This document discusses bringing digital and media literacy to K-6 learners. It describes a university-school partnership program aimed at strengthening children's communication, critical thinking, and civic participation skills. The program includes a summer program for children, staff development for educators, in-school mentoring, curriculum development, research, and community outreach. It discusses theoretical frameworks for child development and learning, and strategies for engaging students through connecting home and school experiences with digital media.

1. Bringing Digital and Media Literacy to K-6 Learners
Renee Hobbs
Professor and Founding Director
Harrington School of Communication and Media
University of Rhode Island USA
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: reneehobbs
Web: http://mediaeducationlab.com

3. JOIN OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY
www.powerfulvoicesforkids.com
Book and Website Launch, June 2013

4. www.powerfulvoicesfor kids.com

5. What do we need to know and be able to do when it comes to
supporting and extending the use of print, visual, sound and
digital texts, tools and technologies among children & youth?

6. Empowerment and Protection are Two Sides of the Coin

7. Human Development & Socialization are Lifelong Processes
Theoretical Frames

8. Human Development is Situational and Contextual
Theoretical Frames

9. Learning Occurs through Social Interaction & Media Exposure
Theoretical Frames

10. Play and Learning are Linked
Theoretical Frames

11. Key Developmental
Characteristics of Childhood
Social Skills
& Belonging
Exploring & Discovering
Mastery &
Accomplishment

12. A university-school partnership program designed to strengthen
children’s ability to think for themselves, communicate effectively,
and use their powerful voices to contribute to the quality of life in
their families, their schools, their communities, and the world.
Increase relevance, motivation & engagement
by connecting home and school

13. +
The Vision
1 Summer Program for Children
2 Staff Development Program for Educators
3 In-School Mentoring
4 Multimedia Curriculum Development
5 Video Documentation and Research
6 Parent and Community Outreach

14. Urban charter school
• 70% of families receive free or
reduced lunch
• Median income: $35K
• Teachers: 90% White
• 85% African-American
• 60% of Grade 3 students met state
standards for reading
Suburban public schools (2)
• 10% of families receive free or
reduced lunch
• Median income: $120K
• Teachers: 95% White
• 78% White, 15% Asian
• 88% of students met state standards
for reading

15. TV SORT TASK

16. TV SORT TASK
LEARNING TARGETS:
• I can recognize images that appear on TV and use language
to describe the shows.
• I can recognize that different TV shows may appeal to
children, teens and adults.
• I can listen to others and offer additional information of my
own.
• I can make a choice, form an opinion and write about it.

17. Very young children explore an expanded
conceptualization of authorship
in relation to print, visual, sound and digital media
LINK
LINK

18. RESEARCH
Active Reasoning as a
Precursor to Media Literacy
Some children describe their
favorite TV shows, videogames
and music using active
reasoning:
• Identify the genre
• Describe a compositional element
• Link an emotional response to a
compositional element
• Identify a social function of media
use
• Describe message or meaning
Hobbs & RobbGrieco, Journal of Children and
Media (2013)

19. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Downloaded music from the Internet
Created a personal webpage
Gotten information from the Internet
Visited Facebook
Used a digital camera to take a photo
Uploaded a photo
Used a computer program to create or design pictures
Made an avatar of myself
Create a profile for myself on Facebook
Created a blog
Used instant messaging or chat
None of these
RBCS
WES
Children engage in a wide variety of online activities

20. Many children ages 9 – 11 experience “accidental transgression”

21. LINK
Children benefit from literacy activities
that promote critical thinking, creativity
and intercultural social interaction

22. When kids create, they fuse elements from media and personal life
.
LINK

23. EXPLORING DIGITAL MEDIA USING MY POP STUDIO

24. EXPLORING DIGITAL MEDIA USING MY POP STUDIO
LEARNING TARGETS:
• I can share my experiences with the both benefits and drawbacks of
digital media like cell phones, videogames and social media when it
comes to social relationships with friends and family.
• I can listen to the ideas and experiences of others and learn from them.
• I can transform a real experience into a simple narrative story with
characters, setting and a plot.
• I can select images and compose language to convey a story that has a
lesson or moral.
• I can use my imagination to empathize with other people’s experiences
and point of view.

