Lee Rother, PhD
irother@swlauriersb.qc.ca
WHAT IS
MEDIA EDUCATION?
WHAT MEDIA EDUCATION IS NOT
• Not only teaching through and with
media
• Media bashing
• Protectionist
• Video production only
• Study of television only
• Audio-visual only
MEDIA EDUCATION
ADDRESSES
•
How we understand and consume
information.
•
How we construct our identity in both
social and school/workplace worlds.
•
The abilities citizens/workers must have in
the 21st century knowledge and global
economy.
MEDIA & DIGITAL LITERACY
The skills to responsibly use
appropriate technology to
access, synthesize, evaluate,
communicate and create
information to solve problems
and improve learning in all
subject areas.
A CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH
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Teaching ABOUT media
How meaning is created
Cross-discipline
Active exploration
Knowledge based
Builds on prior knowledge
Inquiry and research process
Collaboration/teamwork
Hands on/active
Real world issues/authentic audience
Sets of skills, knowledge, & abilities
BENEFITS
•
•
•
•
•
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Bridges the ‘quantum leap’
Acts as an ‘equalizer’
Media are common experience
Comfortable and familiar
Active learning
Encourages expression through print &
non-print texts and languages
• Motivates through issues relevant to
students
• Keeps me young
MEDIA EDUCATION KEY CONCEPTS
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Media construct reality
•
Audiences negotiate meaning
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All media texts contain value and
ideological messages
•
All media texts have commercial
implications
MEDIA CONSTRUCT REALITY
HOW DO WE RECOGNISE and
UNDERSTAND TEXTS?
How do you know what it means?
What sort of text is it?
Who produced it and why?
What techniques were used?
Who might see it & in what context?
What is the message?
FRAMING
DENOTATION
CONOTATION
VISUAL CUES
AUDITORY CUES
Slide/camera activity
WAIT FOR ME!
ME
STUPID MZUNGI
Don’t judge too quickly
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
AUDIENCES NEGOTIATE MEANING
 At
whom is the text aimed and how
do we know this?
 Audience decode cultural and
media codes
 Multiple readings
 Dominant & oppositional readings
 Based on age, gender, social
economic status, etc, what response
might they make of the text?
Barbie,
ALL MEDIA TEXTS HAVE
IDEOLOGICAL AND VALUES
MESSAGES
What is the message?
Whose interests are being served in the
message?
NO TEXT IS NEUTRAL
How does this apply to school
texts?
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TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
NAME THE MAGAZINE
THE ERA
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TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™
and
QuickTime™ and
a a
(Uncompressed) decompressor
TIFF TIFF
(Uncompressed)
decompressor
neededto
to see
see this
picture.
are are
needed
this
picture.
watches
OPPOSITIONAL ADS
AD BUSTERS
ALL MEDIA TEXTS ARE SUBJECT
TO COMMERCIAL CONTROL
•
Why was the product produced?
•
Who benefits economically from the
product ?
•
Who owns the product ?
•
What legal implications are there ?
Cards
Comics
ANALYZING A TEXT
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
•
What kind of text is it?
•
How do we know this?
•
What kinds of conventions are followed?
•
What kind of techniques are used to
attract my attention?
MEDIA LITERACY FRAMEWORK
(Eddie Dick, Scotland)
PRODUCTION
Media messages have commercial implications
Media have value & ideological implications
READING/ANALYZING
PRODUCTION
WRITING/PRODUCING
distribution
ownership
technology
codes & practices
legality
control
finance
I fully realise that I have not succeeded in
answering all of your questions. Indeed, I
feel that I have not answered any of them
completely.
The answers I have found only serve to
raise a whole new set of questions; which
only lead to new issues, some of which we
weren’t even aware were issues.
To sum it all up…in some ways we are as
confused as ever, but on a higher level and
about more important things.