media literacy – Page 3 – Media! Tech! Parenting!

connected world problems, digital kids, digital life, digital literacy, media literacy, media messages, parents and technology

Media Literacy Educators Are Not Responsible for Society’s Digital Problems

Posted on January 11, 2017January 11, 2017 by Marti Weston

screen-shot-2017-01-11-at-10-39-42-pm The Media Literacy community is dedicated and passionate about its work — but not according to danah boyd (yes she spells her name this way).

I’ve just read her article, Did Media Literacy Backfire? and honestly, I am puzzled. Boyd aptly describes today’s problems with unsubstantiated information and dramatic cultural divides, but she goes on to blame media literacy.

Medialit has no causal relationship with the cultural issues that divide us. In fact, if there is any connection between today’s digital information and cultural communication problems it’s that we don’t have nearly enough school literacy programs to help all students learn how to deconstruct and consume media.

Continue reading “Media Literacy Educators Are Not Responsible for Society’s Digital Problems” →

21st Century Learning, 21st Century life, evaluating news, media literacy, news, parents and technology

Can We Stop Using the Word Fake to Describe Made Up News?

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Marti Weston

describing-real-news Fake is a generic term. We don’t use it much when we teach — in any subject — because it’s judgmental and doesn’t tell us much about whatever it’s supposed to be characterizing. Besides, anyone can say that something — anything — is fake or made up.

So let’s not use fake to describe the news.

I recently read The Fight Against Fake News Starts in the Classroom, an article that describes media literacy lessons developed by Project Look Smart (at Ithaca College) and the principles of evaluating, deconstructing, and applying unambiguous descriptions to the news. The literacy lessons aim to help students gain more understanding of the practice of media evaluation and inquiry rather than simply designating something as true or false. When I finished reading the article and look over the wonderful teaching units, I realized that every lesson can be completed without focusing much, or at all on the word fake. Continue reading “Can We Stop Using the Word Fake to Describe Made Up News?” →

21st Century parenting, 21st Century teaching, digital learning, fake news, media literacy, parents and technology

Video Visually Demonstrates Sharing Fake News vs. Checking It First

Posted on December 13, 2016December 13, 2016 by Marti Weston

A media company in Sweden, MetroSverige, shared this excellent video visualization that depicts the differences between checking on the validity of a piece of news and just sharing it without pausing to consider whether it or not it is fake news.

21st Century Learning, 21st Century life, credibility, evaluating news, evaluating web site resources, fake news, information credibility, media literacy, parents and technology

Real or Fake? How to Check Yourself

Posted on December 6, 2016March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

If you think a lot about fake news these days, and if you aim to help your students or family members develop the ability to effectively evaluate and decide what’s real and what’s not, National Public Radio (NPR) just published an excellent article, Fake or Real? How to Self-Check the News and Get the Facts. This piece highlights six steps that individuals can use to judge the stories they encounter, and the article includes a detailed description about how to go about following through with each step.

The entire NPR post, which is chock full of helpful information, will be a useful teaching tool for anyone who wants to gauge a news item’s authenticity, and the six basic steps are easy to master. Post the list near computers, on the refrigerator, and in rooms where family members use digital devices and on digital devices’ note pads.

News Evaluation Steps from National Public Radio (Read the article for lots more detail.) Continue reading “Real or Fake? How to Check Yourself” →

21st Century life, civics, media literacy, parents and technology

So What’s Media Literacy?

Posted on November 21, 2016March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

screen-shot-2016-11-21-at-8-58-03-pm

Media and news literacy skills are critical for people who seek to become strong citizens. The above definition aptly describes the meaning of media literacy. Unfortunately, the Media Literacy Project, where this graphic came from, closed its doors in 2015.

Three organizations and websites that actively focus on media literacy issues are the Center for Media Literacy and the National Association for Media Literacy Education in the United States and Media Smarts in Canada. You can also follow the top ten news literacy Twitter accounts.described in a blog post by Samantha Stanley.

Consider reading these media literacy posts from MediaTechParenting.

Triple-Check for Fake Media Sources on Social Media

Scary Headlines! Main Media Outlets Need Literacy Training

Media Literacy, Girls, Women, & Beauty Magazines

21st Century life, 21st Century parenting, body image, media literacy, media messages

Media Literacy, Girls, Women, and Beauty Magazines

Posted on October 13, 2016March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

medialit-mag-video-thumbnail — Check out the video below.

Each month I receive several teen and women’s magazines to look over, and I immediately go through each one to tear out scads of perfume advertisements. My allergies react to the scented pages, and it is much easier to read the articles when I vanquish the perfume ads.

Recently I began thinking about how many advertising pages — perfumes and everything else — publishers cram into each issue that we read, knowing that almost all of them focus on female body image and portray unrealistic, and usually unattainable perfection. These days, so much of what kids see is digital, but these magazines still loom large in the lives of pre-teen and adolescents girls.

Continue reading “Media Literacy, Girls, Women, and Beauty Magazines” →

21st Century life, 21st Century teaching, advertising, civics, civility, credibility, digital devices, digital health and wellness, digital kids, digital life, ethical behavior, information credibility, media and family life, parents and technology, social media, teaching digital kids

Civility Is Now Devalued — So What Will Adults Do About It?

Posted on August 4, 2016May 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

dry-cracked-earth-texture-408x544 — Image from http://www.public-domain-image.com.

If there is ever a time to emphasize ideas on civility, commenting, fact-checking, and media literacy, it’s during an election. Children, preadolescents, and teens will learn much during the 2016 presidential campaign just from all the watching. (Read my post The Children are Watching and Seeing, Listening and Hearing.)

Our traditional expectations for civility and ethical behavior are cracking apart right before our eyes.

On the basis of what’s happened at recent political conventions and the beginning of the election season, young people will be witnessing name-calling, stereotyping, hateful comments, online hate, and in some cases veiled bodily threats. Kids will hear things on TV at home and on the televisions that are broadcasting in lounges, waiting rooms, doctor’s offices, and everywhere else. They will hear radios broadcasting the news at home and in other peoples’ homes. And, of course, there’s social media.

Continue reading “Civility Is Now Devalued — So What Will Adults Do About It?” →