Policy | Media Education Lab

Rethinking Media Literacy

DATE: TIME: Friday, November 6, 2026LOCATION: Online. Google Meet.

Discourse in a Digital Age

The American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) Online Education and Outreach Committee is offering a webinar, sponsored by the Discourse and Interaction (DIS), Language and Technology (TEC), and Language, Culture, Socialization and Pragmatics (LCS) strands. …

Media Literacy in a Time of War

Media Literacy in a Time of War: Voices from PalestineFor young people in the West Bank, questioning a viral image isn't a classroom exercise. It's a matter of safety. This free six-part webinar series brings educators, researchers, students and activists from around the world together with the Palestinian faculty and youth who have been building media literacy under occupation, war and…

Meet the Pridebrarian

Jess Dotson is a media literacy activist with a passion for issues related to representation. She's an Emmy-nominated TV producer with a degree in Media Studies. @PrideBrary on YouTube has 60K followers, and it is her personal creator project, with the tagline: "we're like a library but, you know... with pride." She makes video-essay / infotainment media criticism about LGBTQ+, race and…

Cultivating Human-Centered Well-Being

The University of Rhode Island is hosting the second Digital Learning Exchange under the leadership of Kara Clayton DATE: Monday, September 21, 2026 TIME: 6:30-8:00 PM EST. LOCATION: Online TO REGISTER: If you would like to attend this session, …

NCTE Position Statement on Media Education

The New Literacy Landscape: Exploring NCTE’s Position Statement on Media EducationDATE: Tuesday, October 6 TIME: 4:00–5:00 p.m. ETLOCATION: Online. Register here. We’re excited to welcome Tiana Silvas, NCTE Vice President-Elect, as moderator joining Rachel Lloyd and Renee Hobbs for this timely conversation exploring the…

Don't Take the Bait!

Don’t Take the Bait! The Propaganda of Influencers and Outrage Media with Renee Hobbs An adult education program As intentional falsehoods and hate have become a rhetorical strategy with profound consequences for democracy, media consumers need habits of mind and practical strategies that protect them from the new propaganda of influencers and outrage media. In this presentation, we…

REDMIL 2026 Literacies in the Middle

The ReDMIL 2026 doctoral summer school aims at contributing to the convergence between digital, media and information literacy research by bringing together researchers from all three communities to foster the scientific debate and explore connections between them. The summer school is an international training program that will alternate between framing presentations by senior researchers…

Together We Rise - October

Marie Celestin and Renee Hobbs offer a community gathering called Together We Rise. This event is free and open to the public. Join us to reflect on your lived experience during a time of political transition. DATE: Monday, October 5, 2026TIME: 1 - 2 PM ESTLOCATION: Online. Click here to register. This…

Back to School with Media Literacy in Action

See what the author of Media Literacy in Action has planned for Fall 2026 semester and learn about the Instructor Resources available for media literacy educators DATE: Monday, August 24, 2026TIME: 12 - 1 PM ESTLOCATION. Online. Click here to register. Thousands of students are using…

Inside the AI Factory

How can we use AI to teach about AI? DATE: Tuesday, August 25, 2026TIME: 12 - 1 PM ESTLOCATION: Online. Click here to registerDavid Foster will share a prototype AI literacy mini-module designed for high school and…

Together We Rise - August

Marie Celestin and Renee Hobbs offer a community gathering called Together We Rise. This event is free and open to the public. Join us to reflect on your lived experience during a time of political transition. DATE: Monday, August 3, 2026TIME: 1 - 2 PM ESTLOCATION: Online. Click here to register. This is…

AI and Human Dignity

As Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence, lands in the middle of an accelerating global debate over AI governance, educators and media literacy advocates face a pointed question: what does it mean to keep human dignity at the center of technological change? Signed on May 15, 2026, the 135th anniversary of Pope…

What's Happening In Massachusetts?

JOIN US!Meet some of the Massachusetts school leaders, educators, librarians, and tech specialists who are implementing media literacy in schools! DATE: Monday, March 30, 2026TIME: 2 - 3 PM LOCATION: Online. What's happening with media literacy in Massachusetts? Confirmed PresentersKyra Brissette, CEO, Media Literacy NowJessica Garbowski, Digital Literacy teacher,…

MEL Monthly Meeting

These gatherings are designed exclusively for the 71 people who are currently affiliated with the Lab as core team members, fellows, affiliated faculty, graduate students, or project collaborators.As our work continues to grow in reach, scale, and impact, these monthly meetings give us space to stay connected, share updates, coordinate…

Together We Rise: December 2025

Dear friends of the Media Education Lab community,Like many of you, we are still processing the school shooting that took place at Brown University last week and the days of fear and anxiety that followed. Many members of the MEL community, including myself, live, work, teach, and study in and around Providence, Rhode Island. Many of you reached out to us in the past days, appreciating the…

Media & Family Conference

The Catholic University of Croatia (CUC) hosts the "Media and Family in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" conference on December 10, 2025, focusing on media's impact on family life, alongside broader communication conferences addressing disinformation, with participation from international experts, promoting media literacy and digital citizenship, reflecting CUC's engagement in contemporary…

