Canadian Association
of Media Education
Organizations
Canadian Association
of Media Education
Organizations
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education: Make It Happen!
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
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
The ABC’s of Brands
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Young People and Media
Media are powerful forces
in the lives of youth.
Media messages help
shape their perceptions.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Young People and Media
• 75% watch TV daily
• 48% have their own TV
• 60% play video games
each day
• 42% watch several
videos each week
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Young People and Media
• 94% access the Net from home
• 37% have their own connected
computer
• 41% have MP3 players
• 22% have webcams
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Young People and Media
Camera cell phones
message boards
interactivity
E-zines
Chat rooms
In
Kids
thelearn
digital
new
media
technologies
environment,
effortlessly,
kids have
multi-tasking
access to
information
through a complex
and entertainment
mix of sound,
from
graphics,
around text
the world.
and images.
They have become managers, creators and distributors of
information.
BLOGS
Webcams
Instant messaging
Text messaging
The Web
Multi-player
videogames
MP3s
email
Personal Web sites
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
What is Media Literacy?
Media literacy is:
• the ability to access, analyze,
evaluate and produce media
• the process of becoming active,
rather than passive, consumers
of media
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
What is Media Literacy?
Recognize bias
and stereotyping.
Differentiate between media
violence and real world
violence.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
What is Media Literacy?
Read “between the lines” of
junk food advertising
Differentiate between entertainment
and marketing
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
What is Media Literacy?
Question the connections
between entertainment
and self-image
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
What is Media Literacy?
Understand how news
is constructed
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
What is Media Literacy?
Produce media texts for
civic engagement
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Media Education
“ 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
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Media education includes:
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
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Media Education in Canada
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.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Who can teach media literacy? You can!
1
The topic of media is
energizing and engaging
for students.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Who can teach media literacy? You can!
2
Because media is a shared experience,
teachers and students can find
common ground.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
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?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Who can teach media literacy? You can!
4
Media literacy outcomes (expectations)
are in the core curriculums of every
province and territory, from K-12.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Who can teach media literacy? You can!
5
Media education is
multidisciplinary
and can be integrated
across several subject
areas.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
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.
Source: Ontario Media Literacy Resource Guide
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Audiences negotiate meaning
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
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Media have commercial implications
Media industries belong to a powerful
network of corporations that exert influence
on content and distribution.
Source: Ontario Media Literacy Resource Guide
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Values and ideological messages
underpin all media
Media convey messages about values,
power and authority.
Source: Ontario Media Literacy Resource Guide
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Each medium has a unique
aesthetic form
Each type of media has its own grammar and
elements that shape reality in a unique way.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Studies Triangle
Text
• denotation
• connotation
• codes
• values
• genre
Audience
MEANINGS
• culture
• gender
• textual competence
• psychology
• social function
• commodity
• intertextuality
Production
• codes & practises
• finance
• control
• distribution
• technology
• ownership
• legality
Source: Media Studies K-12 DRAFT © Toronto District School Board
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Text
Audience
Production
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Text
• Does it follow a formula?
• What are the conventions used?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Text
• Whose point of view do the values represent?
• Are my values represented?
• Why or why not?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education Approaches
Media Studies
Triangle
Production
• How is this text distributed or sold to the public?
Who profits?
• How was the text made?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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?
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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.
Text
Audience
Production
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
Start young
Many of the topics that media education
addresses are central to healthy
development and can be addressed
starting in the primary grades.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
English Language Arts
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.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
Social Studies
Topics can include media
representation, the role of
media in promoting cultural
identity and issues related to
the use of the Internet for
research.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
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.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
Family Studies
Students can compare television’s
construction of family to families
in the real world.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
Technology
ICT topics can include search and assessment
skills, electronic privacy, plagiarism and the
cultural, economic and social impacts of
technology.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
Global Studies and Civics
A Civics
In
Globalclass
Studies,
canstudents
examine can
the connections
explore the between
representation
media
and politics
of developing
including the
countries
following:
in
news
media and
how“spin”;
sensational stories can
• discussions
about
fuel the perspective that people in developing
•nations
media styles
of politicians;
are helpless
victims.and
• media ownership and political
reporting.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
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.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
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.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Course Connections
Alternative learning
Media education can
also provide a new
doorway to learning for
students who don’t
normally excel in school.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
Keep it positive
Avoid moralizing
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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.
My Favourites – Jessie
Mike W.
Magazine: bop,
j-14
unknown
Book:
Sweet
16Hobbes
Calvin &
Movie:
Thirteen
Speed
TV Show:
7th
Heaven,
The OC
Cops
& Simpsons
Toy:
My
little
teddy bear
Laser
pointer
Game:
The
Sims
2 Auto
Grand
Theft
Music Artist/Group: Kelly
GreenClarkson
Day
Song:
Smells
Teen Spirit
HolidayLike
& American
Idiot
Brand:
Converse,
unknown etnies
Food:
Pizza and sugar
Interests:
Music
Transportation
Hobbies:
Aspirations: Devin
Airline 
owner
Aspirations: Lawyer
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
Familiarize yourself with youth media
On television
•
•
•
•
In the community •
•
•
•
Online
•
•
•
•
music channels
entertainment programs
sports
cartoons
music and video stores
vintage and fashion stores
comic book stores
malls
instant messaging technology
social networking sites
file-sharing sites and programs
kids’ favourite Web sites
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
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
• TV-Turnoff Week:
A jumping-off point for students to log and
examine their own TV viewing habits
• Special Occasions: The start of the school year, Christmas and
graduation can provide opportunities to
address consumption and consumerism
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
Creating content gives students
insights into the decisions and the
process of media production.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
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.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
Students can challenge negative youth
stereotypes in the media by promoting more
positive and balanced portrayals.
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
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
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go
How teachers can get involved and
learn more
Join your provincial media education association.
To learn more about media education, visit the
following Web sites:
• Media Awareness Network,
www.media-awareness.ca
• Association for Media Literacy,
www.aml.ca
• Concerned Children's Advertisers,
www.cca-kids.ca
© 2006 Media Awareness Network
This workshop has been produced by
For more information, contact:
Media Awareness Network
www.media-awareness.ca
1-800-896-3342
info@media-awareness.ca
© 2006 Media Awareness Network