The document discusses the importance of a global media literacy research community and highlights various international perspectives on media literacy education. It emphasizes the challenges and opportunities in different countries, including Russia, Brazil, Israel, the United States, and Turkey, in fostering media literacy innovation. Key themes include the need for collaboration, the significance of cultural contexts, and the impact of digital literacy skills on education.

1. Going Global?
International Perspectives on Innovation
in Media Literacy Education
Renee Hobbs
Media Education Summit, Prague
November 20, 2014

2. Do We Really Need a
Global Media Literacy Research
Community?

3. TOO MANY
DIFFERENCES?

5. We advance the quality of digital and
media literacy education through scholarship
and community service.
Teacher in-service workshops
Media literacy & media
production programs with youth
Graduate certificate program
Curriculum development
Research and evaluation
Advocacy and community
building

6. PEER-TO-PEER FILE SHARING
Theoretical Framework
Communication & Education. Institutions of education and
communication are interconnected in ways that may support democracy.
Inquiry Learning. People develop intellectual curiosity by asking
questions about what they experience in daily life.
Critical Pedagogy. Awareness, analysis, and reflection enable people to
take action to make society more just and equitable.
Medium Theory. Media & technology are immersive cultural, political and
economic environments; media structures re-shape human perception &
values.
Active Audience Theory. Meaning-making is variable; lived experience
& social context shape practices of interpretation.

7. expanding the concept of literacy
ACCESS
CREATE ACT
ANALYZEE
REFLECT
ACCESS

8. expanding the concept of text

9. expanding variety of approaches and terms
SKILLS & ABILITIES
➢ Computer Use and Knowledge
➢ ICT Skills & Digital Skills
LITERACY
➢ Online Reading & New Literacies
➢ Media Production / Youth Media
➢ Coding
TEACHING WITH
➢ Technology Integration
➢ Digital Learning
➢ Blended Learning
➢ Connected Learning
TEACHING ABOUT
➢ Information Literacy
➢ Media Literacy
➢ Internet Safety & Digital Citizenship

10. EDUCATION CREATIVE ARTS
GOVERNMENT CIVIL SOCIETY ORGS
TECH INDUSTRY ACTIVIST
expanding variety of stakeholders

11. expanding variety of motivations and values

12. www.powerfulvoicesforkids.com
DIGITAL HOROSCOPE QUIZ

13. Do We Really Need a
Global Media Literacy Research
Community?

14. Who?
Where?
What?
How?
Why?
What are some
of the most important
differences?
What are some
of the most important
similarities?

15. The Need For Global Innovation
● Shifting definitions of digital & media literacy
● New forms of media industry centralization
● Global tensions & competition on the rise
● Increased politicization of education
● Growing gap between in-school and out-of-school
learning
● Uneven access to technology and competencies

16. International
Visiting Scholars and
Graduate Students
 Sait Tuzel, Turkey
 Yonty Friesem, Israel
 Rawia AlHumaidan, Kuwait
 Elizaveta Friesem, Russia
 Wen Xu, China
 Silke Grafe, Germany
 Haixia He, China
 Carla Viana Coscarelli, Brazil
 Ibrahim Bilici, Turkey
 Damiano Felini, Italy
 Marketa Zezulkova, Czech Republic

17. International
Visiting Scholars and
Graduate Students
 Sait Tuzel, Turkey
 Yonty Friesem, Israel
 Rawia AlHumaidan, Kuwait
 Elizaveta Friesem, Russia
 Wen Xu, China
 Silke Grafe, Germany
 Haixia He, China
 Carla Viana Coscarelli, Brazil
 Ibrahim Bilici, Turkey
 Damiano Felini, Italy
 Marketa Zezulkova, Czech Republic

18. What Can be Learned Through
Cross-National Comparison of
Media Literacy Initiatives?

20. Russia
Challenges
● Media literacy is conceptualized as protection
against bad [Western] media
● Disparities in access to technology
● National curriculum with strong lecture tradition
and teacher-centered focus
Opportunities
● Active university research community
● Film clubs and youth film production tradition is
significant
● Access to digital technology enables global
conversations between educators & students

22. Innovation in Media Literacy Education
is Deeply Situational & Contextual

23. Brazil
Challenges
● Little tradition of interdisciplinary work
● Disparities in access to technology
● Little focus on media/technology in teacher
education
Opportunities
● Strong tradition of innovation in literacy
education
● Government financial support for technology
● Deep appreciation of connections between
formal & informal learning

