We explore the connections between media literacy and computational thinking through an interview with computational thinker and advocate Robert M. Panoff from Shodor Education Foundation. This issue covers What is computational thinking? And, the intersections between computational thinking, journalism, and media literacy.
This issue continues our theme of Children and Media Literacy. This month we publish an article Media Literacy Education: A Preschool Imperative for Building Resiliency by a panel of four experts who engaged in an online and offline commentary, which they edited collaboratively.
This issue offers a wide variety of resources for parents and educators interested in media literacy for early childhood education. We follow a team of library researchers who discover that the accessible information technologies are helpful but not sufficient to spur early literacy development, whereas parental involvement is crucial if young children are to acquire early literacy skills. We also review the research on the quality of literacy-focused applications for young children on the market today.
In 2010, CML published the Voices of Media Literacy, a collection of interviews with 20 media literacy pioneers who were active in the field prior to 1990. Their views not only shed light on the development of media literacy, but also on where they see the field evolving and their hopes for the future. In this issue, we add one more pioneer to the list. Dorothy G. Singer is a media literacy pioneer who studied the effect of television on young children and how they play.
If the ultimate goal of media literacy is to make wise choices possible, we must ask ourselves, “How do people make decisions?” and “What role can media literacy education play in this decision-making process?” Nudge theory suggests that heuristics can be approached deliberately to encourage/enable helpful thinking and decisions, and that this is more effective in shifting individual and group behavior than by traditional threats, laws, policies, enforcement, etc.
Since few adults in any part of the world grew up learning media literacy concepts or indeed, even knew the words “media literacy,” there is a large gap in understanding about what media literacy is and why it is important. As digital media prevails more and more in most adults’ lives, the imperative for media literacy has become more urgent, and there is more recognition of the need for media literacy education. Includes reports from Australia, UK, and US.
Media literacy is now recognized as a skill-set that should be at the center of education today – but change management continues to be needed to realize this vision. John Kotter, a professor at Harvard Business School and a change management expert, introduced a series of eight steps – considered classics -- in his 1995 book, “Leading Change.” New media tools can amplify these steps towards faster adoption of new ideas and processes. Includes an interview with leaders of NAMLE.
In 2006 Henry Jenkins published a white paper identifying the challenges and opportunities for media literacy in our 21st century media culture. Since then, new ideas, new technologies, and new names have emerged bringing with them misunderstandings and rifts among educators. It’s time to reflect on where we’ve been and where we are now.
The Voices of Media Literacy project, sponsored by Tessa Jolls and Barbara Walkosz, features interviews of 20 early pioneers who shaped the field into what it is today. As Executive Editor Tessa Jolls comments, “These people know what media literacy is, and are able to articulate it and express it because they lived it and helped invent it.”