media education: make it happen!
DESCRIPTION
This workshop is part of the Media Education: Make It Happen! program, a series of free resources to help educators understand and facilitate media literacy in their classrooms. The program consists of a booklet, PowerPoint workshop, and a facilitator's guide with handouts.TRANSCRIPT
Canadian Association of Media Education Organizations
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Canadian Association of Media Education Organizations
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education: Make It Happen!
1. Young people and media
2. What is media literacy?
4. Media education in action:
a) Course connectionsb) Ready, set, go
3. Media education approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
The ABC’s of Brands
Young People and Media
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media messages help shape their perceptions.
Media are powerful forces in the lives of youth.
Young People and Media
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
• 75% watch TV daily
• 48% have their own TV
• 42% watch several videos each week
• 60% play video games each day
Young People and Media
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
• 94% access the Net from home
• 41% have MP3 players
• 22% have webcams
• 37% have their own connected computer
Young People and Media
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
The WebText messaging
Camera cell phones
interactivity
Multi-player videogames
message boards
BLOGSWebcams
Personal Web sites
MP3s
E-zines
emailInstant messaging
Chat rooms
In the digital media environment, kids have access to information and entertainment from around the world.Kids learn new technologies effortlessly, multi-tasking through a complex mix of sound, graphics, text and images.
They have become managers, creators and distributors of information.
Young People and Media
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Young people need to develop knowledge, values, critical thinking, communication and information management skills.
As kids interact with media they absorb knowledge about the world, themselves and others.
What is Media Literacy?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
• the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and produce media
• the process of becoming active, rather than passive, consumers of media
Media literacy is:
What is Media Literacy?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Recognize bias and stereotyping.
Differentiate between media violence and real world violence.
What is Media Literacy?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Read “between the lines” of junk food advertising
Differentiate between entertainment and marketing
What is Media Literacy?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Question the connections between entertainment
and self-image
What is Media Literacy?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Understand how news is constructed
What is Media Literacy?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Produce media texts for civic engagement
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
“ The process of teaching and learning about media. While media literacy is the outcome – the knowledge and skills learners acquire.”
(David Buckingham)
Media Education
Source: Media Education: Literacy, Learning and Contemporary Culture
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
1. Learning hands-on production techniques
2. Recognizing how elements of a specific medium convey meaning
3. Thinking critically about media issues and media influences
Source: Ontario Media Literacy Resource Guide
Media education includes:
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Canada is a world leader in media education,
• In 1988, Ontario became the first educational jurisdiction in the world to mandate media literacy as part of the English curriculum.
• By 1999, media education was a mandated part of ELA curriculum across Canada.
Media Education in Canada
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Who can teach media literacy? You can!
The topic of media is energizing and engaging for students.
1
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Who can teach media literacy? You can!
2 Because media is a shared experience, teachers and students can find common ground.
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Who can teach media literacy? You can!
3 Media literacy isn’t about having the right answers; it’s about asking the right questions.
• Who is the audience for a media production and why?
• From whose perspective is a story being told?
• How do the elements affect what we see, hear or read?
• How might different audiences interpret the same production?
• Whose interests are being served?
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Who can teach media literacy? You can!
4 Media literacy outcomes (expectations) are in the core curriculums of every province and territory, from K-12.
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Who can teach media literacy? You can!
5 Media education is multidisciplinary and can be integrated across several subject areas.
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Key concepts of media literacy provide a theoretical base for all
media literacy programs and give teachers a common language and
framework for discussion.
Source: Association for Media Literacy
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media are constructions
Media products are created with a purpose and from a perspective using forms and techniques.
Media literacy deconstructs media products, exploring factors and decisions on how they were made.
Source: Ontario Media Literacy Resource Guide
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Audiences negotiate meaning
We all bring our own experience to media we encounter.
Media literacy helps us understand how individual factors affect
interpretation.
Source: Ontario Media Literacy Resource Guide
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media have commercial implications
Media industries belong to a powerful network of corporations that exert influence on content and distribution.
Source: Ontario Media Literacy Resource Guide
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Values and ideological messages underpin all media
Media convey messages about values, power and authority.
Source: Ontario Media Literacy Resource Guide
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Each medium has a unique aesthetic form
Each type of media has its own grammar and elements that shape reality in a unique way.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
MEANINGS
Source: Media Studies K-12 DRAFT © Toronto District School Board
Media Studies Triangle
• technology
Production
• codes & practises• finance
• control • ownership• distribution • legality
AudienceText
• denotation• connotation
• commodity
• codes
• genre
• values
• intertextuality
• psychology• textual competence
• gender• culture
• social function
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Audience
Text
Production
Media Studies Triangle
Media Education Approaches
Media Studies Triangle Text
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
• What kind of text is it?
• In what ways does this media text tell a story?
• What type or category of story is it?
Media Education Approaches
Media Studies Triangle Text
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
• Does it follow a formula?
• What are the conventions used?
Media Education Approaches
Media Studies Triangle Text
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
• What are the characters like? Are there any stereotypes?
• What values are being promoted?
• How is this done?
Media Education Approaches
Media Studies Triangle Text
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
• Whose point of view do the values represent?
• Are my values represented?
• Why or why not?
