Helping Students Develop Media Literacy

"Media literacy" involves skill in learning from and critically evaluating different forms of electronic and print media. Helping students develop media literacy will be an important part of your job as a teacher. Most of your students not only will spend time watching television, they also will play computer and video games and use the Internet for a variety of purposes. One way to avoid the negative outcomes described in this chapter (potential school achievement problems, unfavorable socialization, unquestioning acceptance of media values, etc.) is to encourage active listening, viewing, and surfing.

You can help your students develop media literacy by helping them understand the functioning of commercial television. For example, you might discuss some of the points raised in the article "Key Concepts for Teaching Television" at http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/mlr/readings/articles/key.html. Renee Hobbs offers more suggestions in the article "Teaching Media Literacy: YO! Are You Hip To This?" at http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/mlr/readings/articles/hobbs/teachingml.html. You'll find guidelines for evaluating Web sites that you can adapt or share with your students at http://www.school.discovery.com/schrockguide/eval.html.

Depending on your subject and teaching situation, you may want to have some focus on students' production of media-based materials. One way to prepare yourself and your students for producing content is to go to http://www.medialit.org/ReadingRoom/readingroom.htm, click on "Key Articles," and go to Andrew Garrison's paper "Video Basics" and other listings there. For a wide range of readings on many facets of media literacy, start with www.medialit.org or http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/FA/home_index.html and follow the screens and links relevant to your special interests.



For example, some of the helpful and interesting sites you can reach from these two beginning points include:

The Jesuit Communication Project
This is a major effort to promote media literacy in schools across Canada.

Media Awareness Network
This Canadian organization's web site offers practical sections for educators, parents, students and others interested in media education.

Media Literacy Clearinghouse
This site from the University of South Carolina is designed for K-12 teachers who want to learn more about media literacy and how to integrate it into their classrooms.

Media Literacy Review
This is a twice-yearly online journal on media literacy topics.

National Telemedia Council
This organization publishes Telemedium, a journal of media literacy for educators.