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Why Digital and Media Literacy Matters Now

Why Digital and Media Literacy Matters Now

Renee Hobbs addresses Georgia school, public, and academic librarians on June 11th, 2024Sponsored by Georgia Library Learning Online, more commonly known as GALILEO, a virtual library operated by the University System of Georgia with over 100 core databases available, offering full text access to journals, magazines, e-books, government information, primary documents, and moreLibraries are…

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The AI Challenge: Tool Or Tyrant?

The AI Challenge: Tool Or Tyrant?

Read here about our full webinar series on AI in the Classroom In this webinar, we will discuss how Artificial Intelligence (AI), and especially generative AI (ChatGPT, Dall-E, etc.) is catalyzing a vast transformation of our society. We are seeing the first few effects, such as computer programmers who are twice as…

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MediaEd Forum

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…

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Media Literacy Matters

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 integrated…

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Learning, Design, and Play: How to Make Games and Teach Them

Learning, Design, and Play: How to Make Games and Teach Them

“Learning, Design, and Play: How to Make Games and Teach Them” focuses on ways of designing games around particular learning goals and how youth learn through playing games. A panel of designers and expert game facilitators with a variety of gaming contexts join researchers from the Literacy Research Association's Critical Gaming Literacies Study Group for this one hour event. Panelists will…

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BabeČ™-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

BabeČ™-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 Babeș-Bolyai…

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AI in K12

AI in K12

Read here about our full webinar series on AI in the Classroom  In this webinar, we’ll review some key implications for K12 educators, ways to leverage generative AI effectively, and strategies for staying informed in this rapidly evolving landscape. ​​​​​​The arrival of easily accessible generative AI has been called a…

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Artivism and the Fight Against Marginalisation in the Global South

Artivism and the Fight Against Marginalisation in the Global South

Read here about our full webinar series on Inequalities and Media Education In this first webinar, we aim at reflecting on the potential of media activism and artivism to create more sustainable connections between Global South communities and to promote a dialogue to challenge colonial legacies and…

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Introducing the Media Dictionary

Introducing the Media Dictionary

Media Dictionary is an audiovisual, multilingual, and digital community media initiative that was initiated in 2021 with the primary objective of engaging with diverse communities across India on issues related to media literacy in local languages and dialects. More than 50 volunteers have posted more than 1,000 videos in 35 languages and…

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Courageous RI Professional Development Program

Courageous RI Professional Development Program

Under the auspices of the Courageous Rhode Island program, the Media Education Lab offers a fully-online professional development program for middle school, high school, and college educators from any field or discipline. This program is led by Renee Hobbs (University of Rhode Island) and colleagues. Be part of a supportive online professional learning…

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Media Club - Ecomedia Literacy: Ecojustice and media education in a post-pandemic world

Media Club - Ecomedia Literacy: Ecojustice and media education in a post-pandemic world

Join hosts Dr. Antonio López as he guides participants in an exploration of ecomedia literacy as a framework for the post-pandemic world, along with introducing some practical applications for how media educators can incorporate ecojustice through ecomedia literacy into their curriculum. The media for discussion is the presenters' essay that explores the theoretical understandings and practical…

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Critical AI Literacy

Critical AI Literacy

Read here about our full webinar series on AI in the Classroom  In this eighth webinar, we will explore how can we develop our own critical AI literacy as educators, and how do we develop students' critical AI literacies? In this session, we will explore multiple dimensions of critical AI literacy and discuss various…

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AI research: An anthropological lens

AI research: An anthropological lens

Read here about our full webinar series on AI in the Classroom  In this sixth workshop, Dr. Rangaswamy will introduce a few of her research projects at the intersections of AI, HCI [Human Computer Interaction] and anthropology. Through these projects, this webinar will lay out  the impact and outcomes of AI for pedagogic…

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The Future of Education in the Age of AI: Trends, Issues and Solutions

The Future of Education in the Age of AI: Trends, Issues and Solutions

Read here about our full webinar series on AI in the Classroom  In this seventh workshop, we will explore how AI is transforming education, such as personalizing learning, automating assessment, and improving collaboration. However, AI also poses significant challenges and risks for educators and learners, such as…

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Teaching Prompt Engineering in the Classroom

