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Exposing the Hidden World of Media Market Research

Exposing the Hidden World of Media Market Research

Join us to learn more about market research and how it constructs a picture of the viewer for Hollywood  DATE: Monday, April 22 TIME: 12 - 1 PM ESTLOCATION: Online. Click here to register Within the media industries, Nielsen audience measurement helps guide executives in crafting programming, building…

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The Twilight Zone and Civil Liberties

The Twilight Zone and Civil Liberties

DATE: Monday, April 8, 2024TIME: 5:30 PM LOCATION: Warwick Public Library, 600 Sandy LaneJoin us to screen a few classic episodes of The Twilight Zone, followed by a discussion. We'll delve into the context and themes of the episodes, and how they connect to the ongoing fight to protect civil liberties today. The two episodes we’re planning to screen are…

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Revising The Media Literacy Critical Questions

Revising The Media Literacy Critical Questions

The Media Literacy Smartphone was build on a long history of critical reflection of media messages. The Media Education Lab is improving the resources for practitioners of media literacy in K-12 and post-secondary education. And in order to update them, we look to redesign the critical questions for analyzing a media text to support learners and educators of all ages. Join us as we examine the…

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How to be a Courageous Citizen in a World of Weaponized Words

How to be a Courageous Citizen in a World of Weaponized Words

DATE: Mar 12, 2024 TIME: 9:00  - 9:30 AM Eastern Time (US and CanadaLOCATION:…

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Ripplers are Courageous

Ripplers are Courageous

Join us for informal discussion about the ongoing progress that occurring as people from across Rhode Island, the USA, and the world implement COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS and education programs to their community, workplace, library or schoolDATE: Tuesday, February 29, 2024TIME: 7 PM ESTLOCATION: Online via Zoom.  …

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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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E-Cig Influencers

E-Cig Influencers

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disability in the United States and cigarette smoking is implicated in 1 in 5 adult deaths, resulting in over 480,000 premature deaths per year. 1 in 10 high school students vape, and there are 2.1 million teenage e-cigarette users in 2023, with more than 1 in 4 using e-cigarettes daily. Learn how you can talk to teens about the social…

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How Media Literacy Week Promotes Community

How Media Literacy Week Promotes Community

DAY: Monday, December 18th, 2023TIME: 12 pm EST | 6 pm CET | 1030 pm ISTLocation: Register for Webinar Here. In this webinar, Pamela Morris and her colleagues and students will review and reflect on their experience in developing Media Literacy Week in Columbus, which was sponsored locally by Indiana…

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Media Club: A case for optimism

Media Club: A case for optimism

In this session, Maria Polski discusses how media education is enhanced by the accumulative approach, positing that a modern communicator must be competent at all levels of communication: oral, written, print, visual and digital. She presents a case for optimism: a way to encourage humans to develop and maintain the cognitive skills promoted by each of the communication technologies. A reader…

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AI 101: Introducing students to generative AI

AI 101: Introducing students to generative AI

Read here about our full webinar series on AI in the Classroom  In this webinar, we’ll share a model for introducing students to some of the “big questions” about machine learning and generative AI. While many students have experience using generative AI, not all do - and many are unaware of the ways in which machine…

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Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

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 Babeș-Bolyai…

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Media Club: Media Literacy and Media Education Research Methods: a Handbook

Media Club: Media Literacy and Media Education Research Methods: a Handbook

In this session, Pierre Fastrez and Normand Landry will examine the field of media literacy and media education research from the perspective of its research methods. They will argue that methodological discussions are an exciting way to interrogate the foundations of this field of research, and open up a dialogue on fundamental questions about what is meant by “media education”. Such…

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The Gaza-Israel War in the Media

The Gaza-Israel War in the Media

While we might not be able to solve the violent conflict in the Middle East, we as media educators need to share our practice and be there for our learners. By connecting with our community of learners, asking critical questions, sharing needs and emotions as a group, challenging media representations, and fighting the spread of biases and prejudices, we can better understand, reflect, and…

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Media Club: Pick a Side. Pick a Side. Now.

