Media Literacy:International Experience in praxis

Media Literacy:International Experience in praxis

Ratheesh Kaliyadan

Several attempts are popular among developed nations media ecology. Different initiatives run wide ranges of programmes to establish media literacy among youth and children. Both across curriculum activities and co-curricular activities are available. Only the best practiced and universally applauded initiatives are mentioning here.

Media literacy through critical thinking is a package developed by NW Center for Excellence in Media Literacy. The work books and other documents developed by the center  is provided strictly for educational purposes and as a public service by the NW Center for Excellence in Media Literacy, based in the College of Education at the University of Washington. Their goal is to improve the training, research, and service opportunities for both adults and teens across Washington State who are interested in media literacy education and have particular interest in addressing teen health issues from a media literacy perspective.

The Media Literacy Project is a leading effort in United States of America to promote media literacy among children. The project founded in 1993, cultivates critical thinking and activism. “We are committed to building a healthy world through media justice” says the Media Literacy project leaders. As a nationally recognized leader in media literacy resources, trainings, and education, MLP delivers dynamic multimedia presentations at conferences, workshops and classrooms across the country. The project’s media literacy curricula and action guides are used in countless classrooms and communities. The training programs have empowered thousands of people to be advocates and activists for media justice. The project is organizing campaigns such as Siembra la palabra digna. This is an Anchor Organization for the Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net) center communities of color, poor communities, rural communities, and immigrant communities in the creation of local, regional, and national media policy.

Realising the realities around, the ministry of education, Ontario put forward a unique experience in media literacy. The experts of Ontario rightly realised that critical-thinking and critical-literacy skills are tools students need in order to develop into active, responsible participants in the global community. They believe that professional collaboration and ongoing learning help teachers develop a deeper, broader, more reflective understanding of effective instruction. They practice the principle ‘catch them young’ by providing opportunities of media literacy exercises in junior classes. In the junior grades, students look for relevance and meaning in what they are learning. In today’s media-saturated world, media literacy is highly relevant. Students need to learn to view media messages with a critical and analytical eye as well as how to interact with media responsibly. By exploring the hows and whys of the media, students develop an increased understanding of the media’s unprecedented power to persuade and influence. “Media Literacy”, builds on the research findings and best practices in Literacy for Learning: The Report of the Expert Panel on Literacy in Grades 4 to 6 in Ontario. It provides a framework for the expectations in the Media Literacy strand of the Language curriculum (2006). It emphasizes the importance of developing a critical awareness of the media and describes effective ways of teaching about and using media. Media literacy instruction can be woven into all areas of the curriculum not only the learning expectations in all the Language strands (Reading, Writing, Oral Communication, and Media Literacy) but also other curriculum subject areas.