Teaching Prompt Engineering in the Classroom

Read here about our full webinar series on AI in the Classroom  In this fourth webinar, we will explore the use of AI in K-12 education. In today's fast-paced and technology-driven world, prompt engineering has become an essential skill for students to develop. This session will provide educators with practical…

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High Conflict

High Conflict

In this session, we identify the way that conflict is rooted in blame and shame strategies. We examine the power of particular listening strategies like “looping for understanding” as a means of dialing down the conflicts that we encounter in media, the workplace, family and community. What is high conflict and what forces perpetuate it? How does it damage individuals and communities? What can…

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Artificial Intelligence Literacy

Artificial Intelligence Literacy

Read here about our full webinar series on AI in the Classroom  In this third webinar, we will explore some of the AI impacts and issues relating to media literacy. Many of us are educators (in schools and communities, and among our peers) who strive to inform others about…

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ChatGPT helpful or harmful for teaching rhetoric?

ChatGPT helpful or harmful for teaching rhetoric?

Read here about our full webinar series on AI in the Classroom  The first workshop in this series will provide attendees with an introduction to chat GPT, a powerful communication tool that offers a wide range of benefits. Through a combination of interactive activities and expert presentations, attendees will become…

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Stay Curious, Not Furious

Stay Curious, Not Furious

On February 28, the Media Education Lab at the University of Rhode Island will launch an exciting new media literacy initiative, Courageous RI. Funded by a $700,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security, the effort includes three distinct phases that will foster community conversation, provide training and education, and engage youth, helping…

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Media Literacy for Mid-Career Folks

Media Literacy for Mid-Career Folks

7. MEDIA LITERACY FOR MID-CAREER FOLKS Featured Speaker: Renee Hobbs It's been claimed that older adults were responsible for a significant share of the so-called "fake news" crisis. How might digital skills and knowledge intersect with media literacy competencies for adults as they navigate a rapidly-changing media environment? Learn how mid-career folks manage the more-or-less…

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Across the Generations 4

Across the Generations 4

4. MEDIA LITERACY IN HIGH SCHOOL: FOCUS ON CIVIC EDUCATION In high school, students learn to deconstruct media messages and benefit from access to scaffolding and frameworks to build their critical thinking skills. Students also are discovering their creative capacities as media makers and gain confidence in self-expression when they have authentic audiences who encounter their…

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16th Northeast Media Literacy Conference

16th Northeast Media Literacy Conference

On January 13 - 14, 2023, the media literacy community will gather for NMLC23, the 16th Annual Northeast Media Literacy Conference! This online conference is organized around the theme of RESISTING THE FRAME. DATE: January 13 - 14, 2023 TIME: LOCATION:…

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Previewing the 16th Northeast Media Literacy Conference

Previewing the 16th Northeast Media Literacy Conference

We're celebrating Media Literacy Week PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS!  On January 13 - 14, 2023, the media literacy community will gather for NMLC23, the 16th Annual Northeast Media Literacy Conference! This online conference is organized around the theme of RESISTING THE FRAME. Join us for a webinar where we share our planning…

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Post-Pandemic Futures for Media Education

Post-Pandemic Futures for Media Education

Our team from the Media Education Lab is proud to announce the publication of The Routledge Handbook of Media Education Futures Post-Pandemic. Join us for an hour long webinar on the intercultural application of the human framework for the…

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Microaggressions in the Classroom

Microaggressions in the Classroom

DATE: Monday, August 29, 2022 TIME: 12 - 1 PM EST LOCATION. Online. Click here to register.    Presenter: Zan Walker-Goncalves Writing Program Coordinator and Associate Professor Franklin Pierce University, Rindge, New Hampshire   In this session we will Identify the impact of…

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Copyright Clarity for Digital Learning

Copyright Clarity for Digital Learning

A Special Ticketed Event Renee Hobbs is delighted to offer a two-day, fully-online program for educators, school leaders, librarians, and educational technology staff on March 30 - 31, 2023.   copyright and fair use for digital learning By taking this course, you will enhance your confidence about how the law affects teaching and learning in a digital age. The videos, readings, lesson…

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Back to School with Digital Media Literacy

Back to School with Digital Media Literacy

Many friends of the Media Education Lab took time for learning this summer to imagine and plan possibilities for the year ahead.  Join us to share your ideas and plans for the fall semester with the Media Education Lab community. This webinar is an informal discussion group where we talk about our hopes, fears, and dreams for the coming semester. There will be time for large and small-group…

