Media Literacy Starts with Everyone, Report Says
RSSBy Lauren Barack
Tossing money at technology in K-12 schools is hardly the answer to promoting students' media and digital literacy. So says a new report from the Aspen Institute, "Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action," written by Renee Hobbs, a professor at Temple University's School of Communications and Theater. The study found that students need a deep, thorough program in digital literacy, and that must start with developing competency among educators themselves. Hobbs says that education budgets often allocate 85 percent of funding to technology with a small amount to training. "Nothing is going to mindware, and we've got to reverse those numbers. We are struggling with this," she says. The many teachers and school librarians who are already crafting best practices in teaching media literacy should be leading this training, according to Hobbs. "Librarians are at the heart of that enterprise," says Hobbs. "And they're at risk. I recognize [their role] is something that gets knocked off the policy agendas and gets trivialized at higher levels of decision-making." Hobbs, along with 21 attendees, including American Library Association President Roberta Stevens and Marijke Visser, assistant director, Office for Information Technology, American Association of School Librarians, met last week in Washington, D.C. They discussed how to take the 67-page report, crafted from recommendations made by a commission from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and translate the points into action that can be taken by teachers, librarians, administrators, as well as state and local governments. As part of the push to identify and create catalyst teachers, Hobbs emphasizes three strategies: educating teachers; creating more media and technology partnerships with K-12 schools; and identifying educators who are putting some of these practices in play and learning from their efforts. While no one expects immediate results, Hobbs hopes the report will be seen as a practical course of action to moving forward over the next few years, she says. "It's not going to be done in three years," says Hobbs. "It's a big goal. But the time to start is now." This article originally appeared in the newsletter Extra Helping. Go here to subscribe.
