Media LiteracyAn Essential Approach to Learning

“The illiterate of the 21st century are not those that cannot read or write, but those that cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” Alvin Toffler”

“We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist … using technologies that haven’t yet been invented … in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” Richard Riley, Secretary of Education under Clinton

Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Did You Know?

21st Century Skills

• Critical Learning Skills and Innovation– Critical thinking and Problem Solving– Communication and Collaboration– Creativity and Innovation

• Digital Literacy Skills– Research and Information Fluency– Media Literacy– Information and Communication Technologies– Digital Citizenship

21st Century Skills

• Career and Life Skills– Flexibility & Adaptability– Initiative and Self-direction– Social and Cross Cultural Interaction– Productivity and Accountability

Digital Literacy Skills

• Research and Information Fluency– Access and evaluate information– Use and manage information

• Media Literacy– Analyze media– Create media products

• Information and Communication Technologies– Apply technology effectively

• Digital Citizenship– Exercise responsible use of technology

Media

• Messages conveyed through visuals, language and/or sound

• (Mass) produced for a (mass) audience mediated by a form of technology

• The producer of the message is not in the same place as the receiver of the message

What media forms have you experienced today?

Are books media?

• Messages conveyed through visuals, language and/or sound

• (Mass) produced for a (mass) audience mediated by a form of technology

• The producer of the message is not in the same place as the receiver of the message

What are other sources of messages thatwe might not think of as “media”?

Types of Media

Radio Television Newspapers, Magazines Internet Advertising in all forms Videos, DVDs, Films Computer & Video Games Recorded Music Posters, maps Cell Phones

Media Literacy

Media Literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and produce communication in a variety of forms.

It is similar to information literacy and involves many components of technology literacy as well.

Media Literacy Involves

• Critical thinking• Analytical skills• Ability to express oneself in different

ways• Wise & effective use of media• Ability to judge credibility of

information• Reading skills• Writing skills

Media Literacy Questions

• What are the messages of this media and how are they communicated?

• Who produced this and for what purpose?• When was this produced and for what purpose?• Who was the target audience?• Is this an accurate and credible representation?• How does this reflect the perspective or bias of

the creator?• What information or perspective is left out of this

message?• How might different people interpret this

message differently?• Who might benefit from and who might be

harmed by this message?

Effective Media Analysis

Knowledge that:• All media messages are “constructed.”• Each medium has different characteristics,

strengths, and a unique “language” of construction.

• Media messages contain embedded values and points of view.

• People use their individual skills, beliefs and experiences to construct their own meanings from media messages.

• Media and media messages can influence beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, and the democratic process.

Media Literacy Education

• Requires active inquiry and critical thinking about the messages we receive and create

• Expands the concepts of literacy (reading , writing, speaking, listening) to include all forms of media

• Builds and reinforces skills for learners of all ages; those skills necessitate integrated, interactive and repeated practice

• Develops informed, reflective and engaged participants essential for a democratic society

• Recognizes that media are a part of culture and function as agents of socialization

• Affirms that people use their individual skills, beliefs and experiences to construct their own meanings from media messages.

Why Construct Media in the Classroom?

Motivate students Enhance instructional methods – it is

constructivist/inquiry based learning Increase productivity Develop 21st Century Skills and

technologically integrate them into every day learning

To prepare our students to take their places in the global community

Constructivist /Inquire-based Media Construction and Analysis

• Concepts to be learned are abstract and complex; hands-on, visual activities are essential to see how concepts apply to real world problems.

• Teachers encourage collaboration and/or allow alternative ways of learning and showing competence.

• There is time to allow unstructured exploration to motivate students and help them discover their own interests.

• I Love School!

Copyright and Responsible Use

• The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy

Copyright and Fair Use

• The fair use provision of the Copyright Act is written broadly, not narrowly, because it is designed to apply to a wide range of creative works and the people who use them.

• Fair use is a part of the law that belongs to everyone, especially to working educators.

• Educators know best what they need to use of existing copyrighted culture to construct their own lessons and materials.

Copyright and Fair Use

• Despite longstanding myths, there are no cut-and-dried rules. Fair use is situational, and context is critical.

• Because it is a tool to balance the rights of users with the rights of owners, educators need to apply reason to reach a decision.

• The principles and limitations are designed to guide your reasoning and to help you guide the reasoning of others.

Is it protected by copyright?

ALA Office for Information Technology Policy

Copyright 101 for Teachers

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that develops, supports, and stewards legal and technical infrastructure that maximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation.

http://creativecommons.org

Teacher Guidelines

• Teachers may include portions of copyrighted works when producing their own multimedia project for their teaching in support of curriculum-based instructional activities at educational institutions.

• Teachers may use their project for: – assignments for student self-study – for remote instruction provided the network is secure and is

designed to prevent unlawful copying – for conferences, presentations, or workshops – for their professional portfolio

Time Restrictions• The fair use of copyrighted material in multimedia projects lasts

for two years only. After two years, obtain permission before using the project again.

Teacher Guidelines

Types of media and permissible amounts • Motion media:

– Up to 10 percent of the total or three minutes, whichever is less

• Text material: – Up to 10 percent of the total or 1,000 words, whichever is

less. – An entire poem of less than 250 words may be used, but no

more than three poems by one poet or five poems by different authors in an anthology. For poems exceeding 250 words, 250 words should be used but no more than three excerpts from one poet or five excerpts from different poets in the same work

Teacher Guidelines

• Music, lyrics, and music video: – up to 10 percent of the work but no more than 30

seconds of the music or lyrics from an individual musical work.

• Illustrations or photographs: – no more than five images from one artist or

photographer. – no more than 10% or 15 images, whichever is less, from a

collection. • Numerical data sets:

– up to 10 percent or 2,500 fields or cell entries, whichever is less, from a copyrighted database or data table.

• Copying of a multimedia project: – no more than two copies may be made of a project.