It's almost November and this year's Media Literacy Week is fast approaching. There are events planned across Canada (you can see a list here), but the one I'm most excited about is going to take place on November 10 at the NFB, Toronto with the Association for Media Literacy  (details below). I hope that you will join us for a wonderful evening of fantastic films and interactive, hands-on learning!

Media Literacy Education and NFB Innovations

Toronto’s Mediatheque has provided teachers with great teaching opportunities for years, and now the NFB is raising the bar!

As part of Media Literacy Week, join the Association for Media Literacy and the National Film Board’s outreach staff for a Wine and appetizer reception. 

As we continue in our special series of #K12Media chats; this week’s discussion will centre on Concept 6 from the 8 Key Concepts of Media Literacy: Media have social and political implications. Last week we discussed Key Concept 5: Media have ideological and value messages. We looked at kids’ TV and began to think about some of the messages and ideologies targeted at this age group through popular children’s television programs.

For a refresher on the concepts:

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/teachers/media_literacy/key_concept.cfm

6: Media Have Social and Political Implications

Media have many spheres of influence—political and social change can stem from shifts that occur within and because of media. The sensory input from visual and aural media, for example, can influence people’s impressions of leaders, world events, and catastrophes. New media  has just as much of an impact, connecting people in ways not possible before their advent; shifting how people socialize and form connections.

As we continue in our ongoing special series of #K12Media chats; this week’s discussion will centre on Concept 5 from the 8 Key Concepts of Media Literacy: Media Contain Ideological and Value Messages. Last week was our midpoint mash-up, we discussed how audience negotiates meaning in news media (a combination of key concept #3 and discussion hot topic from week one’s discussion).  This week, the focus shifts back to the text itself and flips the question: How does the text reflect or influence the values/priorities of the audience?

by: Ms. Keats

Mid-point Mash-up

This week marks the halfway point in our examination of the Eight Key Concepts of Media Literacy. The discussions thusfar have provided us with much to think about. Each week, the hour seems to fly by and it seems as though we have just begun to explore the ideas generated. We thought it might be fun to use this week’s discussion to consolidate our talks thus far.  The discussion topics proposed below are inspired by the concept of the mash-up. It’s a way for us to recombine the previous weeks’ concepts and topics in a fresh way, giving us a chance to revisit ideas from earlier discussions and to further expand  ideas using a different framework.  Vote for your favourite below and we look forward to seeing you on October 17 @ 8pm!