24. Project Redigir
SOURCE: Redigir http://www.letras.ufmg.br/redigir/

26. Israel
Challenges
● Diverse purposes and goals for media literacy
education
● Religious diversity contributes to disparities
● Lack of connection between K-12, research and
university scholars in education or media studies
Opportunities
● Elective courses in Media are normative
● Venture capital & entrepreneurship in edtech
● Government financial support for innovation in
education, media and technology sectors
● Growing appreciation of connections between formal
& informal learning

28. Small Scale Programs Contribute to
Innovation When Experience is Shared
Authentically within the Knowledge
Community

29. United States
Challenges
● Digital and media literacy definitions are divergent
● Local control of schools lead to significant disparities
● Testing culture discourages innovation
Opportunities
● Specialists including librarians & technology specialists
may support innovation
● Venture capital & entrepreneurship in edtech : new
digital resources
● Growing appreciation of connections between formal
& informal learning
● Wide variety of PD experiences and providers with
many connections between university, K-12 & research

30. Supporting Language Learning through
Advertising Analysis Activities
Six-week teacher action research project designed to explore
media literacy pedagogy in the context of ESL with new
immigrants to the United States
Subjects: High-School students ages 14 – 19 enrolled in the
Newcomer Program at Benjamin Rush HS, Philadelphia
RESEARCH METHODS
Classroom observation
Interviews with teachers
Analysis of student work samples
SOURCE: Hobbs, R., He, H. & RobbGreico, M. (2014) Seeing, Believing and Learning to be Skeptical:
Supporting Language Learning through Advertising Analysis Activities. TESOL Journal.

31. CLOZE READING ACTIVITY
Magazine | audience | context
collaborated |purpose | targets
message | attention | technique
company | differently | represents
persuade | lifestyle
The Dettol _____________________ made this
ad for a hand sanitizer. The authors are the
company and the ad _____________ that they
paid. They ______________ to create the ad.
The ad was in People _____________________ on
a full page next to an article about a movie star in
April 2011. Readers saw the ad in this
_____________________.
The target _____________________ is people
who ride the bus. Mostly working class people
ride the bus. This ad also shows a woman, so
maybe it _____________________ women more
than men.
4. The most important _____________________
in the ad is that buses are not clean. When you
hold a handle in the bus, you can get the germs of
other people on the bus. The main
_____________________ is that you must clean

32. Students select an ad to analyze and compose using a wiki

33. Turkey
Challenges
● National curriculum is teacher-centered
● Big disconnect between research and K-12 education
● No tradition of continuing education for teachers
● Substantial divide between center & periphery
● Lack of access to Turkish digital content
Opportunities
● Youth culture – most teachers are under age 30
● Growth of private schools creates pressure to innovate
● Government funding for technology is available
● ICT and Media Literacy electives in middle-school

34. Cross-National
University-School Partnership
Program
Six-week pilot project designed to explore media
literacy pedagogy in the context of global
communication
Subjects: Middle-school children ages 11 – 13 and
their teachers
• SAINT MARK’S SCHOOL – San Rafael CA USA
• Gokkusagi MIDDLE SCHOOL, Canakkale, Turkey
RESEARCH METHODS
Interviews with teachers
Analysis of student work samples
Classroom observation

37. Quabiz Mohammad Veysel Ozturk Dave Hickman

40. 1. Getting to Know You
2. Learning about Two Countries
3. Analyzing TV Shows that Feature High School
4. Discussing Current Events
5. Exchanging Student Videos about Daily Life

43. American students have
only basic information
about Turkish history,
daily life and culture

44. Information sharing about
Turkey includes student-curated
images and links

45. American students lack
knowledge of Turkish
history, life and culture

46. As a result of popular
culture, Turkish students
have significant
information about
American culture

50. Students recognize how
values are
(mis) represented in
entertainment television

51. Issues of Representation and Focus on
Popular Culture Activate Critical Thinking
about Personal & Social Identity
in Relation to Culture & Values

54. Feelings of social and
emotional connectedness

55. Global Partnerships Promote Innovation
to Advance New Knowledge in the Field

56. ANALYSIS OF POPULAR CULTURE IN SCHOOL.
Students can identify cultural values in the
representation of school in popular television
programs but cannot identify misrepresentation
across culture.
DISCUSSING CURRENT EVENTS IN SCHOOL.
Turkish students are not comfortable talking
about the current political situation in their
country and American students cannot
appreciate their reticence.
AWARENESS OF POWER/KNOWLEDGE GAPS.
American students gain new awareness of
global power imbalances as they confront their
own lack of access to global popular culture
through online interpersonal communication.

