InfoSci Authors Win Award for Decoding Deception Book Published on University Libraries-Supported Platform
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Two University of Arizona College of Information Science authors, Diana Daly and Kainan Jarrette, received the 2026 Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT) Classics Award for their book Decoding Deception.
The Information, Communication and Technology Literacy Project editorial board gives the MERLOT award to recognize and promote outstanding online resources designed to enhance teaching and learning. MERLOT provides free access to curated online learning and content creation tools.
Daly and Jarette published their book, a multimedia open educational resource, on the U of A Pressbooks platform which is jointly supported by University of Arizona Libraries and University Center for Assessment, Teaching and Technology (UCATT). The platform is freely available for anyone in the world to use.
Any U of A employee or student can use Pressbooks to create and publish free-to-use content.
Decoding Deception blends humor, images, games and hands-on activities with insights from cognitive science, critical thinking and media literacy to help readers question sources, evaluate claims and resist manipulation. It also reveals how emerging technologies—especially artificial intelligence—can accelerate the spread of misinformation. In honoring Decoding, the editorial board noted, "This resource is particularly relevant and timely. It is both informative and engaging. It can be used at various education levels and in various fields as a required or supplemental resource."
Daly is associate professor of practice and associate dean for graduate academic affairs in the College of information Science. Jarrette, now a U of A graduate, was Daly’s research and instructional assistant.