What is media literacy

It is equally important to research the author of the material as it is researching the organization itself. Another way of looking for more information on an author is to type their name into a search engine and see what results appear. Providing credentials with no details e.

When a piece of media was written has a lot to do with how and why it was written. An old news article could have outdated or incorrect information and it could not be relevant to current events. The majority of publications have the date an article was originally published as well as times and dates it was updated or edited. Read the article rather than just the headline.

This allows you to see why and how claims were made as well as which sources the author used. You can also judge whether the article tried to report the whole story or just a fraction of it. From here you can look at other news articles and see if they are also reporting on the story and how the articles compare. Media organizations and authors will use sources to give credit to their claims. Become a smart consumer of products and information.

Media literacy helps kids learn how to determine whether something is credible. It also helps them determine the "persuasive intent" of advertising and resist the techniques marketers use to sell products. Recognize point of view. Every creator has a perspective. Identifying an author's point of view helps kids appreciate different perspectives. It also helps put information in the context of what they already know -- or think they know. Create media responsibly. Recognizing your own point of view, saying what you want to say how you want to say it, and understanding that your messages have an impact is key to effective communication.

Identify the role of media in our culture. From celebrity gossip to magazine covers to memes, media is telling us something, shaping our understanding of the world, and even compelling us to act or think in certain ways.

Understand the author's goal. What does the author want you to take away from a piece of media? Is it purely informative, is it trying to change your mind, or is it introducing you to new ideas you've never heard of?

When kids understand what type of influence something has, they can make informed choices. When teaching your kids media literacy , it's not so important for parents to tell kids whether something is "right.

You'll probably end up learning as much from your kids as they learn from you. Media literacy includes asking specific questions and backing up your opinions with examples. Following media-literacy steps allows you to learn for yourself what a given piece of media is, why it was made, and what you want to think about it.

Teaching kids media literacy as a sit-down lesson is not very effective; it's better incorporated into everyday activities. For example:. Parents' Ultimate Guide to Support our work! Corona Column 3 Use these free activities to help kids explore our planet, learn about global challenges, think of solutions, and take action. Back to topic overview News and Media Literacy. What is media literacy, and why is it important? Specifically, it helps kids: Learn to think critically.

For example: With little kids, you can discuss things they're familiar with but may not pay much attention to. Examples include cereal commercials, food wrappers, and toy packages. With older kids, you can talk through media they enjoy and interact with. These include such things as YouTube videos , viral memes from the internet, and ads for video games. Here are the key questions to ask when teaching kids media literacy : Who created this?

Was it a company? Was it an individual? If so, who? How well does the student analyze the significance of the conscious or unconscious, explicit or implicit messages identified in a media product? How well does the student analyze how the use of these technical elements and genre tropes influence the conscious or unconscious, explicit or implicit messages identified in media product? How are elements such as music, costuming, and shot composition used to influence our opinion of a character in a movie?

How are characters given or deprived of agency, control and power in a video game? How well does the student apply knowledge of the key concepts and of the medium being studied? How well does the student apply knowledge of the medium of the evaluation tool? For instance, if the student is writing an essay about a TV show, he or she would be expected to apply an understanding of how TV shows are created and how they convey meaning, both explicitly and implicitly, and also to apply their knowledge of how to write a successful essay by using an effective structure, well-developed and supported arguments, correct spelling and grammar, and so on.

Successful use of process steps such as editing, checklists and pre-evaluation assessment can be included here as well. If the product being studied and the evaluation use the same medium — a mock print ad being used to deconstruct magazine advertising, for instance — the student would still be evaluated separately on how they apply their knowledge to analyze magazine ads and how they apply their knowledge to create the mock ad.

To create a scale, start by writing what you want your students to do in Level Three and work up and down from there. This can be done in two ways:. Game design does not successfully identify any ways in which video games communicate messages about diversity.

