Artificial Intelligence, Media Literacy
& American Values
How can media literacy help us retain creativity
and critical thinking in an AI world?
Renee Hobbs
University of Rhode Island USA
Media Education Lab
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs
www.mediaeducationlab.com
Media-Related Challenges in 2024
DIGITAL ADDICTION & DEPENDENCY
POLARIZED POLITICAL CLIMATE
PROPAGANDA & DISINFORMATION
DATA SECURITY, SCAMS & CYBERCRIME
MEDIA & MENTAL HEALTH
NEWS AVOIDERS
CENTRALIZED POWER
OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS
AI IMPACT ON
THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
 Invest in quality journalism
 Create new kinds of news and information formats
 Incentivize digital platforms to increase accountability
 Change social norms among business & civic leaders
 Strengthen civic institutions
 Increase research investment in media & society issues
 Punish hate speech & other harmful forms of expression
 Increase regulation of digital platforms
 Build citizens’ resilience and media literacy competencies
Important Strategies to Consider
TECHNOCRACY
A society that is dominated by digital platforms
SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM
Balancing
Protection & Empowerment
for an AI World
How do you interact with
AI-generated people?
How do you interact with
AI-generated propaganda?
Sora is a generative AI
platform that can take a
short text description and
turn it into a detailed, high-
definition film clip up to a
minute long
Language, Media & Technology
Create Unreal Realities
Texts
The symbolic forms used to
convey meaning
Authorship
The people, platforms, and processes
used to construct meaning through
symbols
Literacy
The sharing of meaning through symbols
Image created by Canva AI
SOURCE: NAMLE 2024
BEING ONLINE
Access & Inclusion
Learning & Creativity
Media & Information Literacy
WELLBEING ONLINE
Ethics & Empathy
Health & Wellbeing
E-Presence & Communication
RIGHTS ONLINE
Active Participation
Rights & Responsibilities
Privacy & Security
Consumer Awareness
SOURCE: Council of Europe (2018). Digital Citizenship Education (DCE).
Media Literacy is a Moving Target
SOURCE: NAMLE 2024
Viewing and Representing
• Understand and interpret visual images,
messages, and meanings (visual representation)
through distinguishing purposes of messages
and analyzing ideas present in media
• Analyze and critique the significance of visual
images, messages, and meanings (visual
representations) through deconstructing media
to get to the main idea of the message and
critiquing the effectiveness of persuasive
techniques
• Produce visual representations that
communicate with others
1998
Texas Essential
Knowledge and Skills
(TEKS)
English Language Arts and Reading
(ELAR)
• identifying forms & purposes
• explaining positive and negative impacts of
advertisements
• comparing and contrasting how a single event
is portrayed by visual images versus non-visual
texts
• evaluating how messages reflect social and
cultural views
• evaluating techniques used to create a point
of view in media and the impact on the audience
• examining how individual perception or bias in
coverage of the same event influences the
audience
2010
2017
HS Elective Courses (TEKS)
• Contemporary Media
• Visual Media Analysis and Production
• Journalism
• Broadcast Journalism
• Photojournalism
2023
Civics Training Program
Section 21.4555
• classroom discussion of current
events
• media literacy, including instruction
on verifying information and
sources, identifying and responding
to logical fallacies, and identifying
propaganda
• strategies for incorporating civics
instruction into subject areas other
than social studies.
CLOSE READING DIALOGUE & DISCUSSION CREATIVE EXPRESSION
Media Education Pedagogies
CLOSE READING
Students examine a media text and demonstrate their
comprehension of it by explaining key ideas in their own
words. They identify information about the author &
purpose to verify the accuracy of informational texts or
analyze how language, image and other techniques are
used to attract attention, arouse emotion, and convey
values in persuasive or entertaining texts.
Close reading helps learners recognize values,
ideologies, and diverse points of view
Parkhouse, H. (2018) Pedagogies of naming, questioning, and demystification: A study of two critical U.S. history Classrooms.
Theory & Research in Social Education, 46:2, 277-317, DOI: 10.1080/00933104.2017.1389327.
DIALOGUE & DISCUSSION
Students work in small groups to access examples of media
on a topic or issue of interest to them. They gather
information and share their interpretations with others,
reflecting on their strategic communication choices and
considering the potential benefits and/or harms of the
messages they selected and interpreted.
Discussion and dialogue builds intellectual
curiosity and helps learners develop trust, respect,
and a sense of belonging
Parkhouse, H. (2018) Pedagogies of naming, questioning, and demystification: A study of two critical U.S. history Classrooms.
Theory & Research in Social Education, 46:2, 277-317, DOI: 10.1080/00933104.2017.1389327.
