Building Media Literacy

We live in a society that is “media saturated, technologically dependent, and globally connected” (NCSS, 2009, p. 1).  People are bombarded daily by images and sound bites about what is happening in the world not only from books, newspapers, magazines, television and radio, but also online via mobile devices, including cell phones, iPods, and computers. Students today spend the majority of their waking hours plugged in to the net in one way or another; and they even take their devices to bed with them, which leaves them with a 24 hour access to information, from the music to which they listen to the social media sites they frequent.

Remember the old adage, consider the source? Students need to be able to identify who or what the source of the information is and how to find alternative opinions. They need to be able to analyze and evaluate the veracity of the information, using verifying sources to compare and contrast viewpoints. 

In order for students to make informed decisions, the National Council of Social Studies believes that students should ask probing questions such as:

• What social, cultural, historical, and political contexts are shaping the message and the meaning I am making of it?
• How and why was the message constructed?.
• How could different people understand this information differently?
• Whose perspective, values and ideology are represented and whose are missing?
• Who or what group benefits and/or is hurt by this message?” (NCSS, 2009, p. 1)

Project Look Sharp (2008) recommends that students should also compare different sources on the same topic and create their own media reports about a topic using different forms of media, showing the same information with different forms of media via opposing viewpoints. 

Here’s a great video about media literacy, by Melissa Fabello. 

Sources cited:

melissafabello.com. (2014).  Media Literacy 101. [Video]. From: http://youtu.be/lFF8wAqy-wo

NCSS. (2009). Media literacy. From: http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/medialiteracy

Project Look Sharp. (2008). From: http://www.projectlooksharp.org/Resources%202/12BasicWaysBooklet.pdf

Image credit:

Jagran Lakecity University. http://www.jlu.edu.in/connect-here/media/