Media Education Approaches

Canadian Association of Media Education Organizations

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Canadian Association of Media Education Organizations

Media Education: Make It Happen!1. Young people and media

2. What is media literacy?

4. Media education in action:a) Course connectionsb) Ready, set, go

3. Media education approaches

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The ABC’s of Brands

Young People and Media

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Media messages help shape their perceptions.

Media are powerful forces in the lives of youth.


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Canadian 10- to 16-year-olds get 6:37 hours ofscreen time per day: • television (2:39 hours) • computers (2:07 hours) • video games (1:51 hours)

(2009-10 HBSC)


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• 99% can access the Net outside of school

• 49% own or have access to cell phones

• 85% of Grade 11 students own their own cell phones

• 68% access the Internet through portable computers


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Forums Text messaging

Selfies

Social networking

Multi-player videogames

Tweeting

BLOGSWebcams

Personal Web sites

MP3s

videos

emailFacetime

Chat rooms

In the digital media environment, kids have access to information and entertainment from around the world.Kids learn new technologies easily, navigating through a complex mix of sound, graphics, text and images.

They have become managers, creators and distributors of information.


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Young people need to develop knowledge, values, critical thinking, communication and information management skills.

As kids interact with media they absorb knowledge about the world, themselves and others.

What is Media Literacy?

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• the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and produce media

• the process of becoming active, rather than passive, consumers of media

Media literacy is:


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Recognize bias and stereotyping.

Differentiate between media violence and real world violence.


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Read “between the lines” of junk food advertising

Differentiate between entertainment and marketing


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Question the connections between entertainment

and self-image


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Understand how news is constructed


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Produce media texts for civic engagement

Media Education Approaches

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“ The process of teaching and learning about media. While media literacy is the outcome – the knowledge and skills learners acquire.”

(David Buckingham)

Media Education

Source: Media Education: Literacy, Learning and Contemporary Culture


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1. Learning hands-on production techniques

2. Recognizing how elements of a specific medium convey meaning

3. Thinking critically about media issues and media influences

Source: Ontario Media Literacy Resource Guide

Media education includes:


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Canada is a world leader in media education,

• In 1988, Ontario became the first educational jurisdiction in the world to mandate media literacy as part of the English curriculum.

• By 1999, media education was a mandated part of ELA curriculum across Canada.

Media Education in Canada


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Who can teach media literacy? You can!

The topic of media is energizing and engaging for students.

1


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Who can teach media literacy? You can!2 Because media is a shared experience,

teachers and students can find common ground.


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Who can teach media literacy? You can!3 Media literacy isn’t about having the right answers;

it’s about asking the right questions.

• Who is the audience for a media production and why?

• From whose perspective is a story being told?

• How do the elements affect what we see, hear or read?

• How might different audiences interpret the same production?

• Whose interests are being served?


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4 Media literacy outcomes (expectations) are in the core curriculums of every province and territory, from K-12.


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5 Media education is multidisciplinary and can be integrated across several subject areas.


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Key concepts of media literacy provide a theoretical base for all

media literacy programs and give teachers a common language and

framework for discussion.

Source: Association for Media Literacy

http://mediasmarts.ca/media-literacy-101


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Media are constructions

Media products are created with a purpose and from a perspective using forms and techniques.

Media literacy deconstructs media products, exploring factors and decisions on how they were made.



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Audiences negotiate meaning

We all bring our own experience to media we encounter.

Media literacy helps us understand how individual factors affect

interpretation.



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Media have commercial implications

Media industries belong to a powerful network of corporations that exert influence on content and distribution.



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Media have social and political implications

Media convey messages about values, power and authority.



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Each medium has a unique aesthetic formEach type of media has its own grammar and elements that shape reality in a unique way.

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MEANINGS

Source: Media Studies K-12 DRAFT © Toronto District School Board

Media Studies Triangle

• technology

Production

• codes & practises• finance

• control • ownership• distribution • legality

AudienceText

• denotation• connotation

• commodity

• codes

• genre• values

• intertextuality

• psychology• textual competence

• gender• culture

• social function


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Audience

Text

Production

Media Studies Triangle


Media Studies Triangle Text

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• What kind of text is it?

• In what ways does this media text tell a story?

• What type or category of story is it?



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• Does it follow a formula?

• What are the conventions used?



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• What are the characters like? Are there any stereotypes?

• What values are being promoted?

• How is this done?



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• Whose point of view do the values represent?

• Are my values represented?

• Why or why not?


Media Studies Triangle Audience

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• Who is the target audience for this media text?

• How can I tell?

• How and why does this media text appeal to its target audience?

• How does this media text appeal to me?


Media Studies Triangle Audience

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• What things do I like and dislike about it?

• In what different ways do people useor consume this media text?

• How would I change the media text to make it more enjoyable?