Media Club: Pick a Side. Pick a Side. Now.

In the December meeting of the Media Club, Renee Hobbs will model a lesson from the New York Times Learning Network in a viewing and discussion of "Pick a Side. Pick a Side. Now,"  a four-minute Opinion video that explores the role of social media in the current…

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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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Gaming Stories From Our Classrooms: Perspectives on Critical Practices

Gaming Stories From Our Classrooms: Perspectives on Critical Practices

WEBINAR DESCRIPTION “Gaming Stories From Our Classrooms: Perspectives on Critical Practices” focuses on educator storytelling around game implementation in school spaces. A panel of teachers with a variety of experiences, from novice to expert (noobs to pro), join researchers from the Literacy Research Association's Critical Gaming Literacies Study Group for this one hour event. Panelists…

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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 - Childscape, mediascape: Children and media in India

MEDIA CLUB - Childscape, mediascape: Children and media in India

In this session, Usha and Sumana will talk about the need for a more diverse approach to studying children’s media cultures that is both transdisciplinary and multi-sited, recognizing the complex and varied ways in which young people live with/in media. You can download the book chapter here.  Date: Monday, July…

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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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Visual literacy, creativity and authorship

Visual literacy, creativity and authorship

Read here about our full webinar series on AI in the Classroom  In this fifth workshop, we will explore the influence of these complex mathematical formulas on the visual arts and their potential to both enhance and distort our understanding of reality. Beginning with a review on the history of visual media, this…

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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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Social Media Affordances & Constraints

Social Media Affordances & Constraints

Are students getting the most out of social media?  Do they know when to use one platform over another?  Can they tell when offline engagement might be a more viable option?  To answer these questions, students might consider the role of social media affordances. How they perceive social media affordances, such as visibility, persistence, editability and association, can both enable or…

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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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Can media literacy help us see through the AI hype?

Can media literacy help us see through the AI hype?

Read here about our full webinar series on AI in the Classroom  The second workshop in this series will look at the recent release of GPT-4 and its predecessor ChatGPT in November 2022 that set off heated debate and a range of impassioned responses. ChatGPT and other generative AI technologies are at times described as…

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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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Student-Created Media

Student-Created Media

Media projects can be a perfect showcase for students’ ideas, research, subject knowledge, and media literacy skill set development. This program will provide insight into how educators of all ages can design student-created media assignments for authentic learning, with an emphasis on library-based perspectives. Hear case studies, in-depth overview of media project types, and questions to help…

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Critical Listening Matters

Critical Listening Matters

Did you know that critical listening was an important part of early media literacy in K-12 and higher education curricula from the early-to-mid 20th century? During this era, educators attempted to teach listening through new educational technologies, such as the radio. Long ago, educators sought to understand the role of listening in teaching and learning through research, scholarly articles,…

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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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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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The Power of Propaganda

The Power of Propaganda

Renee Hobbs is pleased to serve as Lead Scholar for The Power of Propaganda, a program at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. The program is designed help educators develop a deeper understanding of how to teach students to critically analyze different forms of propaganda. The seminar explores how to teach about propaganda through an interdisciplinary lens and how to cultivate…

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DigiURI Media Club | Noise

DigiURI Media Club | Noise

There has been a great deal of discussion of bias in decision making in our society, and its negative impact. Noise: A Flaw In Human Judgment, by Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass R. Sunstein explores the equally important aspect of noise — the influence of irrelevant factors — in decision making at all…

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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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Care-full Collaboration in Media Arts Education

Care-full Collaboration in Media Arts Education

For young people, an opportunity to engage in media arts production is an opportunity to share their voices with audiences near and far, develop new communicative capacities, and play with the tools and technologies that shape our media landscape. Across our ethnographic research in several media production sites, we (Nathan C. Phillips and Virginia Killian Lund) have found educators who…

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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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Exploring Controversial Issues in the Classroom

