What Exactly is Media Literacy?
Media literacy is the ability to identify different pieces of media and having the ability to understand the messages they portray. Whether it be on the internet or through TV, apps, magazines or newspapers, media is used in everyday life. Few people truly understand how the media they interact with affects them and those around them in society. Students need to think critically about what media they are consuming to make informed choices.
Here is a great introduction to media literacy
(CrashCourse. (2018). Introduction to media literacy: Crash course media literacy #1. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7N-1Mj-DU)
The media literacy strand in the Ontario Curriculum for grades 1-8 has four overall expectations that students should be able to:
To introduce my classroom to media literacy, I would first want to gauge my student's understanding of what it is and how it relates to them. I would have them imagine a typical day in their life and have them identify all the media that is present. They would quickly realize just how relevant media is in today's society and how it affects them and those around them.
How can you tell if something is "fake news"?
"Fake news" is all around us. Every day we hear or read about something that makes us think twice about whether it is true or not. Students need to be able to "differentiate between fact and opinion; evaluate the credibility of sources; recognize bias; be attuned to discriminatory portrayals of individuals and groups... and question depictions of violence and crime" (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 13).
When discussing media with your students, here are a few questions you should have them ask themselves:
(Media Literacy Now. (2017). What is media literacy? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIaRw5R6Da4)
These questions will help students evaluate, critically reflect and analyze the media they are consuming and spark conversations in your classroom! The great thing about these questions is that they can be used at any grade and age level. It would be easy to tailor a discussion with your students to be more or less advanced as needed.
A fun and interesting way you could have students learn about fake news would be to have them play an online game. For example, Bad News has your students become the fake news distributor, taking on the role of a propagandist. The game has the student choose multiple-choice options that they believe will elicit the biggest response from the audience, gaining them followers. But the key is to gain credibility by telling lies, but not outrageous lies that will disappoint your followers. This is to remind the students that fake news relies on evoking strong emotions in others that makes them react without thinking. Bad News may be useful to teach your students that they need to reflect on what they just consumed and think critically about the questions stated above. This would be appropriate for an intermediate level classroom. With the use of this game in your classroom, it would be essential to have a discussion beforehand regarding the meaning and purpose behind this game as some younger children may not grasp the concept that producing the most emotion, whether it be negative or positive, and having a lot of followers isn't always a good thing. There is also an option for Bad News Junior, appropriate for students aged 8-13. It is important, as an educator, to be mindful of whether or not your classroom would be able to understand the message you are trying to get across through the use of this game.
Teaching Digital Citizenship
Digital citizenship is, essentially, the presence an individual has online and how that presence not only affects the individual but those around the individual as well. In today's day and age, children are gaining access to technology and online materials earlier in their lives, whether this be through social media or basic internet access. Many young individuals may not understand how the internet works or the precautions they should follow to stay safe online. This makes digital citizenship and safety extremely important for educators to discuss with their students. I would show my students this simple video, which explains what digital citizenship is in a very easy to follow way, making it appropriate for the primary, junior or intermediate levels. I would then have a discussion with the class based on the last question the video poses:
(Common Sense Meda. (2017). What is digital citizenship? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toK_BAYnjoU)
Google has also created a fun and interactive game called Interland, designed to help children learn about safety on the internet and how to become excellent digital citizens! This game is a great resource for teachers to use in their classroom because it takes very important information and presents it to the students in a simple yet effective way. These games are extremely user-friendly and could be incorporated into the primary classrooms, perhaps by having the entire class play together and discuss the possible answers. This resource would also be appropriate for junior classrooms as well, individually or in small groups. I would even use this in an intermediate classroom, as I tried the games and found them to be fun and informative as an adult as well.
References:
Common Sense Meda. (2017). What is digital citizenship? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toK_BAYnjoU
CrashCourse. (2018). Introduction to media literacy: Crash course media literacy #1. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7N-1Mj-DU
Ontario Ministry of Education (2006). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 language (Revised). Toronto: Queen’s Printer.
Media literacy is the ability to identify different pieces of media and having the ability to understand the messages they portray. Whether it be on the internet or through TV, apps, magazines or newspapers, media is used in everyday life. Few people truly understand how the media they interact with affects them and those around them in society. Students need to think critically about what media they are consuming to make informed choices.
Here is a great introduction to media literacy
The media literacy strand in the Ontario Curriculum for grades 1-8 has four overall expectations that students should be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts;
- identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning;
- create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques;
- reflect on and identify their strengths, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in understanding and creating media texts.
