Baker - Media Literacy in the 21st Century

8/12/2019 Baker - Media Literacy in the 21st Century

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21st Century Literacy Skills AllTeachers & Students Need to Succeed

Frank W. Baker

[email protected]

Media Literacy Clearinghouse

http://medialit.med.sc.edu

Summer Leadership Institute 2006


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The current critical need

Economic forecasters and business analysts

are predicting that jobs in the 21stcentury

will require information processing skills.

..media literacy (is one of these)...

Merely teaching reading and writing is no

longer sufficient..

Source: Janet Murray, Contemporary Literacy: Essential Skills for

the 21stCentury MultiMedia Schools Magazine, March/April 2003


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The need for media literacy

"Our young people need to be

educated to the highest standard

in this new information age, and

surely this includes a clearawareness of how the media

influences, shapes, and defines

their lives. .Media literacy courses can give

young people the power to recognize the difference

between entertainment, television that is just bad

and the information they need to make good

decisions.

Former US

Secretary of Education

Richard Riley


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Recommending media literacy

American Assn of School Libraries

Cable In The Classroom

International Reading Assn.

National Communication Assn.

Natl Board of Prof Teaching Standards

Natl Council for Teachers of English

National Middle School Assn.


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Media Literacy: Critical Skills &Knowledge for the 21st Century

Generation M: media & multi-tasking


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Our students are growing up in a worldsaturated with media messagesyet they

(and their teachers)receive little or notraining in the skills of analyzing or re-evaluating these messages, many ofwhich make use of language, moving

images, music, sound effects

Source: R. Hobbs, Journal Adult & Adolescent Literacy, February 2004


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While more young people have access to theInternet and other media than any generationin history, they do not necessarily possessthe ethics, the intellectual skills, or thepredisposition to critically analyze andevaluate their relationship with these

technologies or the information theyencounter. Good hand/eye co-ordinationand the ability to multitask are notsubstitutes for critical thinking.

Dr. David Considine, media educator


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"It is incumbent upon our educational

system to prepare its students with the

skills necessary to be able to approach themedia criticallythe middle school years

are an ideal time to teach media literacy."

Marie Davies, The impact of the mass media upon the health of early

adolescents. Journal of Health Education,1993


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What is media literacy?

OR

Why is it important that our

students be media literate?


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Media literacy is concerned with helping studentsdevelop an informed and critical understandingof the nature of mass media, the techniques used

by them, and the impact of these techniques.More specifically, it is education that aims toincrease the students' understanding andenjoyment of how the media work, how they

produce meaning, how they are organized, andhow they construct reality.Media literacy alsoaims to provide students with the ability tocreate media products.

(Source: Media Literacy Resource Guide,

Ministry of Education Ontario, 1997)


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Media literacy:

the ability to---

access, analyze, evaluate & produce

communication

(both print & electronic media)

Source: 1992 Aspen Institute Natl. Leadership Conf.


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Media literacy empowers people to be both criticalthinkers and creative producers of an increasinglywide range of messages using image, language,

and sound. It is the skillful application of literacyskills to media and technology messages. Ascommunication technologies transform society,they impact our understanding of ourselves, our

communities, and our diverse cultures, makingmedia literacy an essential life skill for the 21stcentury.

Source: Alliance For A Media Literate America, 2000


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What is media literacy?

Set of skills, knowledge & abilities

Understanding how media work and produce

meaning

Awareness of personal media use

Critical thinking applied to media messages

Appreciation of media


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What media literacy is NOT:

A separate course

Expensive

Media bashing

Judging whether media or good or bad

Just television or video production

Teaching with media; rather it is teaching

about the media


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1999 study finds media literacy in all states standards


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Partnership for 21stCentury Skills

www.21stcenturyskills.org

Information & Communication

Technology (ICT) Map


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English, Language Arts: 8thgrade

demonstrate the ability to distinguishbetween fact and opinion; compare and

contrast information and ideas; make

inferences with regard to what he/she

has viewed


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Social Studies Health Library Media

Civics: the role

of mediain politics

Economics:

the influence ofadvertising on

consumer

choices

8thgrade

analyzeadvertising

messages

related to

alcohol andtobacco

Information

literacy


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All media are constructions

Media use their unique languages with

their own set of rules Media convey values & points-of-view

Different people see the same media

messages differently

Media are about power & profit

Source: Center for Media Literacy


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Who produced/paid for the message?

What is its purpose?

Who is the target audience?

What does the message mean?

Who or what might be left out?

What techniques are used to attract

attention and increase believability?


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Understanding the visual

Visual literacy slides


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The languages of TV & Film

CAMERAS

Position (perspective) Movement (pan, tilt)

Lens (zoom in, pull out)

LIGHTS

SOUND (music, sound effects)

EDITING (post production)

ACTOR EXPRESSIONS; WARDROBE


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Thinking Critically About Media

Schools should incorporate media literacy

education throughout the curriculum, not just in

English classes, and at all grade levels.

Technology, and its use by students to produce

their own media, is a key component to media

literacy education.

Source: http://www.ciconline.org/uploads/CIC_Media_Literacy_Report.pdf


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Thinking Critically About Media

School districts and colleges of education should

increase professional-development efforts to

reflect the importance of media literacy

education.

Parents should play an important role in media

education, too. School districts can encouragetheir participation by holding workshops for

parents and conducting other outreach efforts.

Source: http://www.ciconline.org/uploads/CIC_Media_Literacy_Report.pdf


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Recommendations

Schedule professional development

workshops on this topic

Help teachers see the media/education links Recruit school library media specialists to

identify needed resources which correlate to

state standards Give students opportunities to create and

produce media and showcase those

Support stronger media literacy standards


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Schedule a teacher workshop

Frank W. Baker*

[email protected]

Media Literacy Clearinghouse

www.frankwbaker.com

* A national Leader In Learning finalist May 2005

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Baker - Media Literacy in the 21st Century