With the ever-evolving and ever-expanding world of mass media,
teaching media literacy in the classroom becomes more of a priority.
Students today have an unprecedented access to media; yet, media literacy education remains a relatively new development in education, particularly in elementary, middle school, and high school classrooms. Children use the internet both as a research tool and a social outlet; they listen to mp3's while sending text messages; they play video games with their next door neighbor, but also with the media savvy children who live on the other side of the world. Educators search for ways to effectively teach media literacy in the classroom, while at the same time students' experience with media increases.
By approaching media issues, or even general education
subjects with critical thinking activities, educators can give students the
tools to think rationally for themselves in a media-driven world. Interactive
media education can provide children with the ability to express themselves
through different forms of media — a valuable skill for the present, and the
future.
The Scope of Media Literacy Education
What exactly does teaching media literacy in the classroom
entail? Does it mean teaching students how to analyze the news? Does it include
watching television with a critical eye, approaching music from a different
point of view, examining the impact of the advertisements on the publics'
lives? Or is media literacy the ability to create with media — to make a music
video, post a blog, to write and publish a classroom newsletter?
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Media literacy education involves all of these concepts and
skills and more. It is not only a broad subject, but an expanding one as the
young in particular are frequently exposed to newer avenues of media. Educators
on the other hand rarely have as much experience with different forms of media
as do their students. This dichotomy does not have to be viewed as a challenge
to teaching media literacy in the classroom, but an opportunity for a more
flexible teaching model, in which both the students and the educators are
contributing knowledge, and learning.
Teaching Media Literacy in the Classroom With Critical
Thinking Activities
From billboard advertisements to music videos, television
shows to online social networking, children today are constantly made aware of
information through the media. It is therefore essential to develop critical
thinking and media literacy skills at a young age to develop a society of free-thinking,
contributing adults.
There are different approaches for teaching media literacy in
the classroom, as outlined by Duncan Barry's article, "Canada Offers Ten Classroom
Approaches to Media Literacy" (Media Literacy Resource Guide, Center for Media Literacy), one
of which is the inquiry model. For this activity pose a foundational question,
such as, how does American media influence British media and vice versa?, or
taking a more centralized topic, how do Hitchcock movies engender suspense?
Then, encourage students to answer the question by figuring out relevant data
to collect, and asking other questions related to the foundational inquiry and
answering those as well.
Another approach is to use critical thinking strategies. This
method can be used to teach media literacy, or to integrate media literacy
education into another subject, such as history or science. For example, take a
subject such as global warming. Encourage students to figure out for themselves
what are the facts, and what statements or assertions are speculation. Teach
them how to identify bias, making sure to look at possible bias from multiple
perspectives. Also, help them find inconsistencies in media information on the
subject. Allowing debate and discussion between students in this and other
critical thinking activities will help students learn to form, and then hone
their own point of view.
Read on
Teaching Media Literacy in the Classroom With Interactive
Media Education
Being able to access information and analyze it is one aspect
of media literacy education, but possessing the ability to share knowledge and
express thoughts through various media forms is equally important. Using
interactive media education is an ideal way to continue teaching media literacy
in the classroom. It is a way to help students develop a deeper understanding
of what they learned from analyzing media, as now they are creating it.
Interactive media education can start out with simple
projects, such as putting together a short story with photographs, or designing
an advertisement for a popular children's toy with construction paper and
markers. More advanced ideas include putting together a short documentary film.
With a video recorder and a little imagination, this activity will teach
students how to work together, developing a logical argument, and then planning
how to express those thoughts with visual media. Putting together a website and
publishing it online is another interactive media education idea. This could
entail a number of media forms, as photographs, digital artwork, videos, and
written copy would all be incorporated in this project.
Media literacy education can be a stimulating, interactive
experience for both the students and the educators. Not only are there myriad
ways to teach media literacy in the classroom, but there is a growing need to
integrate this subject into traditional education.
Sources:
Duncan, Barry. "Canada Offers Ten Classroom Approaches to
Media Literacy." (Media Literacy Resource
Guide, Center for Media Literacy).
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