Media Education Media Education is incredibly important! Media can be seen to effect all areas of life - just think of the number of Pokemon and Hello Kitty school bags, watches, alarm clocks you see everyday! In the past these objects were made standard, with no pictures or advertising, nowadays however, they are being used as media products and text. As Buckingham (2011, p. 3) writes,
Therefore, media education is incredibly important, not just in terms of recognising what is good and bad within the media, but in terms of teaching students to be more critically aware of their surroundings, how they are being positioned and what they are being exposed to. Through working on productions it also allows students to become more creative. Right: Star Trek Merchandise. Photo courtesy of Jessica Thomas |
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Critical Media Literacy When students study English they are taught how to analyze written texts. Through teaching these skills students are said to become 'critically literate'. Knobel (1998, p. 90) states that 'critical literacy' is, [A]nalytical habits of thinking, reading, writing, speaking or discussing which go beneath surface impressions... understanding the social contexts and consequences of any subject matter; discovering the deep meaning of any event, text, technique, process, object, statement, image, or situation. While English endeavours to teach student to become critically literate in regards to written texts, Media Education aims to develop students in to critcially literate individuals who can not only analyse print and written text, but also film, visual, audio, and other media texts. In effect, media education aims to develop 'critical media literacy'. |
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