Media Literacy – Mrs. Rossi's Library Tech Page!

I am so pleased that the Mead School District is offering “Parenting in the Digital Age” to our community this week. Educators and teachers need to understand the impacts of screen dependency (this is a lighter word than addiction) and the huge potential and risks of social media on this generation of K-12 students. I know teachers can be considered part of the problem because of our own dependence on screens to deliver exciting and engaging content.

“But you need me to help teach the CORRECT way to interact with technology, I’m teaching you digital citizenship….” I justify.

We used Chromebooks and Zoom as an academic and pseudo-social lifeline during the first chapter of Covid 19 Pandemic virtual school. Even the families most leery of computer-based learning were forced at that time to adapt to the foreign new landscape of digital communication. In any case, there is an urgency for both parents and educators to understand screen dependency and partner with our students to appropriately and thoughtfully navigate our digital world.

Please work to attend the very important event centered around the documentary, “Screenagers” at Mead High School on May 21, 2024.

Click here to watch the trailer for SCREENAGERS .

Media Literacy is a 21st-century approach to education. It provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate, create and participate with messages in a variety of forms — from print to video to the Internet. Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy.” ~ Center for Media Literacy

This video below (starring Joey Papa, who I didn’t previously know, but now respect) is short, compelling and starts the conversation I’m having this week (and, really, I touch on the topic weekly, be it with discussions of literature, digital citizenship, or online safety.

What IS Media Literacy?

“Media literacy is the ability to ACCESS, ANALYZE, EVALUATE, CREATE, and ACT using all forms of communication. In its simplest terms, media literacy builds upon the foundation of traditional literacy and offers new forms of reading and writing. Media literacy empowers people to be critical thinkers and makers, effective communicators and active citizens.” ~ NAMLE (National Association for Media Literacy Education)

Here are a few slides from the Media Literacy lesson I’m presenting with the 4th and 5th graders.

Screen Shot 2019-10-18 at 10.36.14 AM — Slide from class presentation

Screen Shot 2019-10-18 at 10.37.04 AM — Another slide from class presentation

“Media Literacy describes the act of being capable of handling different forms of media and being competent, critical and literate.” ~ Urban Dictionary (Defined with no swears! That’s pretty rare, actually!)

If you want to go deeper into the myriad elements of “media literacy” here is the CML’s “glossary.”

#MediaLitWk