media education: today you will learn...

Media Education: Today You Will

Learn About:

1. Young people and media

2. What is media literacy?

© 2006 Media Awareness Network

3. Media education approaches

The ABC’s of Brands


The ABC’s of Brands

•Corporate branding is just one aspect of media to which we are exposed. •We are familiar with branding from an early age.

•Babies as young as six months can form


•Babies as young as six months can form mental images of corporate logos and mascots.•Brand loyalties can be established as early as age two, and by the time children head off to school most can recognize hundreds of brand logos.

Young People and Media

Media messages help shape their perceptions.

Media are powerful forces in the lives of youth.


shape their perceptions.


• access the Net from home

• have MP3 players

• have their own connected computer


• have webcams

• Cell phones


Camera cell phones

interactivity

MESSAGE BOARDS

E-zinesChat rooms

In the digital media environment, children have access to information and entertainment from around the world.children learn new technologies effortlessly, multi-tasking through a complex mix of sound, graphics, text and images.

They have become managers, creators and distributors of


The WebText messaging

Multi-player

videogamesBLOGS

Webcams

Personal Web sites

MP3s

emailInstant messaging

They have become managers, creators and distributors of information.


•While many adults struggle with new technologies, teens and children embrace them, learning intuitively or from their peers.


their peers.

•They multi-task effortlessly through the complex mix of sound, graphics, text and images.


As children 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.

•In other words, they need media literacy skills.

What is Media Literacy?

• the ability to access, analyze,evaluate and produce media

• the process of becoming active, rather than passive, consumers

Media literacy is:


rather than passive, consumers of media


Recognize bias and stereotyping.

Media literacy can include being able to :


Differentiate between media violence and real world violence.


Read “between the lines” of junk food advertising


Differentiate between entertainment and marketing


Question the connections between entertainment

and self-image



Understand how news is constructed



Produce media texts for civic engagement

…being able to:


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)

Media Education


Source: Media Education: Literacy, Learning

and Contemporary Culture


1. Learning hands-on production techniques

2. Recognizing how elements of a specific medium convey meaning

Media education includes:


3. Thinking critically about media issues and media influences

Source: Ontario Media Literacy Resource Guide


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.

Media Education in Canada


as part of the English curriculum.

• By 1999, media education was a mandated part of ELA curriculum across Canada.


Who can teach media literacy? You can!

The topic of media is energizing and engaging for students.

1




2 Because media is a shared experience, teachers and students can find common ground.




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?



4 Media literacy outcomes (expectations) are in the core curriculums of every province and territory, from K-12.




5 Media education is multidisciplinary and can be integrated across several subject areas.


areas.


Most media educators use Key concepts of media literacy provide

a theoretical base for all media literacy programs and give

teachers a common language and framework for discussion.



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


exploring factors and decisions on how they were made.


Audiences negotiate meaning

We all bring our own experience to media we encounter.

Media literacy helps us understand how individual factors affect


how individual factors affect interpretation.


Media have commercial implications

Media industries belong to a powerful network of corporations that exert influence on content and distribution.



Values and ideological messages

underpin all media

Media convey messages about values, power and authority.



Each medium has a unique

aesthetic form

Each type of media has its own grammar and elements that shape reality in a unique way.


MEANINGS

Media Studies Triangle

AudienceText

• denotation

• connotation

• commodity

• codes

• genre

• values • psychology

• textual competence

• gender

• culture

• social function


Source: Media Studies K-12 DRAFT © Toronto District School Board

• technology

Production

• codes & practises• finance

• control • ownership• distribution • legality

• commodity

• intertextuality


Audience

Text

Production

Media Studies

Triangle



Media Studies

Triangle Text

• What kind of text is it?

• In what ways does this media text tell a story?


• In what ways does this media text tell a story?

• What type or category of story is it?


Media Studies

Triangle Text

• Does it follow a formula?

• What are the conventions used?


• What are the conventions used?