Game design demonstrates little or no analysis of how commercial pressures and medium and genre characteristics influence meaning. Game design successfully identifies one way video games communicate messages about diversity. Game design demonstrates a beginning analysis of how commercial pressures and medium and genre characteristics influence meaning. Game design successfully identifies two ways video games communicate messages about diversity. Game design demonstrates a developing analysis of how commercial pressures and medium and genre characteristics influence meaning.

Game design successfully identifies three ways video games communicate messages about diversity. Game design demonstrates a competent analysis of how commercial pressures and medium and genre characteristics influence meaning. Game design successfully identifies four ways video games communicate messages about diversity. Game design demonstrates a confident analysis of how commercial pressures and medium and genre characteristics influence meaning.

Game design successfully uses one or fewer elements of the medium and genre studied in class. Game design successfully uses two elements of the medium and genre studied in class. Game design successfully uses three elements of the medium and genre studied in class. Game design successfully uses four elements of the medium and genre studied in class.

Game design successfully uses five or more elements of the medium and genre studied in class. A final tool that is extremely helpful in evaluating media literacy work is giving students exemplars. Annotate the exemplar to make clear what it does right and go through it with the class when you give out the assignment.

Make sure the exemplar is different in some key way from the assignment — an analysis of a different movie, for example — to avoid having students simply copy it. Canada is considered a world leader in this field. Still, the quality and practice are uneven and media education is not yet widely taught in all provinces and territories or at all levels.

Research findings support the notion that media literacy needs to start at the very early stages of learning. Although it is a mandated curriculum area, teachers at the elementary level have very few resources available to them and very little in the way of professional development to support them.

Teachers and parents are eager to help their children become media wise, and they are open to new ideas, skills and strategies that will help them in this regard. Media education initiatives vary across Canada. Skip to main content. What is Media Literacy? This section has been created to clarify what media literacy is all about, and to offer practical suggestions to help you make media education happen What is Media Education? Why Teach Media Literacy? For example: Who is the audience of a media production and why?

From whose perspective is a story being told? How do the unique elements and codes of a specific genre affect what we see, hear or read? How might different audiences interpret the same media production? Why teach media literacy? Here are ten good reasons: Media literacy encourages young people to question, evaluate, understand and appreciate their multimedia culture. It teaches them to become active, engaged media consumers and users.

Media education brings the world into the classroom, giving immediacy and relevance to traditional subjects such as History, English, Health, Civics and the Creative Arts. It serves as a perfect bridge for subject integration and interdisciplinary studies. Media education embodies and furthers current pedagogy, which emphasizes student-centred learning, the recognition of multiple intelligences, and the analysis and management — rather than just the simple storing — of information.

Media education is grounded in the sound pedagogical approach of starting learning where kids are at. The media — music, comics, television, video games, the Internet and even ads — are a part of life that all kids enjoy. Media create a shared environment and are, therefore, catalysts for learning. It helps young people to see themselves as active citizens and potential contributors to public debate.

Media literacy helps children critique media representation, teaching them to distinguish between reality and fantasy as they compare media violence and real-life violence, media heroes and real-life heroes, and media role models and real-life roles and expectations.

With most Canadian students turning first to the Internet for research, media education is an essential component of Information Communications Technology education, assisting young people in developing critical thinking skills and strategies for optimizing searches, evaluating and authenticating information and examining issues of plagiarism and copyright.

Key Concepts for Media Literacy Media educators base their teaching on key concepts for media literacy, which provide an effective foundation for examining mass media and popular culture. Media are constructions Media products are created by individuals who make conscious and unconscious choices about what to include, what to leave out and how to present what is included.

Ask: Who created this media product? What is its purpose? What assumptions or beliefs do its creators have that are reflected in the content? Audiences negotiate meaning The meaning of any media product is not created solely by its producers but is, instead, a collaboration between them and the audience — which means that different audiences can take away different meanings from the same product.

Ask: How might different people see this media product differently? How does this make you feel, based on how similar or different you are from the people portrayed in the media product?