CREATIVE EXPRESSION
Working alone or in a small group, students learn about a
topic or issue and then some form of media to represent
their understanding and communicate ideas. They may create
a slogan, logo, and other campaign materials including video,
meme, infographic or podcast, circulating their own
messages using their social network.
“Create to learn” activities help learners visualize
themselves as change agents
Henry, A. (2019). Online media creation and L2 motivation: A socially situated perspective. Tesol Quarterly, 53(2), 372-404.
Remix History
The Odyssey First Contact Gilded Age Politics
Measuring Media Literacy Implementation
Are Students Getting Instructional Opportunities?
Hobbs, R., Moen, M., Tang, R., & Steager, P. (2022). Measuring the implementation of media literacy instructional practices in schools: community stakeholder
perspectives. Learning, Media and Technology, 1-16.
ELEMENTARY GRADES K - 5
MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADES 6 - 8
MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADES 6 - 8
HIGH SCHOOL GRADES 9 - 12
PERSONALIZED MEDIA WORLDS
Lateral Reading for Verification
Brut. is a French media
company that creates
short-form video content
for audiences around the
world
Brut. publishes content
daily in three languages
and across eight social
platforms generating over
1.5 billion views a month.
346
In 2023
Fear on the Rise
Fear on the Rise
An 18-year old boy kills 19 children and 2 teachers in an elementary school in Texas in 2022
Fear on the Rise
The 8th American mass shooting of 2023: Killer takes the lives of 18 people in a small rural community in Maine
Fear on the Rise
On a day of celebration in Kansas City, Lisa Lopez-Galvan is killed and 22 people are shot including 11 children
Media and digital platforms have numerous incentives
to showcase and celebrate violence
In an Attention Economy
Fueled by Hate
New Approaches
to Media Literacy
for Violence
Prevention are
Needed
GENERATIVE AI
Activate critical questions about media
to build the social responsibilities
of both creators & consumers
Artificial Intelligence, Media Literacy
& American Values
How can media literacy help us retain creativity
and critical thinking in an AI world?
Renee Hobbs
University of Rhode Island USA
Media Education Lab
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs

Media Literacy, Artificial Intelligence and American Values

  • 1.
    Artificial Intelligence, MediaLiteracy & American Values How can media literacy help us retain creativity and critical thinking in an AI world? Renee Hobbs University of Rhode Island USA Media Education Lab Email: hobbs@uri.edu Twitter: @reneehobbs
  • 2.
  • 5.
    Media-Related Challenges in2024 DIGITAL ADDICTION & DEPENDENCY POLARIZED POLITICAL CLIMATE PROPAGANDA & DISINFORMATION DATA SECURITY, SCAMS & CYBERCRIME MEDIA & MENTAL HEALTH NEWS AVOIDERS CENTRALIZED POWER OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS AI IMPACT ON THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
  • 6.
     Invest inquality journalism  Create new kinds of news and information formats  Incentivize digital platforms to increase accountability  Change social norms among business & civic leaders  Strengthen civic institutions  Increase research investment in media & society issues  Punish hate speech & other harmful forms of expression  Increase regulation of digital platforms  Build citizens’ resilience and media literacy competencies Important Strategies to Consider
  • 11.
    TECHNOCRACY A society thatis dominated by digital platforms
  • 12.
  • 14.
  • 15.
    How do youinteract with AI-generated people?
  • 16.
    How do youinteract with AI-generated propaganda?
  • 17.
    Sora is agenerative AI platform that can take a short text description and turn it into a detailed, high- definition film clip up to a minute long
  • 18.
    Language, Media &Technology Create Unreal Realities
  • 19.
    Texts The symbolic formsused to convey meaning Authorship The people, platforms, and processes used to construct meaning through symbols Literacy The sharing of meaning through symbols Image created by Canva AI
  • 20.
  • 21.
    BEING ONLINE Access &Inclusion Learning & Creativity Media & Information Literacy WELLBEING ONLINE Ethics & Empathy Health & Wellbeing E-Presence & Communication RIGHTS ONLINE Active Participation Rights & Responsibilities Privacy & Security Consumer Awareness SOURCE: Council of Europe (2018). Digital Citizenship Education (DCE).
  • 22.
    Media Literacy isa Moving Target
  • 23.
  • 24.
    Viewing and Representing •Understand and interpret visual images, messages, and meanings (visual representation) through distinguishing purposes of messages and analyzing ideas present in media • Analyze and critique the significance of visual images, messages, and meanings (visual representations) through deconstructing media to get to the main idea of the message and critiquing the effectiveness of persuasive techniques • Produce visual representations that communicate with others 1998 Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
  • 25.
