This document discusses media literacy and its importance in teaching kids how to analyze various forms of media. It defines media literacy as the ability to read, analyze, evaluate, and produce different types of media. The document notes that with so much information coming through distorted media, teaching media literacy is important. It provides teaching points on addressing media literacy, such as evaluating author credibility, format, scope, and considering final factors like sponsorship. Resources for teaching media literacy are also included.

1. Media Literacy
Teaching kids to intelligently
navigate the information highway.

2. Media Literacy -
Overview of presentation
» Definition
» Importance
» Teaching points
» Resources
» Question and answer

3. Definition 1
» ･ The ability to read, analyze, evaluate
and produce communication in a variety
of media forms (television, print, radio,
computers, etc.).www.pbs.
org/weta/myjourneyhome/teachers/glossary
.html

4. Definition 2
» ･ Media literacy is the skill of
understanding the nature of
communications, particularly in regard
to telecommunications and mass
media. The skill entails knowledge of
the structural features of the media, and
how these might tend to influence the
content of the media. en.wikipedia
.org/wiki/Media_literacy

6. Importance
» How do our students learn to make sense
of their worlds when so much of their
information arrives distorted through the
"looking glass" of mass media?
» Journalistic ethics are often "put out to
pasture" and left to rust in the chase after
ratings and profits.
(http://www.fno.org/jun99/media.html)

7. Importance
» The Internet Explosion
» There are at least 600 billion web
sites (“billions and billions”)
» Search engines or directories
typically access “only” 6 billion
» Typical students usually look at the
first few entries

8. One example
A true story - source
» Educational Renaissance Planners -
founded by Alan November to promote
the effective use of information and
communication technologies that
support and enhance learning for
children and communities.
(http://www.anovember.com)

9. “How the Holocaust
didn’t happen”
» http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~abutz/index
» Arthur Butz, author, Professor at
Northwestern University

11. Addressing Media
Literacy
» Author credibility
» Format and presentation
» Scope
» Cost and accessibility
» Final considerations

12. Author credibility
» Backwards navigate
http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~abutz/index.html
» Author search:
Ask Jeeves
Google
Profusion

13. Author credibility
» Grammatical or spelling errors?
» Sources of information available?
» Bias and stereotype?

14. Format and Presentation
» Graphics and content
» Navigational ease
» Who is the audience?
» Readability
» “Clutteriness”

15. Scope
» Usefulness and uniqueness
» Purpose
» Factually based
» Originality
» Currency
» Frequency of updates

16. Cost and accessibility
» Consistently available
» Text based alternative
» Dead links
» Fee based

17. Final considerations
» Use of tildes ~
» Comparing information
» Who sponsors or authors the site?
» Research from MS and HS in CO:
500 sites selected randomly (of 130,000)
27% considered reliable

18. Resources
» Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/eval.ht
ml
» Teaching Media Literacy in an Age of
Edutainment
http://www.fno.org/jun99/media.html
» November Learning
http://www.anovember.com/Default.aspx?
tabid=160
» An Introduction to Media Literacy
http://www.ci.appstate.edu/programs/edmedia/
medialit/article.html#What%20is%20Media
%20Literacy

19. Questions and Answers

20. Presented by…
Janet Buckenmeyer &
Staci Trekles Milligan
Purdue University Calumet
Hammond, IN
http://education.calumet.purdue.edu
/Tutorials/ICE