Exploring Controversial Issues in the Classroom

Exploring Controversial Issues in the Classroom Social justice media and technology in teacher education ATEE Spring Conference 2020/2021, Florence, ITALY, October 28 2021 Keynote Address By Renee Hobbs Educators are themselves citizens who express and share political views as part of their personal identity.…

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Analyzing the Visuals of 9/11 Anniversary

Analyzing the Visuals of 9/11 Anniversary

We honor the 20th anniversary of September 11th Analyzing the Visuals of 9/11 Anniversary Frank Baker and Renee Hobbs explore the visual representation of the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001 to demonstrate how media literacy competencies can be seamlessly woven into the elementary, middle-school and high school classroom. Kara Clayton shares the

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9/11 Through a Critical Literacy Lens

9/11 Through a Critical Literacy Lens

We honor the 20th anniversary of September 11th 9/11 Through a Critical Literacy Lens In this session for current teachers, future teachers, and teacher educators, we explore how to understand the importance of using memories as a form of oral history, especially about an important event in U.S. history like September 11, 2001. Learn how future teachers learned to use the…

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DigiURI Media Club | Exploring News Sources in the Classroom

DigiURI Media Club | Exploring News Sources in the Classroom

In our next meeting we will explore using some digital content to teach news media literacy. Using Charlie Brooker’s Newswipe, (Season 2 Episode 4) an "Israeli military accused of using media to trick Hamas" (AP news, May 15, 2021) we…

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Those People

Those People

Join us for a screening and discussion! Three years in the making, “Those People” is an unforgettable new movie giving a behind-the-scenes look into the true stories behind the decade-long run of the New London Talent Show. DATE: Wednesday, July 14 TIME: 8 pm EST LOCATION. Online. Click here to register.…

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Webinar digitale geletterdheid, de lerarenopleiding en de leraar van de toekomst

Webinar digitale geletterdheid, de lerarenopleiding en de leraar van de toekomst

Renee Hobbs gave a talk to Kenniset, the Dutch ICT authority on June 15, 2021.  Key themes from the talk: What are the Media Literacies?  There are a lot of different media literacies and all have value to learners Media literacy education should be responsive to people's lived experience with mass media, digital media, and popular culture Media literacy education should…

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Media Literacy in Higher Education

Media Literacy in Higher Education

In this webinar, Renee Hobbs shares insights on how she teaches media literacy to undergraduate students and leads a discussion where participants share their plans for the Fall 2021 semester. We share syllabi, reading lists, sample assignments, PowerPoints, videos, and even tests ---and brainstorm how to ensure that our courses are responsive to changing technologies and issues in contemporary…

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Strategies for Responding to Vaccine Propaganda

Strategies for Responding to Vaccine Propaganda

Renee Hobbs is delighted to present at the Rhode Island Library Association (RILA) conference on June 3rd. She will offer a program in media literacy education for adults, entitled "Strategies for Responding to Vaccine Propaganda" at the …

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Hobbs Keynotes at EEPG

Hobbs Keynotes at EEPG

Renee Hobbs offers the keynote at the European Educational Publishers Group on May 27, 2021. The European Educational Publishers Group is a network of European publishers sharing knowledge and experience and working for improving education across countries. Propaganda vs Education in a Digital Age By Renee Hobbs Propaganda can be found in marketing and advertising, government and…

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HOBBS KEYNOTES AT AMICAL 2021

HOBBS KEYNOTES AT AMICAL 2021

AMICAL is an international consortium of 28 American‐modeled institutions in 20 different countries. It is a cooperative organization for advancing learning, teaching and research through the collaborative development of library, technology and curricular resources at member institutions. AMICAL’s membership is composed almost entirely of non‐…

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Opening a Global Conversation

Opening a Global Conversation

Opening a Global Conversation: Building Trust in Digital Communities We're exploring  the connections between media literacy and intercultural dialogue in this session for teachers and teacher educators.  DATE: TUESDAY, June 22  TIME: 12 - 1:30 pm EST / 6 - 7:30 pm CET LOCATION: Online. Register…

