“Have you seen that post on Facebook?” “Have you seen what happened on Capitol Hill today through your CNN app?” “Is that book for class available on Kindle?”
There are so many ways for us to access, receive and dish out information in today’s society and it can be done in seconds. Literally. Many people have questioned if that should be considered a positive or negative thing. Through that questioning, many people have adapted this negative connotation to digital media. We all have that one family member who complains about Facebook, yet has never actually used it. This same trend has entered our education system and we have a number of educators who are not in favor of incorporating digital media into their classrooms. This is not to call out educators (not fully). There are a number of individuals regardless of age, profession, or background that has a negative perception of digital media and its use.
The question then becomes, with so many negative perceptions of digital media, whose role is it to teach digital and media literacy? I believe that it is the responsibility of everyone to teach digital and media literacy. Digital media is not only at school, so it can’t be the sole responsibility of teachers. Digital media is also not only outside of school, so it can’t be the sole responsibility of parents and community members. It takes everyone because the reality is that digital media is everywhere. Our students are living in a digital age and can’t necessarily escape that reality. Acknowledging that reality, I believe it is vital to seek out the positive associations with digital media within the world of our students:
- Digital and media literacy increases student motivation.
How? Students are more likely to engage with material that they find interesting and entertaining. The same way someone of an older generation may prefer to read the actual newspaper through print, someone of a younger generation may prefer to view the news through the CNN app.
- Digital and media literacy increases literacy skills and comprehension.
How? Students that are more motivated and interested will engage with the material more, therefore improving their ability and willingness to read.
As much as I advocate and favor the use of digital media, the ease of access often leads to students relying on sources and information that is not credible. Just as I can use this platform to publish my opinions around education, it could have been used to spread lies and rumors. Our students have access to all of that material and could find themselves citing or referencing false information or “fake news”. To prevent that, it takes everyone to instill digital and media literacy skills into our students with explanation. Instead of telling students to not use the material, we must all assist in explaining why a source may not be credible. Teaching students to analyze digital media for credibility is much less work than constantly trying to force students to not utilize material that is literally always at their fingertips. Teaching digital and media literacy skills does not have to be hard and I have included some resources below to prove that. The answer is not shying away from digital media. The solution is to teach our students to become active users of digital media who are knowledgeable and aware.
I would conclude with asking you to challenge yourself. Think where do you come into play and how can you do your part in educating our students on the proper usage of sources. In fact, I would offer you another challenge. What are ways that you can ensure that you yourself are using more credible sources? Are you fact checking a Facebook post before sharing it? Are you retweeting your local news station tweet without considering their biases and stances on certain issues? We all have part in this process, as both learners and teachers.
Digital and Media Literacy Education
4 Ways to Integrate Media Literacy in the Classroom Article
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