meaning they make from media messages. In a free republic, it's crucial each person has the skills, knowledge, and personal drive to maintain this autonomy.

How do we do this?

We have 3 features, and the browser extension plays a role in all 3.

First, our "Conscious Reading" feature helps you measure the news you consume. We analyze your news habits and send you a weekly summary of the sources, topics, and geographies you covered. You can set weekly goals and track your progress. Instead of getting lost in the daily controversy, we help you learn what really matters and support quality sources, including the shrinking local press.

If you're an adult, we'll measure the reading on approved news sites. If you use our Classroom version, we'll measure your reading of class assignments and also your news reading "in the wild." Note that you can turn this on/off at any time.

Second, our "Credibility Layer" lets you interact with the text you are reading. As you read news sites, you can actively question the author's claims, request expert reviews, and see the author's underlying evidence.

Adults can use this to have a check over high-quality sources. It's good to read from sources that meet a high bar for quality, but 21st-century audiences have to actively work to check these sources and keep them honest.

If you use our Classroom version, teachers can assign close reading goals on specific articles. Students use the credibility layer to practice their close reading and critical thinking skills.

Third, the "AverPoint Writer" is a text editor that lets you practice forming your own evidence-backed ideas. It's currently available for the Classroom version only. After you save claims using the Credibility Layer, you can use AverPoint Writer to add these claims as supporting evidence. After you publish, you can again use the Credibility Layer to receive and respond to constructive feedback from your teacher and classmates.

Disinformation only happens when we passively follow emotional triggers and fall into rabbit holes. The solution to disinformation is a community that proactively seeks better information. Together, we can make honest ideas win.