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DigiURI Media Club | Sandbox Technology

DigiURI Media Club | Sandbox Technology

New to the idea of sandbox technology? Join the club! During our next meeting hosts Vasupradha Srikrishna and Iglika Ivanova will lead us through the basics of sandbox testing environments before we discuss how to teach about them in the media literacy classroom. This month we will utilize two short texts: Here is a…

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Medialogues Showcase: What We Learned Together

Medialogues Showcase: What We Learned Together

Medialogues on Propaganda is an online Professional Learning Community designed to advance the quality of media literacy education by developing the knowledge, confidence, and leadership skills of German, American and global teachers and teacher educators.​ DATE: Tuesday, April 26, 2022 TIME: 18:00 PM CET / 12:00 PM EST LOCATION. …

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Systemizing Digital Citizenship Education

Systemizing Digital Citizenship Education

Systematizing Digital Citizenship Standards    DATE: Thursday, April 7, 2022 TIME: 7 PM EST / 4 PM PST LOCATION: Online. Click here to register. FEATURED PRESENTERS: Kristen Mattson & LeeAnn Lindsey Digital citizenship includes the myriad of skills people need for full, civic…

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The Routledge Handbook of Media Education Futures Post-Pandemic.

The Routledge Handbook of Media Education Futures Post-Pandemic.

Our team from the Media Education Lab is proud to announce the publication of The Routledge Handbook of Media Education Futures Post-Pandemic. This handbook showcases how educators and practitioners around the world adapted their routine media…

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Media Literacy in Action

Media Literacy in Action

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…

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The International Encyclopedia of Media Literacy

The International Encyclopedia of Media Literacy

The definitive international reference on a topic of major and enduring importance Dynamic, multidisciplinary, and global in scope, media literacy is one of today’s fastest growing fields of applied communications. Media literacy encompasses a truly vast range of issues, including participatory culture, digital learning, civic engagement, the impact of media on children, the…

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Create to Learn

Create to Learn

Create to Learn helps learners create multimedia texts as they develop both critical thinking and communication skills. Written by Renee Hobbs, one of the foremost experts in media literacy, this book introduces a wide range of conceptual principles at the heart of multimedia composition and digital pedagogy. Its approach is useful for anyone who sees the profound educational value of creating…

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Copyright Clarity: How Fair Use Supports Digital Learning

Copyright Clarity: How Fair Use Supports Digital Learning

Today, it's more important than ever before to understand the scope of your rights and responsibilities as a digital author. That's why Renee Hobbs wrote the book, Copyright Clarity: How Fair Use Supports Digital Learning.…

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The Library Screen Scene

The Library Screen Scene

PUBLISHED JULY 15 from Oxford University Press order your copy now!In the past two decades, several U.S. states have explored ways to mainstream media literacy in school…

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Teaching Truth, Lies, and Accuracy in the Digital Age

Teaching Truth, Lies, and Accuracy in the Digital Age

This pedagogy article describes a semester-long undergraduate course designed to deconstruct information disorder in the post-truth era by looking at economics, ideology, and power relations. Applying a project-based learning model allowed students to enhance their digital and media literacy skills by inquiring about the accuracy of a variety of sources centered on a single story, '…

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Resistance and Learning in Media & Gender Literacy Classes

Resistance and Learning in Media & Gender Literacy Classes

Resistance is a known component of social justice classes, and it is often seen as impeding learning. The current case study explored possible scenarios of resistance in classrooms where media representations of gender are discussed, and teachers’ reactions to such resistance. Methods used for collecting data included observations in U.S. high school classes as well as interviews with teachers…

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Civic media as a cultural dialogue: Arab and Jewish teachers & documentary filmmaking in Israel

Civic media as a cultural dialogue: Arab and Jewish teachers & documentary filmmaking in Israel

Eighteen Arab and Jewish teachers of civic education and communication studies took part in a national professional development for peace education at the Israeli Center for Educational Technology from 2016 to 2018. They created documentaries as a way to have a cultural dialogue. While learning to produce a documentary as a form of reflection, the participants deepened their dialogues and…

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Digital Authorship: Issues and Implications for Educators

