The boundaries of classrooms are beginning to soften; students’ prior knowledge is more likely to be acknowledged and honored; the need to prepare students for lifelong learning – and to meet them where they are – all are indicative of a movement towards the type of pedagogy that media literacy fosters and delivers. This issue includes interviews with education entrepreneurs from: School on Wheels, Los Angeles; Ace Preparatory Academy, Indiannapolis; Da Vinci Charter Schools, Southern California.
This issue pays tribute to the leadership and vision of Elizabeth Thoman, CML Founder and media literacy pioneer. Media literacy collegues expressed their gratitude for Thoman’s courage and commitment to the field of media literacy, and expressed optimism in building upon her vision and legacy. Included is an introduction by Ann McMullen on leadership, and reflections by Dr. Henry Jenkins, University of Southern California (USC), and Dr. Bobbie Eisenstock, California State University, Northridge (CSUN). MediaLit Moments activity is based upon Elizabeth Thoman's "feminist currency."
This issue continues our discussion of the power shift in the media ecosystem, and what it means to be a citizen in a digital age. CML interviewed two digital literacy advocates – Kimberly Brodie, Founder/CEO of The Digital Peace Project, and Alan Simpson from iKeepSafe.
CML is sad to inform our readers of the death of Elizabeth Thoman. Thoman was a pioneer and visionary who founded the Center for Media Literacy in 1989.
This issue focuses on the 2016 presidential election, where technology is going and the challenges that we face in teaching about it. CML interviewed two media literacy advocates – Stephen Balkam from Family Online Safety Institute and Tara O’Gorman, a teacher from a media literacy magnet school in New York. Also includes resources and MediaLit Moments Activity on Fake News. This is Part 1 of a series on Citizenship in the Digital Age.
This month we continue to explore Education and The Creative Economy by featuring exciting initiatives being undertaken in Australia, where media literacy is now embedded in the national curriculum through media arts, and where the Australian government has prioritized supporting and growing the creative economy. CML interviewed two Australian education/media literacy leaders, one who works in higher education – Michael Dezuanni -- and the other in secondary education, Roger Dunscombe.
This issue continues our theme of Children and Media Literacy. This month we publish an article Media Literacy Education: A Preschool Imperative for Building Resiliency by a panel of four experts who engaged in an online and offline commentary, which they edited collaboratively.
In this issue of Connections, we discuss the art and craft of documentary, a genre which utilizes techniques that differ widely from fiction film, including investigation and presentation of evidence, interviews, moral inquiry, calls to action, presentation of human relationships for emotional impact, and much more. The MediaLit Moments activity is He Named Me Malala. The activity uses the 2015 documentary of the same name.
The constructed nature of media is highly visible in examples of human rights coverage – from genocide to disabilities to incidents of civic rights violations. CML offers diverse examples of construction at work. This issue also includes highlights from the first US Media Literacy Week as well as an interview with Robert Ferguson about his work with Roma populations in the UK.
Active participation by citizens. Local community engagement. Expanding media access to all. Empowerment through education. Tackling tough issues in communities. Freedom of speech. Storytelling. Citizen journalism. Understanding media and how it operates. Where do all of these important undertakings – essential to media literacy -- happen? In community media centers around the U.S. and the world. In this issue we provide two case examples of community media centers and their commitment to media literacy education: one in Dublin, Ireland and one in Brookline, Massachusetts.
In 2006 Henry Jenkins published a white paper identifying the challenges and opportunities for media literacy in our 21st century media culture. Since then, new ideas, new technologies, and new names have emerged bringing with them misunderstandings and rifts among educators. It’s time to reflect on where we’ve been and where we are now.