Group items tagged

"Our own study of over 1.25 million stories published online between April 1, 2015 and Election Day shows that a right-wing media network anchored around Breitbart developed as a distinct and insulated media system, using social media as a backbone to transmit a hyper-partisan perspective to the world. This pro-Trump media sphere appears to have not only successfully set the agenda for the conservative media sphere, but also strongly influenced the broader media agenda, in particular coverage of Hillary Clinton."

"The videos demonstrate the process of facilitating group learning about media literacy. Students are prompted to think critically about all media messages by asking questions such as: * Who produced this media message, and for what purpose? * Is the information credible, how would you know? * What techniques were used to communicate this message? * Who might be the target audience? * Who might benefit or be harmed by this message? * How might other people interpret this message differently? As shown in the videos, teachers respond with evidence-based prompts such as: "What makes you say that and where is that shown in the document?" These literacy principles are often preceded by content questions that encourage students to analyze media documents, including: * What are the main messages here about… (fill in the blank)? * What bias or point of view do you see here? * What information is left out of this message and why? Project Look Sharp developed these materials after assessing how some teachers present media documents to illustrate key points rather than to engage students. The videos include running annotations that explain how to conduct discussions about media messages using the constructivist methodology. Teachers will learn how to shift their practices from predominantly delivering facts to engaging students in rigorous analysis, application of key knowledge, and reflection on their understanding of the mediated world they live in."

"It's become alarmingly clear that we've neglected an education that underpins civic engagement. Civics is dropping out of the curriculum across the country in favor of training for jobs. Students don't know how our government works, let alone why we want it to work that way. And the heart of civics education is literacy. Today, in the 21st century, when so much of our information comes in visual form, and information systems are created on a base of algorithms using big data that is collected via media, literacy is synonymous with media literacy."

"Teachers are taking up the challenge to change that. NPR Ed put out a social media call asking how educators are teaching fake news and media literacy, and we got a lot of responses. Here's a sampling from around the country:"

"Media literacy is suddenly a front-burner issue for schools, thanks to the recent presidential election, a spate of reports on "fake news," and new research demonstrating just how ill-equipped young people are to critically evaluate information they encounter online and via social media. As a result, educators find themselves behind the eight ball, expected to help students negotiate everything from internet hoaxes, to partisan policy advocacy disguised as unbiased news, to a President-elect who has used Twitter to spread baseless claims originating in unfounded conspiracy theories."

""We've been needing to have these conversations for a while, so this is definitely the time," said Michael Boyle, who is developing a media-literacy course at West Chester University as part of a new undergraduate minor in media and culture. "If we're not going to do it now, then why bother?""

""The stock phrase employed by western mainstream media that the bomb struck a 'stronghold of the militant Hezbollah group,' to quote the Washington Post, belies the fact that the area is dense and residential, and that the victims were civilians. This is akin to describing the September 11th attacks in Manhattan as striking 'a stronghold of American bankers.' It may be true symbolically, and also by crude motive of the bombers. But who are the victims and why were they targeted? They were civilians, overwhelmingly from the Shia sect, which make up Hezbollah's base of support in Lebanon. Curiously, despite the fact that civilians were indiscriminately targeted, U.S. mainstream media did not refer to the bombing as a 'terrorist attack.'"

"hey may be digital natives with instincts that allow them to use the latest app and easily share photos and video on social media platforms, but when it comes to evaluating information they access on the web, those from middle school through college aren't nearly as knowledgeable as some might think. In fact, they can't tell an ad from a news story or hate group propaganda from factual material from a respected news outlet. In fact, the Stanford History Education Group described students' reasoning ability when it comes to Internet information as "bleak." The group's 18-month project, "Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning," looked at "the ability to judge the credibility of information that floods young people's smartphones, tablets and computers.""

"We have much bigger problems than just the fake news sites circulating on Facebook-this is a concern for news organizations using social media to discover content, as well. To begin to develop a grammar of fake news, I collected six types of false information we've seen this election season."

"To holistically prepare this new generation for life in an open society, what's needed is a new model for high-school civics; one that integrates American history and government, critical thinking, media literacy, and digital literacy. The goal of such education should not be merely to instill understanding of our online civic landscape, but how to navigate and participate in it in constructive and meaningful ways: Not what to think, but how to think."

"As we educators enter Black History Month, it's easy to focus our energy on Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr.-and typically sanitized versions of their radical activism. It's tempting to try to make talking about race as "easy" as possible. However, doing that does a disservice to our students, because then they can't enter conversations about the world around them-whether it's a news story or a music video-with the full story. Delving deeper into untold histories and modern pop culture results in interdisciplinary possibilities that result in and more thoughtful and well-informed discussions about race in America. After our initial discussions about the video and performance (and some quick history lessons about Katrina, New Orleans, segregated swimming pools, and the Black Panthers), I asked students in all of my classes-Composition I, Composition II, Diversity in the Media, and Intro to Film Studies-to complete the following assignment. The results were universally thoughtful and analytical, without the discomfort and anger that was in their voices the day after the Super Bowl performance."

