The Horizon Report Says Education is Going Mobile
The Horizon Report is an annual publication of the trends and technological expectations for K-12 education…The 2011 Report was released in February and reiterated some of the contextual statements it has issued before, such as the importance of digital media literacy…Each year they identify technologies to watch and present examples and case studies of how this technology is being used and integrated both inside and outside of classrooms to support learning and development. This year, the top two technologies on the “watch” list were eBooks and mobile technologies. [read full article at Wired.com or see the full report here]
Op-Ed: In World of Education Apps, Tech Owes Teachers Some Media Literacy “…As someone who used mostly homespun curriculum created in cahoots with another team teacher, I’m not saying teachers need explicit hand-holding with media literacy and making meaning out of could-be curriculum. I know there are countless anecdotes of science teachers who create units with practical hands-on applications from ‘Myth Busters’ or units on literary devices using rap songs — all the sum of their own ingenuity and savviness. But when it comes to the newest technology like education apps, teachers aren’t usually super eager to use it for many reasons, mostly because it takes extra time to research and set up — with the potential for technical failures…”
[read full op-ed at The Huffington Post]
Danish Study Finds “Kids are Computer Loners” The School Children’s Study 2010 from the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) released this month shows that Danish children between the ages of eleven and fifteen spend half as much time with other children as they did in 1988. Instead they mostly live in front of the computer screen and interact with others digitally. [read full article from The Copenhagen Post]
····························································
Mark Your Calendars
Deadline for NAMLE’s Media Literate Media Awards Extended to May 1 The NAMLE Media Literate Media Awards recognize people, programs, initiatives, or organizations in mainstream media that:
Have raised the visibility of media literacy education or media literacy.
Have helped citizens better understand media literacy education or media literacy.
Have provided significant, outstanding resources that enhance the ability of educators to practice the kind of inquiry-based media literacy education described in NAMLE’s Core Principles of Media Literacy Education.
Any current NAMLE member is eligible to make a nomination for a MLM Award, and a committee of board and non-board members will be assembled each year to select the winners. [learn more]
Temple University’s Media Education Lab Opens Registration for “Powerful Voices for Kids” The mission of the Powerful Voices for Kids program is to strengthen children’s abilities to think for themselves, communicate effectively using language and technology tools, and use their powerful voices to contribute to the quality of life in their families, their schools, their communities, and the world. Powerful Voices for Kids brings a comprehensive program of digital and media literacy education to K-12 schools. The program is being offered in Pennsylvania in two-week installments this summer. Summer Session 1 will be held between July 11th and and July 22, 2011. Summer Session 2 will be held between July 25th and August 5th, 2011. A discount will be offered for enrolling in both sessions. [learn more]
69th Annual New York State Communications Association (NYSCA) Conference This year’s NYSCA conference takes place October 21-23, 2011 in the Hudson River Valley, just as the fall leaves are turning.The conference theme is: Communication Connections: Contributions and Collaborations between Distanced Groups. NAMLE members and friends from all disciplines or professions are invited to submit proposals for papers, panels, round tables, and visual communication displays. We hope that there will be a number of NAMLE sessions. Please send proposal abstracts of 300 words to [email protected] by JUNE 1, 2011. Students are invited to send completed papers by June 1 to be included in the student paper awards process (awards at the undergrad, masters, and PhD level). Renee Hobbs will be giving a keynote address: Down with the Silos: How digital and Media Literacy Embraces Interdisciplinary Connections Across Campus and Community. Conference participants will receive a copy of Renee’s white paper, Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action, courtesy of the Aspen Institute. [learn more]
NAMLE Research Awards The National Association for Media Literacy Education now offers two research awards: The Emerging Scholar Award and The Established Scholar Award. The purpose of the awards is to encourage emerging and established researchers to strive for excellence; to receive constructive critiques from other researchers; and to increase the prestige, caliber, and recognition of laudable research in the field of media literacy education. Finalist’s summary papers will be published in the Journal of Media Literacy Education. As potential recipients of these awards, finalists are invited to present their research in a session at the bi-annual NAMLE conference. The deadline for submissions for these research awards is May 15. [learn more]
····························································
Passioned: Meet our Members
Do you love to write and interview people? NAMLE Membership is looking for a blogger to take over our “M-Passioned Member” monthly feature. This volunteer position is a great way to get to know other NAMLE members and to be featured on our website. For more details about this fun opportunity, contact Kelly Mendoza, Membership Chair at [email protected].