Digital Authorship: Issues and Implications for Educators

In this essay, the term digital authorship in examined in relation to literacy learning. We reflect on two critical issues that are sometimes overlooked features of digital literacy in relation to the pedagogical practices of digital authorship. Teachers who are advancing literacy in the context of digital authorship are attentive to the different stages of the creative process and have a solid…

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Exploring the Roots of Digital and Media Literacy through Personal Narrative

Exploring the Roots of Digital and Media Literacy through Personal Narrative

Explore the multidisciplinary nature of media literacy education It's been said that the lack of scholarship about the history of media literacy has been a source of some of the conflicts and debates among scholars and practitioners. Media literacy stands at the intersection of the fields of media studies and education, and these scholars have divergent perspectives on the past, present and…

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The Routledge Companion to Media Education, Copyright and Fair Use

The Routledge Companion to Media Education, Copyright and Fair Use

The Routledge Companion to Media Education, Copyright and Fair Use Edited By Renee Hobbs Media educators rely on the ability to make use of copyrighted materials from mass media, digital media and popular cultlure for analysis and production activities. With chapters written by leading scholars and practitioners from the fields of media studies, education, writing and rhetoric, law and…

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Teaching and Learning in a Post-Truth World

Teaching and Learning in a Post-Truth World

It's time for schools to upgrade and reinvest in media literacy lessons. Renee Hobbs, director of the Media Education Lab at the Harrington School of Communication and Media at the University of Rhode Island, cautions us to stop using the term "fake news" with students and be more precise about the types of disinformation prevalent in content today, from hoaxes and satire to clickbait. In this…

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Digital Literacy in Higher Education: A Report

Digital Literacy in Higher Education: A Report

  Digital Literacy in Higher Education: A Report documents the key ideas that emerged from the Winter Symposium on Digital Literacy in Higher Education, a gathering of 56 higher education faculty held in January 12 – 13, 2017, including participants from the fields of…

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Digital and Media Literacy: Connecting Classroom and Culture

Digital and Media Literacy: Connecting Classroom and Culture

A Review by John Robinson ORDER THE BOOK NOW How can teachers use digital and media to support academic achievement in all subjects and content areas? The answer to that question is essentially what Renee Hobbs tackles in her book Digital and Media Literacy: Connecting Culture and Classroom.…

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Courageous Conversations

Courageous Conversations

Bring media literacy and active listening to middle school, high school, college and adult learnersWith support from talented educators and experts who participated in the program, we’re proud to bring you the Courageous Conversations Curriculum. This book contains a collection of materials to help you bring media literacy and active listening into your middle school, high school or college…

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 Copyright

Copyright

It's more important than ever before to understand the scope of your rights and responsibilities as a digital author. That's why Renee Hobbs wrote 2 books about copyright! Copyright Clarity: How Fair Use Supports Digital…

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Media Literacy in Action

Media Literacy in Action

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…

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 Mind Over Media: Analyzing Contemporary Propaganda

Mind Over Media: Analyzing Contemporary Propaganda

    www.mindovermedia.us  Mind Over Media is the winner of the 2021 PROSE Awards for Social Sciences by the American Association of Publishers, the membership organization of the scholarly and academic press.  ORDER THE BOOK!…

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Grandparents of Media Literacy

Grandparents of Media Literacy

The Grandparents of Media Literacy is the website companion to a book edited by Renee Hobbs entitled Exploring the Roots of Digital and Media Literacy through Personal Narrative, which was published by Temple University Press in 2016. Read the book online.  The Grandparents of…

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Create to Learn Online

Create to Learn Online

When students create media to represent their learning, they really learn!  At the Create to Learn Online website, you can access more than a dozen free and low-cost digital tools for creating podcasts, videos, infographics, animations, videos, remix and more. Plus, you can view and upload multimedia work samples and access study notes and PPT slides…

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Assignment: Media Literacy

Assignment: Media Literacy

After 25 years, it's still the most popular resource from the Media Education Lab!This is the 18-unit curriculum created by Renee Hobbs and colleagues in 1998!  You will be pleased to see how timeless and relevant these lessons continue to be!You can download the PDF files with lesson plans and reproducibles for each unit and use the videos to teach media literacy in conjunction with social…

