How2INFORM
Combating misinformation
with media literacy and critical thinking
Tweens (ages 8-12) and teens (ages 13-18) spend between six and nine hours online daily, not including school or homework time. Gender, socioeconomics, and race impact screen usage. Generally, boys are online longer than girls. Adolescents in lower-income households are logged in for lengthier periods of time than those in higher-income households. Black and Hispanic children consume more screen media than White children.*
Harmful content, including messages that enable targeted violence, floods online spaces. It is especially pervasive on social media and gaming platforms overflowing with bad actors specifically targeting minors.
In 2021, six Lewis University undergraduate and graduate students, led by Kimberley Skubic and faculty mentor Vesna Markovic, PhD, participated in the McCain Institute’s Invent2Prevent competition. Contributors were challenged to design a product, tool, or initiative to prevent targeted violence and terrorism. Inspired by the alarming rise of falsehoods and their dire consequences, they created the media literacy program How2INFORM (H2i) to facilitate critical thinking and help stop the spread of dangerous content online. H2i provides media literacy training, tools, and resources to help participants better assess media.
H2i received $160,000 in sustainment funding from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (2021), Department of Homeland Security’s Targeted Violence and Prevention Grant (2022), and partners.
About How2INFORM
TeachIllinois is a comprehensive online professional development platform managed by the Regional Office of Education (ROE #45). Designed for Illinois educators, TeachIllinois provides free, current, and on-demand, Illinois School Board of Education (ISBE)-approved courses, webinars, and book studies aimed at supporting digital classrooms, Social Emotional Learning (SEL), and teacher wellness. Illinois residency is not required to participate.
Educators may complete the free How2INFORM: Combating Misinformation Online course at TeachIllinois to earn 2 professional development (PD) hours.
How2INFORM: Combating Misinformation Online
Mis-, Dis-, and Malinformation are everywhere on the Internet. Learn how to teach your students to become savvy consumers of online material with the help of the How2INFORM website. Creators Dr. Vesna Markovic and Kimberley Skubic explain the different forms of information, how to spot them, and give many resources to help students stay aware online. There is also a module with a case study on targeted violence. Consists of 7 short modules, a list of references and resources, and a final reflection paper with a guiding question for each of the modules.
Dr. Vesna Markovic is a full professor of criminal justice in the Justice, Law and Public Safety Studies Department at Lewis University in Romeoville, IL. Her research focuses specifically on suicide bombings, financing terrorism, low tech attacks, transnational crime, and re-entry issues. She was a faculty mentor for a student project focused on media literacy and online critical thinking for educators and students from K-12. The project received additional funding and they continue to create and provide resources, content, and training on media literacy. Dr. Markovic has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in these areas, an op-ed in Forbes magazine, and a book in 2025 titled "Reducing Recidivism through Restorative Justice: Hang Time’s Bold Strategy for Empowering Justice-Impacted Individuals and Driving Sustainable Change."
She has a BA and MA from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and her PhD from Sam Houston State University.
Kimberley Skubic is a media literacy instructor and How2INFORM (H2I) project coordinator. In 2021, she led Lewis University students to develop the media literacy program H2I, designed to prevent targeted violence and terrorism for McCain Institute’s Invent2Prevent competition.
H2I aims to promote media and digital literacy, critical thinking, and responsible information-sharing practices through training, tools, and resources.
H2I has been awarded $160,000 sustainment funding from DHS, subsequently received DHS grant funding. and continues to provide media literacy resources, content, and training.
Kimberley co-authored Combating Misinformation, One Meme at a Time for Parents with Preparedness magazine, and appeared on the Teachers' Classroom podcast, and created free LMS training on H2I for 2 PD hours at TeachIllinois. She has a BA in English from North Central College and an MS in criminal justice from Lewis University.
In the Media
Dr. Vesna Markovic and Kimberley Skubic’s article, “Combating Misinformation, One Meme at a Time” appears on pages 18-19 in Episode #4 of Parents with Preparedness magazine by PWPORG.org.