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SOS: The Urgency of Poetry in a Digital Age

SOS: The Urgency of Poetry in a Digital Age

SOS: The Urgency of Poetry in a Digital Age After the most intense political race in 244 years of US history, it's hard to imagine that the highlight inauguration day (for many) would be a poet. But, in the murky waters of political rhetoric, few things could purify our vocabulary like a poem. Poetry's curated silences and playful misuses of language give form to feeling and sight to what's…

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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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Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action

Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action

Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action, a policy paper by Renee Hobbs, was commissioned by the Knight Foundation, building upon recommendations that digital and media literacy be strengthened in order to get citizens more engaged in their…

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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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Seeing, Believing and Learning to be Skeptical: Supporting Language Learning Through Advertising Analysis Activities

Seeing, Believing and Learning to be Skeptical: Supporting Language Learning Through Advertising Analysis Activities

Access the PDF here This study documents how a high school ESL teacher working with new immigrants ages 14–20 supported the development of their critical thinking and English language skills by using advertising analysis activities. The article examines the use of key critical questions for analyzing…

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Discovering Media Literacy: Digital Media and Popular Culture in Elementary School

Discovering Media Literacy: Digital Media and Popular Culture in Elementary School

Discovering Media Literacy: Teaching Digital Media and Popular Culture in Elementary School (Corwin/Sage, 2013) gives you all the tools you need to explore digital and media literacy with children ages 5 - 12, both in and out of school. In this book, you'll see dozens of examples of how teachers…

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First Star URI RAM Academy

First Star URI RAM Academy

A Report from the Media Education Lab   CLICK ON THE YELLOW BOX TO DOWNLOAD THE REPORT   In July 2012, twenty-two students aged 14-16 from the foster care system in Rhode Island came to the University of Rhode Island (URI) and worked with staff of the Media Education Lab to deepen their media literacy and social media competencies as part of the First Star Academy.   In…

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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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The State of Media Literacy: A Rejoinder

The State of Media Literacy: A Rejoinder

Thanks to JoBEM editor, Susan Brinson, who offered me the opportunity to write a rejoinder to W. James Potter’s essay on the State of Media Literacy. Potter begins his response to my essay by alleging that my identity and track record limit the value of my perspective on the field. After justifying his own editorial choices in terms of breadth, balance over time, balance across scholars, and…

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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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Deconstructing Disney

Deconstructing Disney

Deconstructing DisneyThis fun, intergenerational workshop explores what we love and hate about Disney films, characters and brands from the past and present. If you’re a kid, teen, parent, educator or anyone who works with youth, you will learn how people’s knowledge, beliefs and attitudes can be harnessed and expanded for deeper learning through simple instructional strategies. Discovering how…

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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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Media Education for Law Enforcement Officers

Media Education for Law Enforcement Officers

The Media Education Lab collaborated with the Austin (TX) Police Academy to create the first-ever professional development program for police instructors on media literacy education.NEW! Read our article in Police Chief magazine!Access print handouts, videos, curriculum, and slides for the professional…

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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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 Media Literacy Smartphone

Media Literacy Smartphone

Learn how to use the Media Literacy Smartphone with learners of all ages! Download the free learning guide to bring the power of media literacy analysis to your learners!These easy-to-use cards, shaped exactly…

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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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Magazine Media Literacy

Magazine Media Literacy

Students of all ages can develop media literacy competencies in this fun and engaging lesson, which includes adaptations for both online and face-to-face learning. Watch the video to get an orientation to the lesson:  Learners will:  Strengthen visual analysis skills with special attention to multimodal features including text, images and design; Understand, use and apply…

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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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Memories of September 11, 2001

Memories of September 11, 2001

The series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the U.S. on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 continue to deeply affect U.S. identity and politics. Through a digital academic forum, learners gather information and compare observations of memories of September 11, 2001 to reflect upon the variety of experiences and interpretations of this important historical…

