Canadian Association of Media Education
Organizations

Canadian Association of Media Education
Organizations
© 2013 MediaSmarts

1.
Young people and media
2.
What is media literacy?
3. Media education approaches
4. Media education in action: a) Course connections b) Ready, set, go

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Young People and Media
Media are powerful forces in the lives of youth.
Media messages help shape their perceptions.
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Young People and Media
Canadian 10- to 16-year-olds get 6:37 hours of screen time per day:
• television (2:39 hours)
• computers (2:07 hours)
• video games (1:51 hours)
(2009-10 HBSC)
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Young People and Media
• 99% can access the Net outside of school
• 68% access the Internet through portable computers
• 49% own or have access to cell phones
• 85% of Grade 11 students own their own cell phones
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Young People and Media
Tweeting
Chat rooms
Social networking
Selfies videos
They have become managers, creators and distributors of information.
BLOGS
Facetime
Text messaging
Webcams
Forums
MP3s
Multi-player videogames
Personal Web sites
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Young People and Media
As kids interact with media they absorb knowledge about the world, themselves and others.
Young people need to develop knowledge, values, critical thinking, communication and information management skills.
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What is Media Literacy?
• the ability to access, analyze,
evaluate and produce media
• the process of becoming active, rather than passive, consumers of media
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What is Media Literacy?
Recognize bias and stereotyping.
Differentiate between media violence and real world violence.
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What is Media Literacy?
Read “between the lines” of junk food advertising
Differentiate between entertainment and marketing
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What is Media Literacy?
Question the connections between entertainment and self-image
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What is Media Literacy?
Understand how news is constructed
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What is Media Literacy?
Produce media texts for civic engagement
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Media Education Approaches
“ The process of teaching and learning about media. While media literacy is the outcome
– the knowledge and skills learners acquire.”
(David Buckingham)
Source: Media Education: Literacy, Learning and Contemporary Culture
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Media Education Approaches
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
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Media Education Approaches
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.
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Media Education Approaches
1 The topic of media is energizing and engaging for students.
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Media Education Approaches
2 Because media is a shared experience, teachers and students can find common ground.
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Media Education Approaches
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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Media Education Approaches
4 Media literacy outcomes (expectations) are in the core curriculums of every province and territory, from K-12.
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Media Education Approaches
5 Media education is multidisciplinary and can be integrated across several subject areas.
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Media Education Approaches
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 Education Approaches
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.
Source: Ontario Media Literacy
Resource Guide
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Media Education Approaches
We all bring our own experience to media we encounter.
Media literacy helps us understand how individual factors affect interpretation.
Source: Ontario Media Literacy
Resource Guide
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Media Education Approaches
Media industries belong to a powerful network of corporations that exert influence on content and distribution.
Source: Ontario Media Literacy Resource Guide
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Media Education Approaches
Media convey messages about values, power and authority.
Source: Ontario Media Literacy Resource Guide
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Media Education Approaches
Each type of media has its own grammar and elements that shape reality in a unique way.
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Text
• denotation
• connotation
• codes
• values
• genre
• commodity
• intertextuality
Audience
MEANINGS
• culture
• gender
• textual competence
• psychology
• social function
Production
• codes & practises
• finance
• control
• distribution
• technology
• ownership
• legality
Source: Media Studies K-12 DRAFT © Toronto District School Board
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Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Audience
Text
Production
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Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Text
• 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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Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Text
• Does it follow a formula?
• What are the conventions used?
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Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Text
• What are the characters like?
Are there any stereotypes?
• What values are being promoted?
• How is this done?
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Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Text
• Whose point of view do the values represent?
• Are my values represented?
• Why or why not?
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Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Audience
• 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?
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Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Audience
• What things do I like and dislike about it?
• In what different ways do people use or consume this media text?
• How would I change the media text to make it more enjoyable?
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Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Production
• Who produced this media text, and for what purpose?
• How can I influence the production of this kind of media?
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Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Production
• How is this text distributed or sold to the public?
• Who profits?
• How was the text made?
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Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Production
• 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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Media Education Approaches
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: Course Connections
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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Media Education in Action: Course Connections
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 Education in Action: Course Connections
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.
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Media Education in Action: Course Connections
Topics 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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Media Education in Action: Course Connections
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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Media Education in Action: Course Connections
Students can compare television’s construction of family to families in the real world.
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Media Education in Action: Course Connections
ICT topics can include search and assessment skills, electronic privacy, plagiarism and the cultural, economic and social impacts of technology.
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Media Education in Action: Course Connections
• news media and how sensational stories can
• fuel the perspective that people in developing nations are helpless victims.
• media ownership and political reporting.
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Media Education in Action: Course Connections
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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Media Education in Action: Course Connections
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 in Action: Course Connections
Media education can also provide a new doorway to learning for students who don’t normally excel in school.
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Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
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Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
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.
Magazine: unknown
TV Show: Cops & Simpsons
Music Artist/Group: Green Day
Interests: Transportation
Aspirations: Airline owner
Aspirations: Lawyer
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Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
General media
• television
• music
• movies
• books and magazines
Online
• social networking
• microblogging
• video-sharing
• favourite Web sites
In the Community • vintage and independent fashion stores
• chain fashion stores
• comic book stores
• sports stores
• coffee shops
• movie theatres
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Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
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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Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
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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Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
• 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 to address consumption and consumerism
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Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
Creating content gives students insights into the decisions and the process of media production.
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Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
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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Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
Students can challenge negative youth stereotypes in the media by promoting more positive and balanced portrayals.
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Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
• 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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Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
Join 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
MediaSmarts mediasmarts.ca
1-800-896-3342 info@mediasmarts.ca
© 2014 MediaSmarts