Media Studies

Triangle Text

• What are the characters like? Are there any stereotypes?


• What values are being promoted?

• How is this done?


Media Studies

Triangle Text

• Whose point of view do the values represent?

• Are my values represented?


• Are my values represented?

• Why or why not?


Media Studies

Triangle Audience

• Who is the target audience for this media text?

• How can I tell?


• How can I tell?

• How and why does this media text appeal to its target audience?

• How does this media text appeal to me?


Media Studies

Triangle Audience

• What things do I like and dislike about it?

• In what different ways do people use or consume


• In what different ways do people use or consume this media text?

• How would I change the media text to make it more enjoyable?


Media Studies

Triangle Production

• Who produced this media text, and for what purpose?


• How can I influence the production of this kind of media?


Media Studies

Triangle Production

• How is this text distributed or sold to the public? Who profits?


• How was the text made?


Media Studies

Triangle Production

• What production techniques are used?

• What rules and laws affect the media text?


• What rules and laws affect the media text?

• How could I create a similar media text?


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

Media Education in Action


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.


Start young

Many of the topics that media education addresses are central to healthy

development and can be addressed starting in the primary grades.



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.

English Language Arts



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


the use of the Internet for research.


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.


representation.


Family Studies

Students can compare television’s construction of family to families in the real world.



Technology

ICT topics can include search and assessment skills, electronic privacy, plagiarism and the cultural, economic and social impacts of technology.



Global Studies and Civics

In Global Studies, students can explore the representation of developing countries in news media and how sensational stories can fuel the perspective that people in developing nations are helpless victims.

A Civics class can examine the connections between media and politics including the following:

• discussions about “spin”;

• media styles of politicians; and


nations are helpless victims.• media styles of politicians; and

• media ownership and political reporting.


The Arts

Visual Arts: Media text as an art form, journalistic communication, and digital manipulation and special effects.

Music: Value messages,


Music: Value messages, representation and celebrity culture in popular music,and how the business side influences which artist is hot.


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.



Media education can also provide a new doorway to learning for students who don’t normally excel in school.

Alternative learning


normally excel in school.

Media Education in Action: Ready, set, go

Keep it positive


Avoid moralizing


My Favourites – Mike W.

Magazine: unknown

Book: Calvin & Hobbes

Magazine: bop, j-14

Book: Sweet 16

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


Book: Calvin & Hobbes

Movie: Speed

TV Show: Cops & Simpsons

Toy: Laser pointer

Game: Grand Theft Auto

Music Artist/Group: Green Day

Song: Holiday & American Idiot

Brand: unknown

Food: Pizza and sugar

Interests: Transportation

Aspirations: Airline owner

Book: Sweet 16

Movie: Thirteen

TV Show: 7th Heaven, The OC

Toy: My little teddy bear

Game: The Sims 2

Music Artist/Group: Kelly Clarkson

Song: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Brand: Converse, etnies

Food: Pizza

Interests: Music

Hobbies: Devin ☺

Aspirations: Lawyer


Familiarize yourself with youth media

On television • music channels • entertainment programs • sports • cartoons

In the community • music and video stores


In the community • music and video stores• vintage and fashion stores• comic book stores • malls

Online • instant messaging technology• social networking sites • file-sharing sites and programs• children’ favourite Web sites


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.


deconstruct.


Commercialization in education

The hallways and classrooms of our schools can also provide teachable moment opportunities.

• Logo-free day


• Commercialism walk-through


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


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 toaddress consumption and consumerism


Creating content gives students insights into the decisions and the process of media production.



Educate students about the mechanisms in place

through which they can make formal complaints or

speak out in support of good-quality media.


good-quality media.


Students can challenge negative youth stereotypes in the media by promoting more

positive and balanced portrayals.



Parents are important partners

• Learn more about media

• Familiarize yourself with your child’s media

• Talk to teachers and parent


• Talk to teachers and parent councils

• Invite media professionals

• Organize a parent workshop

media education: today you will learn...

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