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THE HIVE

THE HIVE

When teachers and library media specialists use a student-centered approach to media production, learners create to learn, developing cognitive, social, and socioemotional competencies through creative media production that can support academic achievement across the subject areas. This model consists of six stages where students collaboratively learn to produce media messages. Based on five…

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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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PBS News Hour Student Reporting Labs

PBS News Hour Student Reporting Labs

Student Reporting Labs connect students with a network of public broadcasting mentors, an innovative journalism curriculum and an online collaborative space to develop digital media, critical thinking and communication skills while producing original news reports for PBS NewsHour Extra. Click here to access the COMPLETE …

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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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 My Pop Studio

My Pop Studio

See how My Pop Studio can be used in formal and informal learning settings by browsing the examples below.

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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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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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Summer Institute in Digital Literacy

Summer Institute in Digital Literacy

A PREMIERE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM  Overview. This six-day institute focuses on how literacy is changing as a result of emerging media and technologies. We'll consider the implications of this cultural and technological shift for teaching and learning. Join us in exploring innovative approaches now being used by K-12 educators, librarians, and college and university faculty. You…

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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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 Tuning in to Media: Literacy for the Information Age

Tuning in to Media: Literacy for the Information Age

PART 1: Analyzing News PART 2: Analyzing Entertainment PART 3: In the Classroom     Winner of a Parent's Choice Award, Tuning in to Media offers a compelling look at the powerful and pervasive role that mass media play in our society.     Examines the media coverage of the L.A. riots. Showcases elementary, middle school and high schools. Watch…

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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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Know TV

Know TV

Created by Renee Hobbs with shpport from Time Warner Cable and Discovery Communications, Inc., this curriculum with video clips promotes critical analysis of non-fiction television for students in grades 6 - 12 and demonstrates simple but powerful learning activities that help build critical thinking and communication skills. Winner of the Golden Cable ACE Award for Public Interest…

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Iranian Youth and Media Literacy

Iranian Youth and Media Literacy

Curriculum Resources from the Youth Media Workshop for Iranian American Youth, held in Philadelphia from August 3 - 7, 2009 at the Asian Arts Initiative. See the lesson plans and reflections. Developed by Aggie Ebrahimi Bazaz, this program was also co-sponsored by:

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Using Voice Thread for Media Literacy Education

Using Voice Thread for Media Literacy Education

A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia annotation tool that lets you upload images, videos, print or other files.  People can comment on these materials using voice (with a mic or phone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam).  7 things you should know about Voicethread

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Students Taking Action, Not Drugs (STAND)

Students Taking Action, Not Drugs (STAND)

The STAND (Students Taking Action, Not Drugs) project invites young people to use the power of mass media to design, create and deliver meaningful messages to help other teens resist drug use. This online curriculum includes nine lesson plans to help your students make public service announcements (PSAs) that can be aired or displayed to a large national audience. The STAND project combines the…

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Messages & Meanings

Messages & Meanings

Developed in collaboration with the Newspaper Association of America, Messages & Meanings is a collection of curriculum activities for analyzing print and electronic media. This resource includes instructional activities for strengthening access, analysis, evaluation and communication skills, as well as evaluating new technologies like internet web pages. Cross-media comparison activities…

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Elements of Language

Elements of Language

As one of the program authors, Renee Hobbs developed the theoretical framework for the "viewing and representing" strand; guided the development of the scope and sequence; served as the authority on terminology, definitions and pedagogy; and directed the planning for the video series. A Sample of Classroom Learning Activities From the Second Course (8th grade): Focus on Speaking and…

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Newsweek's Media Literacy Skills Builder

Newsweek's Media Literacy Skills Builder

Analyzing the media Assessing your communication skills The media literacy remote control Five critical questions Media use motives CREATE: Keep a media journal Understanding advertising Poetry and advertising Attitudes about advertising CREATE: Analyze two ads Who owns the media?   Understanding media economics Analyzing leads on AOL-Time Warner…

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