New Models for Academic Peer Review: A JMLE Discussion

What are some alternatives to the double-blind peer review system of academic journals? Not surprisingly, there are quite a few! Each model is trying to fix different weaknesses of traditional double-blind peer review (bias, slowness, opacity, gatekeeping). Join JMLE Editors for an informal conversation to learn more about the options available as we consider a path forward.…

From Stone Age to AI

From the first campfire stories to the algorithms shaping our digital lives, information networks have always played a central role in how we understand the world and each other. In "Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI," Yuval Noah Harari explores how networks of…

Media Literacy: Critical Thinking for an AI World

MEDIA LITERACY Critical Thinking for an AI WorldStarting April 12, 2025 Work with a team of Palestinian and American educators to create a media literacy program for Palestinian young adults to build resilience and critical thinking skills WHY IT MATTERSIn today's digital age, navigating the complexities of media is crucial for everyone. Media literacy plays a crucial role in…

Media Literacy is for Everyone

In response to the enthusiasm and excitement around our last event in October, we are excited to officially invite you back to Rhode Island PBS for the next event in the recurring series, “Media Literacy is for Everyone”. DATE: Tuesday, February 11 TIME: 5:00 - 7:00 PM ESTLOCATION: Rhode Island PBS, 50 Park Ln, Providence, RI We're dedicated to the process of building…

Digital Authorship Graduate Course

Digital Authorship (EDC 534) is offered in the Spring 2026 semester by Professor Renee Hobbs. It is one of four required courses in the Graduate Certificate in Digital Literacy. The course is offered fully online in an asynchronous format for Anytime Learning. DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS JANUARY 20, 2026…

Book Party, Media Literacy in Action, 2nd Edition

Join Renee Hobbs for a book party to celebrate the publication of Media Literacy in Action, 2nd edition!DATE: Wednesday, February 5, 2025TIME: 12 PM - 1 PM ESTLOCATION. Online. REGISTER HEREHelp students…

Together We Rise: The Next 100 Days

Together We Rise: The Next 100 Days Co-Creating Connections and Possibilities in a Time of Transition The program continues! Join us for reflection and fellowship. This weekly webinar addresses themes of social connection, political transition, stress reduction, and media literacy. Sessions include guest speakers, guided discussions, and mindfulness practices. We are co-…

Media Literacy Theory of Change Model

Introducing the Media Literacy Theory of Change ModelJoin media literacy researchers Erica Austin and Shawn Domgaard to learn about a new theoretical model, published recently in Communication Theory, that conceptualizes how media literacy activates both cognitive and affective components of the message interpretation processes along with skills that can be taught, engaged, and adapted…

MediaEd Forum

Join us for the 17th MediaEd Forum!We've changed the name of the Northeast Media Literacy Conference (now in its 17th year) to reflect the growing global diversity of our online knowledge community!Conference Theme: Confronting the ChallengesFriday & Saturday, January 12-13, 2024 ONLINE VIA ZOOM…

Media Literacy Matters

Renee Hobbs is thrilled to be a featured presenter at the European Digital and Media Literacy Conference in Brussels, which puts the many faces of digital and media literacy in the European spotlight during the Belgian EU presidency. February 27 - March 1, 2024Brussels, BelgiumThe conference is focused on showcasing and exchanging initiatives, tools, projects and practices that can be…

Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

International Conference In celebration of Media Literacy Week, our co-directors Renee Hobbs and Yonty Friesem will participate as keynote speakers at the International Conference and Training on Digital and Media Education.. From, Oct. 26 to Oct. 27, national and international scholars, school educators, journalists, media professionals, NGOs and stakeholders will gather at…

Connectivity & Digital Disruption: The Digital Divide

Read here about our full webinar series on Inequalities and Media EducationIn this fourth webinar, we will explore the concepts of digital divides from both U.S. domestic and global digital divides. Susan Wiesinger and Ralph Beliveau discuss their new book, Digital Literacy: A Primer on Media,…

Media Club - A Skeptical Take on the A.I. Revolution - Part 1

Join hosts Dr. Kristina Cordero, Dr. Cristina Mota, and Kate Dalton to discuss the implications of ChatGPT as it relates to media literacy and educational practice more broadly. This will be a collaborative session, grounded in Ezra Klein's January 6th 2023 podcast: A Skeptical…

Connecting to Learn

Instructional practices in media literacy education and their impact on students’ learning

Issues of pedagogy, alignment, and context in assessing measures of media literacy.

Media Literacy in Massachusetts: A Landscape Scan

The first-ever major statewide initiative to document the scope of media literacy education in American public schoolsClick here to read the report To better understand the status, challenges, and opportunities for advancing media literacy…

Media Literacy in Action, 2nd edition 2025

The blurring of entertainment, information, and persuasion is reshaping work, life, and citizenship. As a result, our relationship to media has never been so important nor so complex. By asking critical questions about what they watch, listen to, read, and use, students can be better prepared to be responsible communicators who can use a variety of formats and genres for self-expression and…

The Routledge Handbook of Media Education Futures Post-Pandemic.

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