57. What Can be Learned Through
Cross-National Comparison of
Media Literacy Initiatives?

58.  RELATIONSHIPS. Develop personal
relationships through information sharing to
promote trust and respect
 COLLABORATION. Experiment and take risks
by discovering new approaches to
collaboration
 VALUES. Appreciate opportunities and
challenges within a particular values
framework, cultural or institutional context
 REFLECTION. Analyze one’s own attitudes
and challenge assumptions & stereotypes
through social engagement
 TAKE ACTION. Work together to combat
inequity, prejudice and discrimination
Media Literacy is a
Movement

59. Why Do We Need
Global Media
Literacy Education?
Relationships
Collaboration
Values
Reflection
Action

60. Conclusion
 Innovation in media literacy education is deeply situational
and contextual
 Small scale programs contribute to innovation when
experience is shared authentically within the knowledge
community
 Issues of representation and focus on popular culture
activate critical thinking about personal and social identity
in relation to culture and values
 Global partnerships promote innovation to advance new
knowledge in the field

61. 12
Definitions of
Digital
Literacy
SKILLS & ABILITIES
➢ Computer Use and Knowledge
➢ ICT Skills & Digital Skills
LITERACY
➢ Online Reading & New Literacies
➢ Media Production & Composition
➢ Coding
TEACHING WITH
➢ Technology Integration
➢ Digital Learning
➢ Blended Learning
➢ Connected Learning
TEACHING ABOUT
➢ Information Literacy
➢ Media Literacy
➢ Internet Safety & Digital Citizenship

62. 12
Definitions of
Digital
Literacy
SKILLS & ABILITIES
➢ Computer Use and Knowledge
➢ ICT Skills & Digital Skills
LITERACY
➢ Online Reading & New Literacies
➢ Media Production / Youth Media
➢ Coding
TEACHING WITH
➢ Technology Integration
➢ Digital Learning
➢ Blended Learning
➢ Connected Learning
TEACHING ABOUT
➢ Information Literacy
➢ Media Literacy
➢ Internet Safety & Digital Citizenship

63. expanding the concept of literacy
ACCESS
CREATE ACT
ANALYZEE
REFLECT
ACCESS

64. EDUCATION CREATIVE ARTS
GOVERNMENT CIVIL SOCIETY ORGS
TECH INDUSTRY ACTIVIST
expanding variety of stakeholders

65. We must embrace new approaches and
new stakeholders who help us expand the
concept of literacy

66. A Proposed Unifying Principle
We use the power of information and
communication to make a difference in
the world

67. Hobbs, R., He, H. & RobbGreico, M. (2014) Seeing, Believing and Learning to be Skeptical: Supporting
Language Learning through Advertising Analysis Activities. TESOL Journal.
Hobbs, R. & Tuzel, S. (2014). “The Use of Media Literacy Instructional Strategies for Promoting Intercultural
Communication in U.S. & Turkish Middle Schools.” Paper presentation to the International Association for
Intercultural Communication Studies (IAICS). Providence, RI. August 1.
Hobbs, R. & Friesem, L. (2014). “Connecting Continents.” Online professional development program with
Russian educators. Russian Academy of Education, March 25.
Hobbs, R. (2014). “How Teachers Motivations Shape Digital Learning.” Workshop presentation at SXSW Edu.
Austin, TX. March 24.
Hobbs, R. (2013). “Global Developments in Media Literacy Education,” Media and Digital Literacy Lab
(MDLAB). Keynote address at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. August 18.
Hobbs (2011). “How Digital and Media Literacy Supports Global Understanding,” Arab-US Association of
Communication Educators (AUSACE), Beirut, Lebanon, October 30.
Hobbs, R., Yoon, J., Al-Humaidan, R., Ebrahimi, A. & Cabral, N. (2011). Online digital media in elementary
school. Journal of Middle East Media 7(1), 1 – 23.
Hobbs, R., Ebrahimi, A., Cabral, N., Yoon, J., & Al-Humaidan, R. (2011). Field-based teacher education in
elementary media literacy as a means to promote global understanding. Action for Teacher Education 33, 144
– 156.
www.mediaeducationlab.com

68. Renee Hobbs
Professor of Communication Studies
Director, Media Education Lab
Harrington School of Communication and Media,
University of Rhode Island USA
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs
WEB: www.mediaeducationlab.com