25. www.mypopstudio.com LINK

32. Mass media, celebrities
and popular culture
inflect children’s online
activities

35. Messy engagement results when teachers interact with
children about the media and technology they use at home
LINK

36. Both teachers and school leaders have concerns about mayhem
and loss of control that may interfere with digital media projects
“unpredictable” and “exhausting”
 Not clearly linked to
academic standards
 Not easy to assess
student learning
outcomes
 Not text-based
 Organizational and
management
challenges

37. Teachers can create structured digital & media literacy learning
experiences that provide a balance between order and chaos
LINK

38.  They develop a well-structured activity with a clear audience and
purpose
 Activate creative & independent thinking from learners
 Carefully monitor small groups
 Learn basics of technology use
 Dedicate time for analysis, composition and reflection
When teachers see the value of creating with media and
technology in school…

39. • They tap into children’s
knowledge of media and popular
culture
• They take advantage of
unpredictable moments in social
interactions with children.
• They address the relational and
socialization issues involved in
building character.
When teachers see the value of talking about media and
technology in school…
For classroom dialogue to be
authentic, high levels of
interpersonal trust and respect
are required.
Hobbs, R. Learning, Media
and Technologies (2013)

40. LINK
SCREENCASTING THE CRITICAL QUESTIONS

41. SCREENCASTING THE CRITICAL QUESTIONS
LEARNING TARGETS:
• I can watch TV with the purpose of thinking about how and
why the program was made.
• I can use critical questions to analyze a media message.
• I can write answers to critical questions and think about
what my audience needs to know.
• I can perform my answers as spoken language using good
pacing, tone and fluency.
• I can use technology to create a short screencast.
• I can give feedback to others and accept feedback about
my work.

42. www.screencast-o-matic.com

43. Grade 4 children use screencasting to demonstrate
comprehension, writing and verbal fluency
LINK

44. LINK
College students demonstrate critical analysis, writing and
performance skills with screencasting

45. LINK
1. Who is the author and what is the
purpose of this message?
2. What techniques are used to attract
and hold attention?
3. How are lifestyles, values and points
of view represented?
4. How might different viewers interpret
this message?
5. What is left out?
Asking Critical
Questions

46. LINK

47. Talking with Children about iCarly
Erin, age 4 Emma, age 8 Austin, age 11
LINK

48. TAKE-AWAY IDEAS
Exploration of digital and media
literacy pedagogy with younger
children helps educators understand
complex interaction between home
and school
Mass media, popular culture and
digital media provide tremendous
opportunities for developing language
and literacy competencies
Children can demonstrate critical
thinking by composing messages to
reflect on media and technology’s role
in society

49. Access,
Use & Share
Create &
Collaborate
Analyze &
Evaluate
Apply Ethical
Judgment
The future of literacy

50. www.mediaeducationlab.com

51. Hobbs, R. & Moore, D. (2013). Discovering media literacy: Teaching digital media and popular culture in elementary
school. Thousand Oaks: Corwin/Sage.
Hobbs, R. (2013). Improvization and strategic risk taking in informal learning with digital media literacy. Learning,
Media and Technology, 38(2), 1 – 28.
Hobbs, R. & RobbGrieco, M. (2012). African-American children’s active reasoning about media texts as a precursor
to media literacy. Journal of Children and Media 6(4), 502 - 519.
Grafe, S., Hobbs, R., Boos, M., Bergey, B. (2012). Teachers´ motivations for media education in Germany and in the
United States. Paper presentation at Digital Media and Learning(DML) Conference, Los Angeles.
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.
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.
“Messy Engagement and Strategic Risk Taking as an Instructional Strategy in Informal Learning,” Paper
presentation, International Communication Association (ICA), Phoenix, AZ. May 28, 2012.
Hobbs, R. , Cohn-Geltner, H. & Landis, J. (2011). Views on the news: Media literacy empowerment competencies in
the elementary grades. In C. Von Feilitzen, U. Carlsson & C. Bucht (Eds.). New questions, new insights, new
approaches. The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media. NORDICOM. University of
Gothenburg, Sweden (pp. 43 – 56).

53. JOIN OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY
www.powerfulvoicesforkids.com
Book and Website Launch, June 2013

54. www.powerfulvoicesfor kids.com

55. Renee Hobbs
Professor and Founding Director
Harrington School of Communication and Media
University of Rhode Island USA
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: reneehobbs
Web: http://mediaeducationlab.com