····························································
Media Literacy Resources
FactCheck.org Launches Online Quiz
This nonpartisan project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC), dedicated to reducing “the level of confusion and deception in U.S. politics,” has recently launched an online quiz, where you can test your knowledge of topics currently making headlines.
Annenberg Classroom Launches!
A new web site, also from the Annenberg Public Policy Center, connects daily civics news to an award-winning multimedia curriculum on the Constitution and to pieces written by APPC staff, called “Speak Outs,” that provide nonpartisan analysis of the news and strong support to in-class and online student discussion. The curriculum includes a guide to the Constitution: what it says and what it means; conversations with Supreme Court justices; games and interactives; documentaries on fundamental concepts and landmark cases; and issues pages with beautiful timelines keyed to those constitutional matters high school teachers and their students most often discuss.
····························································
Employment Opportunities
Fellow in Global Media and Communications at the London School of Economics
The Department of Media and Communications is looking to appoint a LSE Fellow for one year from September 1, 2011. You will join a leading department with more than 200 MSc students and fourteen academic staff which was ranked third on GPA in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. You will contribute to the lecturing, seminar teaching and supervising of MSc students, and management of MSc courses. You will have completed your PhD by the interview date and have a developing record of publications in refereed journals. You will have one or more specialisms within the field of global media and communications together withexperience in the relevant theoretical and research issues. Evidence of good teaching skills at the Master’s level in team teaching settings is essential.
····························································
More Publishing Opportunities
Call for Papers: First International Forum on Media and Information Literacy Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, in Morocco, has issued a call for papers for its international forum on May 12 and 13, 2011. The forum “aims to raise awareness about the importance of MIL in this media-saturated / information-overloaded world, to find ways and means to build up media and information literate societies, and to make of mass media important actors at the service of democracy, justice, and development.” Hurry up, though, as the deadline for submitting abstracts is February 25. [download PDF here].
····························································
Marketplace Feature
“Popular Culture, New Media and Digital Literacy in Early Childhood”
Jackie Marsh (Editor) offers a range of perspectives on children’s multimodal experiences, providing a ground-breaking account of the ways in which children engage with popular culture, media and digital literacy practices from their earliest years. This seminal text focuses on children from birth to eight years, addressing issues such as:
* media and identity construction
* media literacy practices in the home
* the changing nature of literacy in technologically advanced societies
* The place of popular and media texts in children’s lives and the use of such texts in the curriculum.
With an unmatchable team of international experts evaluating topics from text-messaging to the Teletubbies, this book is a long-overdue, fascinating and illuminating read for policy-makers, educational researchers and practitioners, and crosses over to appeal to those in the linguistics field. NAMLE member, Jeff Share, comments that “this book is a powerful collection of brilliant educators with excellent essays. I highly recommend it.”
[Order now]····························································
Editorial Note:
Dear NAMLE member,
To the many NAMLE members who teach, study or work in secondary or higher education, spring is a busy season. As we near the end of the academic year, many of us are so busy planning for the weeks ahead, that we can hardly think about mid-summer. Amid the frenzy, take a moment to check out the biennial NAMLE conference that we’ll be hosting in July, by clicking here. Why not start making preparations now?
As always, please send any suggestions or content for future Update e-newsletters to me at: [email protected].
Best,
Mark Hannah