BLOG POST #8 MEDIA LITERACY MATTERS IN PLN

It is no longer enough simply to read and write. Students must also become literate in the understanding of visual images. Our children must learn how to spot a stereotype, isolate a social cliché, and distinguish facts from propaganda, analysis from banter, and important news from coverage.

—Ernest Boyer, former president, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Sometimes media literacy and factual information are in an opposite relations.

Why does open dialogues about media literacy and factual information meet conflicting?

• • What is media literacy?

Media literacy refers to the information selection ability, questioning ability, understanding ability, evaluation ability, creativity and production ability, and speculative reaction ability shown when people face various information through different media such as television, radio, computers, newspapers and magazines, and advising. In the past people collect information through paper-based books, which called “literacy”due to read print. Nowadays, thanks to social media network, viewers can gain information and data by receiving verbal and visual message (Copper, 2002).

Media literacy also influences  foreign speakers, “using them in the classroom can be a daunting experience, especially when combined with the task of making its information understandable to foreign speakers” (Cooper, 2002). For international students studying in the North America, they use information everyday. Elizabeth Thoman, founder and president of the Center for Media Literacy. Thomas worked in this field over twenty years pointed out foreign students need critical skills to see through the images of North America culture.

In general, media literacy can help international students, and it also enhances critical thinking. Media literacy refers to the ability to use mass communication resources correctly and constructively, to make full use of media resources to improve oneself and participate in social progress. It mainly includes the public’s motivation for using media resources, the methods and attitudes of using media resources, the effectiveness of using media resources, and the ability to criticize the media.

• • Why is it important?

• • • Cognition. It helps to improve their ability to understand the nature and form of information carried and broadcast by the media, be familiar with the methods of seeking information, and have the ability to evaluate, interpret, discriminate, select, organize and aggregate information;
    • Affection. It helps to recognize the value and power of media information, and judge its appropriateness, which is legal and ethical;
    • Skills. It helps to have and improve the basic ability to operate media tools, including the use of computers, media systems and Information retrieval, processing and dissemination on the Internet;
    • Creating  environment It helps to continue to pay attention to the scientific use of media, actively participate in creating a suitable and healthy media ecological environment and atmosphere, and promote the reform and development of the cultural media industry and journalism.

We should promote mass media to improve its quality and social benefits, and improve media with good social benefits to obtain economic advantages and development momentum.

• • Why is it dismissed?

Actually, people may have different understanding in the same thing, but sometimes media literacy makes people easy to blindly follow the trend. People should learn to think independently and analyze rationally to improve their media literacy.

• • Why should you aim for varied views but factual consensus in your PLN?

In our PLN, we express our opinions in different aspects with varied views, however, each single word is base on every individuals. Thus, although the opinions are varied, the main frame of their thoughts will not change dramatically. For instance, as for teachers, the perspective of them reflects  views of teaching as a complex … digital tools, but depending on their professional roles, the other PLN items varied slightly (Trust, Krutka & Carpenter, 2016).

Although everything has two sides, the characteristics and importance of media literacy allow everyone to use and trade social media more rationally.

Reference:

Cooper, A. (2002). Teaching Media Literacy in the ESL Classroom. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/teaching-media-literacy-esl-classroom

Media Literacy – Course YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/Z_T9RghwJlI

Trust, T., Krutka, D. G. & Carpenter, J. P. (2016) “Together we are better”: Professional learning networks for teachers. ScienceDirect Computer & Education, 102. 15-34. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2016.06.007

Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills: Learning for life in our times. Jossey-Bass/Wiley.