Welcome to my new blog!
Media Literacy is "the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and communicate messages in a wide variety of forms." as defined by wikiversity's Media Literacy page, found on my links list on the right. To be more specific, my concept of Media Literacy is teaching students the concepts they need to understand how they interact with media, how different forms of media influence and manipulate both them as well as the rest of us.
In our 21st century, media-driven world, we are exposed to thousands of advertisements, news stories and perspectives on the world and students need to be taught the critical thinking skills necessary to make their own genuine judgments on what to listen to and what to ignore.
This blog will be used to:
- Provide another voice advocating for Media Literacy in every school in the United States.
- Provide ideas for teachers that either currently teach or are interested in teaching Media Literacy as a whole or even individual lessons.
- Provide a central location for all of the resources I personally use for teaching Media Literacy, both for my own use and for the use of anyone interested in utilizing any of my ideas.
The last topic to address in this introductory post is the title of this blog. Waiting for the World to Change is a John Mayer song on his album Continuum. If you don't know the song, check it out. It's a fabulous song that points out all the reasons for having Media Literacy. Of course, the song advocates "Waiting for the World to Change" instead of taking an active role in it. My purpose here is of course to take the active approach. So here's to a bright future of Media Literacy!
