Media Literacy & Learning:
Making Connections for All Students
Frank Baker
Media educator
Fbaker1346@aol.com
Media Literacy Clearinghouse
http://www.frankwbaker.com
Media Literacy & Learning:
Making Connections for All Students
Media savvy, but not media-literate
Media Literacy & Learning:
Making Connections for All Students
Kids & Media ( Kids age 6-14 )
69% have TVs in their bedrooms
49% have videogames
46% have VCRs
37% have DVD players
35% have cable or satellite TV
24% have PC (personal computers)
18% have Internet access
"U.S. Multicultural Kids Study 2005."
Media Literacy & Learning:
Making Connections for All Students
“Our students are growing up in a world
saturated with media messages…yet they
(and their teachers) receive little or no
training in the skills of analyzing or reevaluating these messages, many of
which make use of language, moving
images, music, sound effects”
Source: R. Hobbs, Journal Adult & Adolescent Literacy, February 2004
“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
their relationship with 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, media educator
Media literacy recommended:
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American Assn of School Libraries
Cable in The Classroom
Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development
Natl Board of Prof Teaching Standards
National Council of Teachers of English
National Middle School Assn
And more…
Media Literacy & Learning:
Making Connections for All Students
What is media literacy?
Take the next few minutes to draft your own,
personal definition, after which we will share.
Media Literacy & Learning:
Making Connections for All Students
“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,
how they are organized, 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
What media literacy is:
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Set of skills, knowledge, & abilities
Awareness of personal media habits
Understanding of how media works
Appreciation of media’s power/influence
Ability to discern; critically question/view
How meaning is created in media
Healthy skepticism
Access to media
Ability to produce & create media
What media literacy is not:
media bashing
 “protection” against media
 just about television
 just TV production
 how to use AV equipment
 only teaching with media;
it is teaching about the media
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Video: EL
Media Literacy: Ohio ENGLISH
Communication: Oral & Visual Standard
B. Explain a speaker’s point of view
and use of persuasive techniques in
presentations and visual media.
Media Literacy: Ohio ENGLISH
Grade 6
B. Analyze the techniques used by
speakers and media to influence an
audience, and evaluate the effect this
has on the credibility of a speaker or
media message.
Media Literacy: Ohio ENGLISH
Grade 8
2. Determine the credibility of the
speaker (e.g., hidden agendas, slanted
or biased material) and recognize
fallacies of reasoning used in
presentations and media messages
Media Literacy: Ohio Social Studies
9th Grade
-identify sources of propaganda, describe
the most common techniques, and
explain how propaganda is used to
influence behavior
Media Literacy: Ohio HEALTH
Draft Standards
Grade 6
ATOD
Instructional Objectives
Motivators:
Investigate how alcohol/tobacco
company ads target young people
Media Literacy: Ohio Visual Art
Benchmark C Grade 8
4. Identify examples of visual culture
(e.g. advertising, political cartoons,
product design, theme parks)
and discuss how visual art is used to
shape people's tastes, choices, values,
lifestyles, buying habits and opinions.
Media Literacy: Ohio LIBRARY
Benchmark A: Explain the intended effect of
media communications and messages when
delivered by various audiences & for various
purposes
Benchmark B: Examine a variety of elements and
components used to create and construct media
communications for various audiences and &
various purposes
Benchmark C: Critique and evaluate the intended
impact of media communications and messages
when delivered and received by society as a whole
Media literacy aims to:
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help students become independent thinkers
teach critical inquiry, critical thinking and
critical viewing
involve them in hands-on work, including the
creation and production of media
engage students in meaningful, relevant
issues ( i.e. world, community, citizenship)
have students working together as part of a
team
Benefits of media literacy
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Interdisciplinary and easy to integrate into key
elements of existing/emerging curriculum
Inquiry-based and consistent with reflective
teaching and critical thinking
Includes hands-on experiential learning and is
consistent with learning styles research
Benefits of media literacy
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Works well in teams and groups, fostering
cooperative learning
Proven successful in appealing to at-risk
students & in improving retention rates
Compatible with SCANS (Secretary’s
Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills)
and fosters employment opportunities
Benefits of media literacy
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Connects the curriculum of the classroom to
the curriculum of the living room
A Framework for studying media
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Media
Media
Media
Media
Media
Media
agencies: who communicates & why
categories: what type of text (genres)
technologies: how it is produced?
