Why Media Literacy? From the clock radio that wakes us up in the morning until we fall asleep...

Why Media Literacy?From the clock radio that wakes us up in the morninguntil we fall asleep watching late night television,

we are exposed to hundreds---even thousands---

of images and ideasnot only on television

but also from newspaper headlines, magazine covers,movies, websites, video games and billboards.

Media no longer just shapes our culture….It is our culture.

The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies

Adopted by the NCTE Executive Committee, February 15, 2008

Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because technology has increased the intensity and complexity of literate environments, the twenty-first century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies or many literacies. These literacies—from reading online newspapers to participating in virtual classrooms—are multiple, dynamic, and changing.

Twenty-first century readers and writers need to:

1. Develop proficiency with the tools of technology

2. Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally

3. Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes

4. Manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information

5. Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media texts

6. Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments

Generation M

multi-taskers ?

What are they doing on line?

Teens spend an average of 3 hours and 20 minutes watching television a day.

Teens send an average of 2880 text messages a month.

Teens make up 23% of Facebook traffic at any given time.

Teens play an average of 65 minutes of console games a day.

Four out of five teens own a cell phone.

“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.

Write about it---

What is media ?

video

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, 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

All media are constructions of reality

Are they really family?Is this a constructed family for the media?

It’s hard to tell.

Media literacy’s rules

Media are constructed using unique languages with their own set of rules

Language of Instant Messaging

BRB= be right backHW= homeworkTTYL= talk to you laterLOL= laughing out loud

Media literacy’s rules

Media convey values and points of view

Media literacy’s rules

Audiences negotiate meaning

Media literacy’s rules

Media creates power & profit

FOX (News Corp) NBC (NBC/Universal)CBS ABC (Disney)CNN (AOL/Time Warner)VIACOM

more Media literacy’s rules

Media contain ideological and value messages

Media have social and political implications

Form and content are closely related Each medium has a unique and

aesthetic form

Source: Media Literacy Resource Guide, Ontario Ministry of Education, Toronto

Critical inquiry: asking questions

Who produced/created the message? For what purpose was it produced? Who is the ‘target audience’? What techniques are used to attract

attention; increase believability?

Techniques

Techniques

Techniques

Katie Couric “slimmed” for CBS promo

Techniques

Product placement techniques

Critical inquiry: asking questions

Who or what is left out; why? Who benefits from the message

being communicated in this way? What lifestyle is promoted? How do you know what it means? Where can you go to verify the info?

Does it affect us?

Can we get away from media and advertising?

"It's hard to imagine where advertising doesn't appear nowadays," said Erik Gordon, a Johns Hopkins University marketing professor. "You can make an argument that the whole world has become an ad. Nothing is sacred anymore. It even appears in my dreams -- my bad dreams." (August 6, 2006, Baltimore Sun)

Are we part of the problem?

Are we part of the media?

Or is the media part of us?