- What is media literacy?
With most of the information being readily provided by the media, it is important for educators and parents to focus on the “proper” way the younger generation can use media for because too much information can be to overwhelming for media users (Miller 3:15). Media literacy pertains to the way people use media to deliver message to particular audiences (Fadel and Trilling). In creating information in media, one must not only be knowledgable on creating information but he/she should also be knowledgable on different forms of media like print, graphics, animation, audio, video, and etc.
- Why is it important?
Media literacy is important because some information can be misleading. In other words, there is plurality of truths in media that it makes it hard for media to users to recognize the truth that they could believe in. Just as Julie Smith put it, fact-finding in media is entirely up to the users so they should know how to analyze information (Smith 4:45). If users do not know how to filter information on their own, they would not be able to make sense of the information and they might develop this false idea that media is not that useful in learning at all.
- Why is it dismissed?
One of the reasons that media literacy is being dismissed is because of ignorance. When people talk about media, the very first thing that people would think about is entertainment. Because of this, people are not really being careful with the information being presented to them through media. Another reason that it is dismissed is because of fear. According to Julie Smith, one of the reasons that she is invited to do a talk for students is because the parents would like to ask her for advice on how they could ask their sons and daughters to stay away from social media or stop playing video games likes Fortnite (Miller 9:59). Media is something that should not be feared especially when users can be taught how to be responsible.
- Why should you aim for varied views but the factual consensus in your PLN?
One of the characteristics of media that I like the most is democracy. This means that everyone has the chance to share their own insights or ideas about a certain information. However, this democracy should be practiced with precaution because the negative side is that everyone can share their ideas without proper “screening.” In connection to this, with a lot of information available through media, how would media users know that the information that they are being exposed to is inaccurate? Also, media changes everyday. Just as Julie Smith put it, media is not like Mathematics where 2 plus 2 will always be 4 (Miller 2:20). This makes checking the validity of information in media more challenging.
- Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can create conflict, why does this happen?
In the short story titled “The Once and Future Kingdom of Learning” shared by Fadel and Trilling, one of the things I learned is that “knowledge” is a double-edged sword. In other words, knowledge can be beneficial and destructive at the same time. I believe that the same thing can be true for open dialogues for media literacy and factual information. This open dialogue can shed light on how media literacy and factual information can be promoted to prevent misinformation. On the other hand, these open dialogues can result to disagreements.
- What is the benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy?
One of the benefits of having a PLN that values literacy is safety. If the PLN members are literate enough to properly use media, then they could guarantee that the information being shared in the PLN is something credible and it is not some kind of a fake news. Because the PLN members feel safe, they will be more encouraged to share information and actively participate in the discussions.
Works Cited
Miller, Jesse. “EDCI 338 A01- Smith, Julie.” YouTube, 1 Nov. 2020, youtu.be/Z_T9RghwJlI.
Trilling, Bernie, and Charles Fadel. “Digital Literacy Skills.” 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times, John Wiley & Sons, 2009.
Hi zongyujia,
I agree with you that media literacy is important because some information can be misleading. It is true when there are too many information on the media. It is hard for people to believe what is correct. Media literacy is the ability to identify many different types of media and understand the message social media trying to tell us.
Hello Yanlixu! Thanks for leaving a comment I really appreciate it. Although it is true that too much information online can be very misleading and confusing, on the brighter side, it makes learners become critical of the information that they read online. In traditional way of education, learners are only expected to be like sponges wherein they are only expected to absorb the information given to them without raising questions. With media, whether the information is believable or not would lie on the judgment of learners. Hence, media literacy is something that we should be focusing on right now or else many would suffer from misinformation.
Hi, zongyujia,
I think you raised a good opinion that “knowledge” is beneficial but destructive as well. We definately should encourage open dialogue to prevent misinformation. And Media Literacy makes us feel safe and protect which promotes us to positively share information.