Media Literacy Frank W Baker media educator Media

Media Literacy Frank W. Baker media educator Media Literacy Clearinghouse http: //www. frankwbaker. com

“Best Practices” Workshops December 6 (elementary) December 7 (secondary) Columbia Brooklyn Baptist Church Conference Ctr. Registration: SDE Website

Students "spend lots of Donald Leu University of Conn. Teaching With The Internet K-12: New Literacies for New Times time chatting, looking at pop culture web sites, and downloading MP 3 s, but they don't deal with critical evaluation of information. "

“Movies, advertisements, and all other visual media are tools teachers need to use and media we must master if we are to maintain our credibility in the coming years. ” Jim Burke, from The English Teacher’s Companion

Multi-modal literacies (NCTE) “From an early age, students are very sophisticated readers and producers of multi-modal work. They can be helped to understand how these works make meaning, how they are based on conventions, and how they are created for and respond to specific communities or audiences. ” 2005 Declaration, NCTE Executive Committee

Media literacy 101 “It would be a breach of our duties as teachers for us to ignore the rhetorical power of visual forms of media in combination with text and sound…the critical media literacy we need to teach must include evaluation of these media, lest our students fail to see, understand, and learn to harness the persuasive power of visual media. ” NCTE Resolution on Visual/Media Literacy

Media lit in SC Teaching Standards ENGLISH Communication: VIEWING Demonstrate the ability to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the techniques used in non-print sources for a particular audience. SOCIAL STUDIES HEALTH Propaganda Food Selection Mass media Body Image Economics the influence of advertising on consumer choices Alcohol & tobacco advertising and marketing techniques

Endorsing media literacy American Association of School Librarians Annenberg Public Policy Center Carnegie Commission on Adolescent Development Center for Substance Abuse Prevention International Reading Association National Board for Professional Teaching Standards National Council for Teachers of English National Council for the Social Studies National Middle School Association National PTA North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (Nc. REL) Office of National Drug Control Policy Partnership for 21 st Century Skills

SC ELA Standards: Viewing “Every day, students come in contact with media and technology. The challenge is to help them make sense of it all and respond personally, critically, and creatively. The inclusion of viewing recognizes the powerful force of visual media in the 21 st century. . . ”

SC ELA Standards: Viewing “…. . Teachers must be comfortable with integrating viewing into instruction. This can be achieved by teaching, for example, how to read a photograph, the techniques of persuasion in advertising, the language of film, critical television viewing skills, information/ technology literacy and more. ”

Generation M multi-taskers

What are they doing on line? n n n 87% of U. S. teens between 12 and 17 years of age use the Internet; just 66% of adults do so; 81% of teen Internet users play games online; 76% get news online; 51% of teen Internet users say they go online on a daily basis; 43% have made purchases online; and 31% use the Internet to get health info Source: “Teens and Technology: Youth Are Leading the Transition to a Fully Wired and Mobile Nation” (2005) & "Life Online: Teens and Technology and the World to Come, " (2006)

“Our students are growing up in a world saturated with media messages…yet, they (and their teachers) receive little or no training in the skills of analyzing or reevaluating these messages, many of which make use of language, moving images, music, sound effects. ” R. Hobbs, Journal Adult & Adolescent Literacy, February 2004

“While more young people have access to the Internet and other media than any generation in history, they do not necessarily possess the ethics, the intellectual skills, or the predisposition to critically analyze and evaluate ……. these technologies or the information they encounter. Good hand/eye co-ordination and the ability to multitask are not substitutes for critical thinking. ” Dr. David Considine, Appalachian State Univ.

Writing activity What is media literacy? video

Defining media literacy Media literacy is concerned with helping students develop an informed and critical understanding of the nature of mass media, the techniques used by them, and the impact of these techniques. More specifically, it is education that aims to increase the students' understanding and enjoyment of how the media work, how they produce meaning, how they are organized, and how they construct reality. Media literacy also aims to provide students with the ability to create media products. Media Literacy Resource Guide, Ministry of Education Ontario, 1997

Media literacy: key concepts All media are constructed n Media use unique languages n Media convey values and points of view n Audiences negotiate meaning n Media: power and profit n Source: Center for Media Literacy

All media are constructions of reality

Media literacy’s rules n Media are constructed using unique languages with their own set of rules Language of Instant Messaging BRB= be right back HW= homework TTYL= talk to you later LOL= laughing out loud

Media literacy’s rules n Media convey values and points of view

Media literacy’s rules n Audiences negotiate meaning

Media literacy’s rules n Media= power & profit FOX (News Corp) NBC (NBC/Universal) CBS ABC (Disney) CNN (AOL/Time Warner) VIACOM

Critical inquiry: asking questions Who produced/created the message? n For what purpose was it produced? n Who is the ‘target audience’? n What techniques are used to attract attention; increase believability? n

Techniques

Techniques

Techniques Katie Couric “slimmed” for CBS promo

Techniques

Techniques How do you know this is a fake website?

Product placement techniques

Critical inquiry: asking questions Who or what is left out; why? n Who benefits from the message being communicated in this way? n What lifestyle is promoted? n How do you know what it means? n Where can you go to verify the info? n

Let’s take a look at some images

Teaching in the 21 st century "If video is how we are communicating and persuading in this new century, why aren't more students writing screenplays as part of their schoolwork? " Heidi Hayes Jacob April 2004

The languages of TV & Film Cameras a) Movement b) positioning c) use of lens n Lights n Audio (includes music, sound effects) n Editing (post production; special effects) n Set design n Actors: wardrobes; expressions n

Examples Cell phone ad script Toy ad writing activities Politics Bush Kerry Film: Because of Winn Dixie Tuck Everlasting To Kill A Mockingbird

Contact info Frank Baker Fbaker 1346@aol. com Media Literacy Clearinghouse http: //www. frankwbaker. com