"The question of humanitarian intervention has to be rethought thoroughly for our time. Today, it is nearly impossible to commit crimes against humanity in secret; efficient communication media will bring them to light immediately. We are more intimately engaged by them and with them than we were in the past. These acts that shock human conscience evoke the question of whether it is our responsibility to intervene, and what might be the moral justifications behind such intervention. "

There needs to be massive attention given to early education of children in schools, and in the home, regarding issues of privacy, sharing, new media tools, and those tools' power to expose if not used properly. At the time of Tyler's death, Rutgers was launching its Project Civility campaign to raise awareness and sensitivity within the campus community. This is a noble endeavor to undertake, and it should continue. But it's too late. Creating positive, civil cultures should begin with our youngest students. Schools need to address incidents of bullying and cyberbullying in partnership with parents so that our students receive consistent messages at school and at home. And this work should begin as early as possible.

Welcome to the EC Ning Online Workshop on Nazi Propaganda presented by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Your facilitators are Carol Danks and Laurie Schaefer, both Museum Teacher Fellows and members of the Regional Education Corps for the USHMM.  This workshop will last for 21 days, from January 30-February 19th. So that you can best plan your time, here is the general outline for the workshop: Introduction & Overview: "State of Deception: Nazi Propaganda Online Workshop" January 30-February 1: Orientation to the State of Deception Website and Media Literacy questions February 2nd -7th Module 1: Exploring the concept of Inclusion through the theme: Defining the Enemy, Making a Leader, Rallying the Nation, and Indoctrinating the Youth. February 8th-12th: Module 2: Exploring the concept of Exclusion through the theme: Defining the Enemy February 13th-16th: Module 3: Propagating messages of Inclusion and Exclusion through the themes: Writing the News and Deceiving the Public February 17th: Module 4: Exploring Post Holocaust Propaganda and De-Nazification through the theme: Assessing the Guilt February 18th-19th: Teaching about Propaganda in the classroom: Resources, Lessons, Online Polls  

Use the treatment of citizens of Japanese and German ancestry during World War II--looking specifically at media portrayals of these groups and internment camps--as historical examples of ethnic conflict during times of trial; explore the problems inherent in assigning blame to populations or nations of people. Students will also look at contemporary examples of ethnic conflict, discrimination, and stereotyping at home and abroad.

We may think of our tweets as real-time snippets of information. But collectively, tweets tell stories - about media scandals, natural disasters, political speeches and more. Over time, these stories become part of an important historical record - one that's made up of a multitude of voices, opinions and ideas. If journalism is the "rough draft of history," Twitter is the "raw draft of history" - imperfect and less polished, but important nonetheless.

Lesson plan for WWII Homefront video we use.

"Here's the one big lesson we've learned: Agency begins with being able to ask your own questions and continues with the ability to participate in decisions that affect you wherever and whenever they are made. That's the one big lesson from nearly three decades of work and it has implications from the micro level of our daily lives to the highest levels of decision-making in our democracy. For it's possible to imagine a dictatorship that discourages citizens from asking questions, but we should not accept a democracy in which questions cannot be asked. A strong sense of agency, and self-efficacy on a fundamental level is actually a precursor, a foundation for more effective action on any level of our democracy. It's the beginning of the journey towards democratic action, not its completion. Skip over it however, and you get pretty much the status quo we've got today. If you're happy with that, don't bother to read on. How do we translate this one big idea, one big lesson into action? We've been working on trying to answer just one question in the simplest way possible: How can we democratize access to the deceptively simple yet very sophisticated skills of question formulation and effective participation in decisions? Let's focus here on just the first skill; question formulation. It is no small matter to teach the skill; it's often developed only through high levels of professional education and with years of experience. Indeed, access to them can be difficult and costly. In 2002, The New York Times asked college presidents what should students learn in four years of college. There was a consensus that students could not come out of college knowing all there is to know so college should, according to Leon Botstein of Bard College, "engender a lifelong habit of curiosity, as opposed to becoming more convinced that you are an authority." He went on to say students should learn "analytical skills of interpretation and inquiry. In other word

" These are signs of unusual times. With Mr. Trump in the White House, the obsession with politics that has many adult Americans fiercely focused on the Senate's latest confirmation hearing and the president's last Twitter message has filtered down to those not yet of voting age. High school and even middle school students are showing a level of civic engagement not seen in years, their teachers and principals say. Continue reading the main story RELATED COVERAGE Donald Trump Loves New York. But It Doesn't Love Him Back. DEC. 9, 2016 Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary; Pence Breaks Tie FEB. 7, 2017 "