To introduce my classroom to media literacy, I would first want to gauge my student's understanding of what it is and how it relates to them. I would have them imagine a typical day in their life and have them identify all the media that is present. They would quickly realize just how relevant media is in today's society and how it affects them and those around them.
How can you tell if something is "fake news"?
"Fake news" is all around us. Every day we hear or read about something that makes us think twice about whether it is true or not. Students need to be able to "differentiate between fact and opinion; evaluate the credibility of sources; recognize bias; be attuned to discriminatory portrayals of individuals and groups... and question depictions of violence and crime" (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 13).
When discussing media with your students, here are a few questions you should have them ask themselves:
- Who created this message?
- What techniques are used to attract my attention?
- How might different people interpret this message?
- What information is being presented in this message?
- What information is being left out of this message?
- Why is this message being sent? How did it make you feel?
These points are outlined in this informative video that can be found here:
These questions will help students evaluate, critically reflect and analyze the media they are consuming and spark conversations in your classroom! The great thing about these questions is that they can be used at any grade and age level. It would be easy to tailor a discussion with your students to be more or less advanced as needed.
A fun and interesting way you could have students learn about fake news would be to have them play an online game. For example, Bad News has your students become the fake news distributor, taking on the role of a propagandist. The game has the student choose multiple-choice options that they believe will elicit the biggest response from the audience, gaining them followers. But the key is to gain credibility by telling lies, but not outrageous lies that will disappoint your followers. This is to remind the students that fake news relies on evoking strong emotions in others that makes them react without thinking. Bad News may be useful to teach your students that they need to reflect on what they just consumed and think critically about the questions stated above. This would be appropriate for an intermediate level classroom. With the use of this game in your classroom, it would be essential to have a discussion beforehand regarding the meaning and purpose behind this game as some younger children may not grasp the concept that producing the most emotion, whether it be negative or positive, and having a lot of followers isn't always a good thing. There is also an option for Bad News Junior, appropriate for students aged 8-13. It is important, as an educator, to be mindful of whether or not your classroom would be able to understand the message you are trying to get across through the use of this game.Teaching Digital Citizenship
Digital citizenship is, essentially, the presence an individual has online and how that presence not only affects the individual but those around the individual as well. In today's day and age, children are gaining access to technology and online materials earlier in their lives, whether this be through social media or basic internet access. Many young individuals may not understand how the internet works or the precautions they should follow to stay safe online. This makes digital citizenship and safety extremely important for educators to discuss with their students. I would show my students this simple video, which explains what digital citizenship is in a very easy to follow way, making it appropriate for the primary, junior or intermediate levels. I would then have a discussion with the class based on the last question the video poses:
Google has also created a fun and interactive game called Interland, designed to help children learn about safety on the internet and how to become excellent digital citizens! This game is a great resource for teachers to use in their classroom because it takes very important information and presents it to the students in a simple yet effective way. These games are extremely user-friendly and could be incorporated into the primary classrooms, perhaps by having the entire class play together and discuss the possible answers. This resource would also be appropriate for junior classrooms as well, individually or in small groups. I would even use this in an intermediate classroom, as I tried the games and found them to be fun and informative as an adult as well.
THESE GAMES ARE AWESOME! CHECK THEM OUT!
(Google. (2019). Interland: Be internet awesome. Retrieved from https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland/)
This game has a little robot travel to 4 different locations, teaching students along the way about five important rules to consider while online. Your students have the opportunity to travel to Mindful Mountain, where they learn to share with care. They can explore the Tower of Treasure, where they learn to secure their secrets and not share too much information online. In Kind Kingdom, the children will learn to be kind on the internet and think about what they are posting. Finally, Reality River has your students reflect on what they're consuming in the media and gives them tips on how not to fall for fake news. Throughout all 4 of the locations your student can visit, they are also taught about being internet brave, meaning that if they come across something questionable or something they are unsure of, they should always come forward with their question and ask a trusted adult.
References:
Common Sense Meda. (2017). What is digital citizenship? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toK_BAYnjoU
CrashCourse. (2018). Introduction to media literacy: Crash course media literacy #1. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7N-1Mj-DU
DROG. (2019). Bad news. Retrieved from https://getbadnews.com/#intro
DROG. (2019). Bad news junior. Retrieved from http://getbadnews.com/droggame_book/junior/#intro
Google. (2019). Interland: Be internet awesome. Retrieved from https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland/
Media Literacy Now. (2017). What is media literacy? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIaRw5R6Da4Ontario Ministry of Education (2006). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 language (Revised). Toronto: Queen’s Printer.
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