What Is Media Literacy? Teaching About The Media In Primary Schools

If you've ever wondered exactly what is media literacy, this quick summary may help:

Media literacy and education means teaching students the language and literacy skills related to the media, in all its forms, and how to manage it as part of daily life. Media can include platforms such as:

• free to air and pay television
• film and cinema
• computer games
• advertising

It is vital that students in today's classrooms are equipped with the ability to understand and take meaning from the media. Media is an intrinsic part of our daily lives, and its images and text surround us for many of our waking hours. If students do not have an awareness of the media, they are more likely to fall victim to advertising techniques, scams and questionable media conduct. They are also unlikely to be able to make sound, reasoned decisions about purchases, and to explore and consider in depth the motivations and hidden messages by media makers.

Media education in the classroom varies depending on the age and abiltiy of students. For primary students, media education is about understanding that media is a created product, and that it is created with a purpose in mind. It may be designed to promote a product, convince buyers to make particular buying choices or steer customers towards certain services. For seconday students, media education can invite students to explore the hidden meanings and techniques in the media, to take on roles such as writer, editor, designer and blogger (learn more about blogs here), and to consider their own views and beliefs about the media.

Both primary and secondary students need to understand that most media is made with a particular target audience in mind. For creative media, this is the intended audience for a piece of film, a play or a text based story. For advertising media, a target audience is the group of people who an advertiser would like to buy a product or service. For example, an advertisement for a Barbie doll might be shown during a children's television viewing timeslot of 3-6pm. The advertisement might contain images, music and a voice over which is designed to appeal to the audience which the advertiser believes is likely to buy the doll, or to make a product request of their parents. The child watching the show is a member of the target audience, as is, indirectly, the parent or family member who is likely to actually make the purchase on their behalf.

Teaching media education is an exciting and satisfying vehicle for teaching general literacy skills and concepts, encouraging a greater awareness of the media, and helping students to be more aware of the strategies, tricks and approaches used by advertisers, film and TV makers, writers and editors to create a media message for a particular and targeted audience.

Many students in primary and secondary settings are already capable technology users. These skills can be put to use in a media literacy course. Students can be encouraged to create presentations, blogs, online newsletters, audio files for use on MP3 players, or to share their research and materials via a school website. If a teacher feels intimidated by the technology skills of her students, a useful strategy is to pair or group students so that there is at least one 'tech-savvy' student in each group. This student can then take on a mentoring and instructing role with other students. They can show others how to complete basic technology tasks, and can assist with problem solving and trouble shooting. For some students who may struggle with other classroom tasks, this can be a motivating and rewarding experience.

Another useful teaching strategy if you are feeling intimidated is to spend time observing another teacher with strong media literacy and technology skills. This could be part of a formal mentoring arrangement, or simply an informal approach to help you boost your skills. Generally teachers who have experience and skills in a particular area are more than happy to share their knowledge, resources and tips with others who have less experience. Try getting together as a group after a staff meeting or as part of a curriculum planning timeslot, and set some goals about your own professional devleopment in media literacy. You may find there is enough interest in the area to warrant investigating a formal education program for staff as part of your next PD day. THen you can all share in building a strong knowledge bank so you are able to confidently answer the question 'What is media literacy, and why do we teach it?'