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Digital Learning Anytime and Real Time

Digital Learning Anytime and Real Time

Since the start of the pandemic, educators all over the world have been learning on the fly how to use the power of digital texts, tools, and technologies for “remote emergency instruction.” As teachers quickly discovered, conducting nearly nonstop Zoom meetings, in an effort to replicate in-classroom learning in an online environment, is both ineffective and exhausting. In this series of…

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Set Your Motivation

Set Your Motivation

The Digital Learning Horoscope is a 48-item Likert scale instrument that assesses teachers’ perception of the value and relevance of six conceptual themes, namely: attitudes toward technology tools, genres and formats; message content and quality; community connectedness; texts and audiences; media systems; and learner-centered focus.Visit the Set Your…

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A Starter Guide for Engaging Online Meetings

A Starter Guide for Engaging Online Meetings

We share the key insights we learned about online meetings into a crisp synthesis that helps everyone get started with the essential features of great online meetings!Check it out: https://bestonlinemeetings.com

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Librarians on YouTube

Librarians on YouTube

Librarians are often challenged to connect with their communities (learners, fellow educators, and the public) with limited time, among competing priorities, and especially recently, across distance. Among many creative approaches to engagement, YouTube offers a fresh approach for librarians to build connections beyond the physical spaces of the library and outside of formal learning environments…

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Nonviolent Communication for Talking about Coronavirus

Nonviolent Communication for Talking about Coronavirus

NEW FROM THE MEDIA EDUCATION LAB!  This helpful guide, created by Elizaveta Friesem, helps learners to practice talking about their feelings and needs in ways that promote compassion, empathy and genuine understanding. The work builds upon the work of Marshall Rosenberg's 2005 book, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life.…

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Internet: Indispensable or Evil?

Internet: Indispensable or Evil?

OverviewIn these four lessons, students use the episode Adam Ruins the Internet (Season 2, Episode 12) as a starting point to discuss the role of the Internet in modern culture and learn about media policies that shape people’s online…

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Digital and Media Literacy: A Process of Learning

Digital and Media Literacy: A Process of Learning

Digital and Media Literacy: A Learning Process …

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All About Media

All About Media

It's never too early to be smart about media!Give emerging readers the tools to learn about media, evaluate it, and understand it. Readers will learn essential critical thinking concepts along with important topics such as understanding how to find sources and how to properly source, privacy and Internet safety, evaluating ads and news reports, and determining the differences between facts,…

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Digital and Media Literacy Education

Digital and Media Literacy Education

A Review by John Robinson ORDER THE BOOK NOW How can teachers use digital and media to support academic achievement in all subjects and content areas? The answer to that question is essentially what Renee Hobbs tackles in her book Digital and Media Literacy: Connecting Culture and Classroom.…

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 Discovering Media Literacy

Discovering Media Literacy

Visit the website Discover Media Literacy to see lesson plans for staff development programs with teachers, along with videos and student work samples linked to our book!…

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Journal of Media Literacy Education

Journal of Media Literacy Education

The Journal of Media Literacy Education provides a forum for established and emerging scholars, media professionals and educational practitioners in and out of schools. As an extended conceptualization of literacy, media literacy education helps individuals of all ages develop habits of inquiry and skills of expression needed to become critical…

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The Media Straight Up!

The Media Straight Up!

THE MEDIA LITERACY GUIDE Created by Renee Hobbs and the Media Education Lab and co-sponsored by Drug Free Pennsylvania. Download the whole curriculum as a PDF here  Renee Hobbs and a team of Pennsylvania educators developed The Media Straight Up to bring together literacy and substance abuse prevention…

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Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action

Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action

This plan offers specific steps for policymakers, educators, and community advocates to develop a community education movement for digital and media literacy.    Whether it’s touch screen computers, smart phones, or user-generated news sites, access to information does not automatically translate into knowing how to use these tools in effective ways that help people in their everyday…

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Media Literacy and Cultural Understanding of People in the Middle East

Media Literacy and Cultural Understanding of People in the Middle East

Using a university-school partnership model, we provide a variety of forms of teacher education programs, in-school mentoring, and programs that bring together mediamakers, graduate students, teachers and children to understand how to use the power of media and technology to promote global understanding. Watch the YouTube video overview below and then read the two scholarly articles we wrote…

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