St. Petersburg, 28 May 2013 Dr. Barbara Schultz-Jones Director, School Library Program Media Literacy: The Role of the School Library

St. Petersburg, 28 May 2013Dr. Barbara Schultz-Jones

Director, School Library Program

Media Literacy: The Role of the School Library

Media Literacy Defined

•Information competencies that imply:•the capacity to identify when information is needed,

•the competence and skill to locate, evaluate and use information effectively.

•Comfort and skill with media to accomplish those information needs

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Media Literacy Defined cont.Skills based definition:

The ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a variety of forms

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Media Literacy - AccessAcquiring access to a variety of media

depends on a wide range of opportunities and formats

Age levels blurredSkills acquired informally


Media Literacy - Analyze

Being able to think critically about what’s being presented

As opposed to reacting or responding


Media Literacy - Evaluate

Critically assess:The content, The purpose behind the message

Understand the techniques used to create the message


Media Literacy - CreateMedia literacy examines techniques that affect a person’s perception and understanding of the content being presented to them:

Color Music Layout Motion Lighting Camera angles Similar techniques


Role of the School LibraryActive learning environment where patrons engage in the

type of information use and expression common in their daily routines.

Provide not only access to information but also direction for learning how to become an active, engaged, expressive, and empowered media user in everyday life.

Work within the curriculum to establish a foundation for exploring how a variety of media can develop habits of inquiry along 5 dimensions:AccessInvestigationCritical analysisExpressionAppreciation


School Library - AccessTraditional access points for information in

schoolsSchool libraries serve as de facto media hubsStudents bring their own devices to school

and use the library as a learning commons to access information

Cannot assume that because youth have grown up as “digital natives” they have the skills to effectively access information online.


School Library - InvestigationTeach not only how to navigate information in

the library itself, but also how to develop sound exploration skills with the Internet and new media technologies.

Teach effective strategies for:Searching online databases, filtering through academic and nonacademic

sources,tracing hyperlinks, differentiating blogs from

news sources, and general savvy for Web-based investigation,


School Library – Critical Analysis


responsibility for teaching critical analysis of information 5 key questions for assessing information:

1. Who is the author and what is the purpose?2. What techniques are used to attract attention?3. What lifestyles, values, and points of views are represented?4. How might different people interpret messages differently?5. What is omitted from the message? (Hobbs 2007)

help students assess the essence of messages (content, authorship, form, structure),

judge credibility, bias, diversity, and independence.

School Library - ExpressionUnderstand how information is published,

repurposed, and distributedPerform and publish can create situations for

reflecting on how their conduct in face-to-face and online scenarios is similar and different and the implications of each style of expression.

Learn about the potential and dangers of expression onlineConstruct new understandings of audience, identity, and privacy


School Library - Appreciation


reflect a place where the relationship to information can be modeled as an enriching experience evoke creative dispositions around information that cultivate an appreciation for its powerful and necessary role in community help students see the benefit of being expressive and inquisitive

public readings, music, art, poetry, and design encourage users to become active performers through multimedia in their everyday lives instill an ethical framework for expression

Ethical Framework

Four principles:1.Ownership2.Right to privacy3.Social responsibility4.Self-respect


SummaryMedia literacy is based on creation as a core skill

in media competencyDeconstructing a variety of messages in a variety

of formats provides the opportunity for experiencing the power of media and ethics

Constructing personal expressions encourages responsibility Reinforcing the skills and attitudes they acquire will encourage responsible action.

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Your Thoughts?

Questions?

Comments

Surprises?


Contact Information May 28, 2013 Schultz-Jones

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Barbara Schultz-Jones, Ph.D.Associate Professor, Head School Library

ProgramDepartment of Library and Information

SciencesCollege of Information,University of North TexasDenton, TX [email protected]

References

Aufderheide, P., and C. M. Firestone. (1993). Media literacy: A report of the National Leadership Conference on Media Literacy. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Hobbs, R. (2007). Reading the media: Media literacy in high school English. New York: Teachers College Press.


Documents

St. Petersburg, 28 May 2013 Dr. Barbara Schultz-Jones Director, School Library Program Media Literacy: The Role of the School Library