languages: meanings
audiences: who receives it
representations: how is it presented
Media literacy: key concepts
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All media are Constructed
Media use languages with their own set of
rules
Media convey values & points-of-view
Audiences negotiate meaning
Media= power + profit
Source: Center for Media Literacy
Key Concepts: Media Literacy
1. All media are constructed
media construct versions of reality
Key Concepts: Media Literacy
Key Concepts: Media Literacy
2. Media use languages with their own set of rules
Language of film
Camera work
Lighting
Editing
Sets
Sound/music
Costumes
Expressions
Key Concepts: Media Literacy
3. Media convey values & points-of-view
Key Concepts: Media Literacy
4. Audiences negotiate
meaning
(different
people see the
same message
differently)
Key Concepts: Media Literacy
5. Media= power + profit
ABC (Disney)
CBS/UPN
CNN (AOL/Time Warner)
FOX (News Corp)
NBC (NBC/Universal)
VIACOM
What is the purpose of TV?
The purpose of television is…..
to drive audience (eyeballs) to
advertisers
Change this sentence
This program is
brought to you
by the sponsor.
You are
brought to the
sponsor by the
program.
Critical inquiry: asking questions
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Who created/paid for the message? (author)
Why was it produced? (purpose)
For whom? (target audience)
What techniques are used?
What lifestyles are promoted?
Who benefits?
Does it contain bias or stereotypes?
Who/what might be omitted and why?
A media literacy continuum
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Photographs (Visual literacy)
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Advertisements with embedded images
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Moving images (TV and film)
Media literacy & Bloom’s Taxonomy
Media Literacy
Access
Analyze
Interpret
Produce
Similar Bloom’s Language
Identify, recognize
Understand, deconstruct
Clarify, paraphrase, represent
Generate, design, construct
Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy
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COGNITIVE PROCESS DIMENSION
Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Evaluate
Create
Bloom’s REMEMBER
Recognize, Recall
IN MEDIA LITERACY, STUDENTS NEED TO
KNOW BOTH THE CORE CONCEPTS &
CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
STUDENTS KNOW BIAS, PROPAGANDA,
TECHNIQUES OF PERSUASION, etc.
Bloom’s UNDERSTAND
Construct meaning from….graphic
communication
 You students represent verbal information
visually?
TAKING PAGE FROM A STORY AND
CREATING A MOVIE STORYBOARD OF THE
SCENE
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Bloom’s APPLY
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Can students use information in another
situation?
TAKE MEDIA LITERACY KNOWLEDGE AND
APPLY IT TO NEWS, ADS, WEBSITES,
Bloom’s ANALYZE
Break it down into its parts and how they relate to
one another
Differentiating, Organizing, Attributing
Bloom’s EVALUATE
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To make judgments based on criteria
Can students make and justify a decision or
course of action?
WHAT TECHNIQUES ARE USED TO PRODUCE
THIS MEDIA MESSAGE?
Bloom’s CREATE
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Can students generate new products, ideas or
ways of viewing things?
Generating, Planning, Producing
STUDENTS CREATE MEDIA AFTER
LEARNING HOW MEDIA OPERATE
ML Concepts~ Bloom’s
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All media are constructed
In what ways are media messages put together
Who does the constructions and how
Students create/produce their own media
ML Concepts~ Bloom’s
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Media utilize unique languages with their own
set of rules
In what ways are media “languages” ?
What rules apply to different media?
ML Concepts~ Bloom’s
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Media convey values and points-of-view
Understand how media communicate values
What techniques do they use?
How do media producers convey points of view?
ML Concepts~ Bloom’s
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Audiences negotiate meaning (different people
see the same media message differently)
Apply knowledge to different situations