Media Education Approaches
Media Studies Triangle Audience
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• Who is the target audience for this media text?
• How can I tell?
• How and why does this media text appeal to its target audience?
• How does this media text appeal to me?
Media Education Approaches
Media Studies Triangle Audience
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
• What things do I like and dislike about it?
• In what different ways do people use or consume this media text?
• How would I change the media text to make it more enjoyable?
Media Education Approaches
Media Studies Triangle Production
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
• Who produced this media text, and for what purpose?
• How can I influence the production of this kind of media?
Media Education Approaches
Media Studies Triangle Production
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
• How is this text distributed or sold to the public? Who profits?
• How was the text made?
Media Education Approaches
Media Studies Triangle Production
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
• What production techniques are used?
• What rules and laws affect the media text?
• How could I create a similar media text?
Media Education Approaches
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
The media studies triangle can be applied to a wide variety of media texts, from a simple running shoe advertisement to
more complex texts, such as a televised political debate or a shopping mall.
Audience
Text
Production
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Discussions and projects related to media lend themselves to many key learning objectives and outcomes:
• watching • listening • reflecting • writing • organizing ideas • expressing opinions • engaging socially and politically• developing critical thinking skills.
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Start young
Many of the topics that media education addresses are central to healthy
development and can be addressed starting in the primary grades.
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Studies and Language Arts have much in common, such as the study of aesthetics, the examination of genres and the use of language and symbols.
English Language Arts
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Social Studies
Topics can include media representation, the role of
media in promoting cultural identity and issues related to
the use of the Internet for research.
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Health and Personal Development
Media-related topics can include junk food advertising, alcohol and tobacco use, sexuality and body image, media violence, diversity and gender representation.
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Family Studies
Students can compare television’s construction of family to families in the real world.
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Technology
ICT topics can include search and assessment skills, electronic privacy, plagiarism and the cultural, economic and social impacts of technology.
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Global Studies and Civics
In Global Studies, students can explore the representation of developing countries in news media and how sensational stories can fuel the perspective that people in developing nations are helpless victims.
A Civics class can examine the connections between media and politics including the following:
• discussions about “spin”;
• media styles of politicians; and
• media ownership and political reporting.
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
The Arts
Visual Arts: Media text as an art form, journalistic communication, and digital manipulation and special effects.
Music: Value messages, representation and celebrity culture in popular music,and how the business side influences which artist is hot.
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Multicultural and anti-racism programs
Students can learn how stereotypes function in popular culture, the conditions that give rise to them and how these portrayals can influence our perceptions.
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media education can also provide a new doorway to learning for students who don’t normally excel in school.
Alternative learning
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Avoid moralizing
Keep it positive
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
My Favourites – Mike W. Magazine: unknownBook: Calvin & HobbesMovie: SpeedTV Show: Cops & SimpsonsToy: Laser pointerGame: Grand Theft AutoMusic Artist/Group: Green DaySong: Holiday & American IdiotBrand: unknownFood: Pizza and sugarInterests: TransportationAspirations: Airline owner
Magazine: bop, j-14Book: Sweet 16Movie: ThirteenTV Show: 7th Heaven, The OCToy: My little teddy bearGame: The Sims 2Music Artist/Group: Kelly ClarksonSong: Smells Like Teen SpiritBrand: Converse, etniesFood: PizzaInterests: MusicHobbies: Devin Aspirations: Lawyer
A great way to get to know the media your students are interacting with is to start the school year with a quick class survey.
My Favourites – Jessie
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Familiarize yourself with youth media
On television • music channels • entertainment programs • sports • cartoons
In the community • music and video stores• vintage and fashion stores• comic book stores • malls
Online • instant messaging technology• social networking sites • file-sharing sites and programs• kids’ favourite Web sites
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Take advantage of “teachable moments” in the news. When an event grabs the
attention of the news media, bring it, and all the excitement and debate surrounding
it, into the classroom to analyze and deconstruct.
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Commercialization in education
The hallways and classrooms of our schools can also provide teachable moment opportunities.
• Logo-free day
• Commercialism walk-through
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Use annual events and celebrations to highlight specific media issues
• Earth Day: Examine how environmental issues are promoted or are absent in mainstream media
• Buy Nothing Day: Raise awareness of the impact of mass consumerism on global culture and the environment
• TV-Turnoff Week: A jumping-off point for students to log and examine their own TV viewing habits
• Special Occasions: The start of the school year, Christmas and graduation can provide opportunities toaddress consumption and consumerism
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Creating content gives students insights into the decisions and the process of media production.
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Educate students about the mechanisms in place
through which they can make formal complaints or
speak out in support of good-quality media.
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Students can challenge negative youth stereotypes in the media by promoting more
positive and balanced portrayals.
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Parents are important partners
• Learn more about media
• Familiarize yourself with your child’s media
• Talk to teachers and parent councils
• Invite media professionals
• Organize a parent workshop
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
How teachers can get involved and learn more
Join your provincial media education association.
To learn more about media education, visit the following Web sites:
• Media Awareness Network, www.media-awareness.ca
• Association for Media Literacy, www.aml.ca
• Concerned Children's Advertisers, www.cca-kids.ca
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
For more information, contact:
Media Awareness Networkwww.media-awareness.ca
This workshop has been produced by