Media Studies Triangle Production

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• Who produced this media text, and for what purpose?

• How can I influence the production of this kind of media?



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• How is this text distributed or sold to the public?

• Who profits?

• How was the text made?



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• What production techniques are used?

• What rules and laws affect the media text?

• How could I create a similar media text?


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The media studies triangle can be applied to a wide variety of media texts, from a simple running shoe advertisement to

more complex texts, such as a televised political debate or a shopping mall.

Audience

Text

Production

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Media Education in Action

Media Education in Action: Course Connections

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Discussions and projects related to media lend themselves to many key learning objectives and outcomes:

• watching • listening • reflecting • writing • organizing ideas • expressing opinions • engaging socially and politically• developing critical thinking skills.


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Start young

Many of the topics that media education addresses are central to healthy

development and can be addressed starting in the primary grades.


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Media Studies and Language Arts have much in common, such as the study of aesthetics, the examination of genres and the use of language and symbols.

English Language Arts


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Social StudiesTopics can include media representation, the role of

media in promoting cultural identity and issues related to

the use of the Internet for research.


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Health and Personal Development

Media-related topics can include junk food advertising, alcohol and tobacco use, sexuality and body image, media violence, diversity and gender representation.


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Family Studies

Students can compare television’s construction of family to families in the real world.


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Technology

ICT topics can include search and assessment skills, electronic privacy, plagiarism and the cultural, economic and social impacts of technology.


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Global Studies and Civics

In Global Studies, students can explore the representation of developing countries in news media and how sensational stories can fuel the perspective that people in developing nations are helpless victims.

A Civics class can examine the connections between media and politics including the following:

• discussions about “spin”;

• media styles of politicians; and

• media ownership and political reporting.


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The Arts

Visual Arts: Media text as an art form, journalistic communication, and digital manipulation and special effects.

Music: Value messages, representation and celebrity culture in popular music,and how the business side influences which artist is hot.


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Multicultural and anti-racism programs

Students can learn how stereotypes function in popular culture, the conditions that give rise to them and how these portrayals can influence our perceptions.


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Media education can also provide a new doorway to learning for students who don’t normally excel in school.

Alternative learning

Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go

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Avoid moralizing

Keep it positive


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My Favourites – Mike W. Magazine: unknownBook: Calvin & HobbesMovie: SpeedTV Show: Cops & SimpsonsToy: Laser pointerGame: Grand Theft AutoMusic Artist/Group: Green DaySong: Holiday & American IdiotBrand: unknownFood: Pizza and sugarInterests: TransportationAspirations: Airline owner

Magazine: Cosmo Girl Book: Hunger Games (series)Movie: Hunger Games: Catching Fire TV Show: Modern FamilyToy: My little teddy bearGame: Angry BirdsMusic Artist/Group: RihannaSong: What Does the Fox Say?Brand: Converse, Forever 21Food: PizzaInterests: MusicHobbies: Devin Aspirations: Lawyer

A great way to get to know the media your students are interacting with is to start the school year with a quick class survey.

My Favourites – Jessie


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Familiarize yourself with media youth enjoy

General media • television• music• movies • books and magazines

In the Community • vintage and independent fashion stores• chain fashion stores• comic book stores • sports stores• coffee shops• movie theatres

Online • social networking • microblogging • video-sharing • favourite Web sites


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Take advantage of “teachable moments” in the news. When an event grabs the

attention of the news media, bring it, and all the excitement and debate surrounding

it, into the classroom to analyze and deconstruct.


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Commercialization in education

The hallways and classrooms of our schools can also provide teachable moment opportunities.

• Logo-free day

• Commercialism walk-through


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Use annual events and celebrations to highlight specific media issues• Earth Day: Examine how environmental issues are

promoted or are absent in mainstream media

• Buy Nothing Day: Raise awareness of the impact of mass consumerism on global culture and the environment

• Screen-Free Week: A jumping-off point for students to log and examine their own media habits

• Special Occasions: The start of the school year, Christmas and graduation can provide opportunities toaddress consumption and consumerism


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Creating content gives students insights into the decisions and the process of media production.


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Educate students about the mechanisms in place

through which they can make formal complaints or

speak out in support of good-quality media.


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Students can challenge negative youth stereotypes in the media by promoting more

positive and balanced portrayals.


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Parents are important partners• Learn more about media

• Familiarize yourself with your child’s media

• Talk to teachers and parent councils

• Invite media professionals

• Organize a parent workshop


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How teachers can get involved and learn moreJoin your provincial or territorial media education association.

To learn more about media education, visit the following Web sites:

• MediaSmarts, mediasmarts.ca

• Association for Media Literacy, www.aml.ca

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This workshop has been produced by

For more information, contact:MediaSmarts

mediasmarts.ca1-800-896-3342

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Documents

Media Education Approaches