    English Language Artsand Reading (ELAR) • identifying forms & purposes • explaining positive and negative impacts of advertisements • comparing and contrasting how a single event is portrayed by visual images versus non-visual texts • evaluating how messages reflect social and cultural views • evaluating techniques used to create a point of view in media and the impact on the audience • examining how individual perception or bias in coverage of the same event influences the audience 2010
  • 26.
    2017 HS Elective Courses(TEKS) • Contemporary Media • Visual Media Analysis and Production • Journalism • Broadcast Journalism • Photojournalism
  • 27.
    2023 Civics Training Program Section21.4555 • classroom discussion of current events • media literacy, including instruction on verifying information and sources, identifying and responding to logical fallacies, and identifying propaganda • strategies for incorporating civics instruction into subject areas other than social studies.
  • 28.
    CLOSE READING DIALOGUE& DISCUSSION CREATIVE EXPRESSION Media Education Pedagogies
  • 29.
    CLOSE READING Students examinea media text and demonstrate their comprehension of it by explaining key ideas in their own words. They identify information about the author & purpose to verify the accuracy of informational texts or analyze how language, image and other techniques are used to attract attention, arouse emotion, and convey values in persuasive or entertaining texts. Close reading helps learners recognize values, ideologies, and diverse points of view Parkhouse, H. (2018) Pedagogies of naming, questioning, and demystification: A study of two critical U.S. history Classrooms. Theory & Research in Social Education, 46:2, 277-317, DOI: 10.1080/00933104.2017.1389327.
  • 30.
    DIALOGUE & DISCUSSION Studentswork in small groups to access examples of media on a topic or issue of interest to them. They gather information and share their interpretations with others, reflecting on their strategic communication choices and considering the potential benefits and/or harms of the messages they selected and interpreted. Discussion and dialogue builds intellectual curiosity and helps learners develop trust, respect, and a sense of belonging Parkhouse, H. (2018) Pedagogies of naming, questioning, and demystification: A study of two critical U.S. history Classrooms. Theory & Research in Social Education, 46:2, 277-317, DOI: 10.1080/00933104.2017.1389327.
  • 31.
    CREATIVE EXPRESSION Working aloneor in a small group, students learn about a topic or issue and then some form of media to represent their understanding and communicate ideas. They may create a slogan, logo, and other campaign materials including video, meme, infographic or podcast, circulating their own messages using their social network. “Create to learn” activities help learners visualize themselves as change agents Henry, A. (2019). Online media creation and L2 motivation: A socially situated perspective. Tesol Quarterly, 53(2), 372-404.
  • 32.
    Remix History The OdysseyFirst Contact Gilded Age Politics
  • 33.
    Measuring Media LiteracyImplementation Are Students Getting Instructional Opportunities? Hobbs, R., Moen, M., Tang, R., & Steager, P. (2022). Measuring the implementation of media literacy instructional practices in schools: community stakeholder perspectives. Learning, Media and Technology, 1-16. ELEMENTARY GRADES K - 5 MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADES 6 - 8 MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADES 6 - 8 HIGH SCHOOL GRADES 9 - 12
  • 35.
  • 38.
    Lateral Reading forVerification
  • 40.
    Brut. is aFrench media company that creates short-form video content for audiences around the world Brut. publishes content daily in three languages and across eight social platforms generating over 1.5 billion views a month.
  • 41.
  • 42.
    Fear on theRise An 18-year old boy kills 19 children and 2 teachers in an elementary school in Texas in 2022
  • 43.
    Fear on theRise The 8th American mass shooting of 2023: Killer takes the lives of 18 people in a small rural community in Maine
  • 44.
    Fear on theRise On a day of celebration in Kansas City, Lisa Lopez-Galvan is killed and 22 people are shot including 11 children
  • 46.
    Media and digitalplatforms have numerous incentives to showcase and celebrate violence
  • 48.
    In an AttentionEconomy Fueled by Hate
  • 49.
    New Approaches to MediaLiteracy for Violence Prevention are Needed
  • 50.
  • 51.
    Activate critical questionsabout media to build the social responsibilities of both creators & consumers
  • 52.
    Artificial Intelligence, MediaLiteracy & American Values How can media literacy help us retain creativity and critical thinking in an AI world? Renee Hobbs University of Rhode Island USA Media Education Lab Email: hobbs@uri.edu Twitter: @reneehobbs

Editor's Notes

  • #43 There have been more shootings with more victims in the first three months of 2023 than the same period last year – 117 deaths in 2023 so far
  • #44 There have been more shootings with more victims in the first three months of 2023 than the same period last year – 117 deaths in 2023 so far
  • #45 There have been more shootings with more victims in the first three months of 2023 than the same period last year – 117 deaths in 2023 so far