In the closing keynote to the Media Education Summit in Prague in 2014, Professor Hobbs shares insights gained from working with educators and researchers in Turkey, Russia, Brazil and Israel who are exploring media literacy pedagogy and practice at the elementary and secondary levels. She
describes and analyzes an example of a global media
literacy project that involved Turkish and American
middle-school students. Professor Hobbs considers
how teacher motivations regarding the use of digital
media interact with structural relationships between
government, school and higher education to produce
differential opportunities for innovation. She identifies the many flavors of digital literacy now circulating in contemporary culture and shows how collaborative global research in media literacy education can help researchers examine and question some fundamental assumptions and
expectations of the field.
5. We advance the quality of digital and
media literacy education through scholarship
and community service.
Teacher in-service workshops
Media literacy & media
production programs with youth
Graduate certificate program
Curriculum development
Research and evaluation
Advocacy and community
building
6. PEER-TO-PEER FILE SHARING
Theoretical Framework
Communication & Education. Institutions of education and
communication are interconnected in ways that may support democracy.
Inquiry Learning. People develop intellectual curiosity by asking
questions about what they experience in daily life.
Critical Pedagogy. Awareness, analysis, and reflection enable people to
take action to make society more just and equitable.
Medium Theory. Media & technology are immersive cultural, political and
economic environments; media structures re-shape human perception &
values.
Active Audience Theory. Meaning-making is variable; lived experience
& social context shape practices of interpretation.
9. expanding variety of approaches and terms
SKILLS & ABILITIES
➢ Computer Use and Knowledge
➢ ICT Skills & Digital Skills
LITERACY
➢ Online Reading & New Literacies
➢ Media Production / Youth Media
➢ Coding
TEACHING WITH
➢ Technology Integration
➢ Digital Learning
➢ Blended Learning
➢ Connected Learning
TEACHING ABOUT
➢ Information Literacy
➢ Media Literacy
➢ Internet Safety & Digital Citizenship
10. EDUCATION CREATIVE ARTS
GOVERNMENT CIVIL SOCIETY ORGS
TECH INDUSTRY ACTIVIST
expanding variety of stakeholders
13. Do We Really Need a
Global Media Literacy Research
Community?
14. Who?
Where?
What?
How?
Why?
What are some
of the most important
differences?
What are some
of the most important
similarities?
15. The Need For Global Innovation
● Shifting definitions of digital & media literacy
● New forms of media industry centralization
● Global tensions & competition on the rise
● Increased politicization of education
● Growing gap between in-school and out-of-school
learning
● Uneven access to technology and competencies
16. International
Visiting Scholars and
Graduate Students
Sait Tuzel, Turkey
Yonty Friesem, Israel
Rawia AlHumaidan, Kuwait
Elizaveta Friesem, Russia
Wen Xu, China
Silke Grafe, Germany
Haixia He, China
Carla Viana Coscarelli, Brazil
Ibrahim Bilici, Turkey
Damiano Felini, Italy
Marketa Zezulkova, Czech Republic
17. International
Visiting Scholars and
Graduate Students
Sait Tuzel, Turkey
Yonty Friesem, Israel
Rawia AlHumaidan, Kuwait
Elizaveta Friesem, Russia
Wen Xu, China
Silke Grafe, Germany
Haixia He, China
Carla Viana Coscarelli, Brazil
Ibrahim Bilici, Turkey
Damiano Felini, Italy
Marketa Zezulkova, Czech Republic
18. What Can be Learned Through
Cross-National Comparison of
Media Literacy Initiatives?
20. Russia
Challenges
● Media literacy is conceptualized as protection
against bad [Western] media
● Disparities in access to technology
● National curriculum with strong lecture tradition
and teacher-centered focus
Opportunities
● Active university research community
● Film clubs and youth film production tradition is
significant
● Access to digital technology enables global
conversations between educators & students
23. Brazil
Challenges
● Little tradition of interdisciplinary work
● Disparities in access to technology
● Little focus on media/technology in teacher
education
Opportunities
● Strong tradition of innovation in literacy
education
● Government financial support for technology
● Deep appreciation of connections between
formal & informal learning
26. Israel
Challenges
● Diverse purposes and goals for media literacy
education
● Religious diversity contributes to disparities
● Lack of connection between K-12, research and
university scholars in education or media studies
Opportunities
● Elective courses in Media are normative
● Venture capital & entrepreneurship in edtech
● Government financial support for innovation in
education, media and technology sectors
● Growing appreciation of connections between formal
& informal learning
28. Small Scale Programs Contribute to
Innovation When Experience is Shared
Authentically within the Knowledge
Community
29. United States
Challenges
● Digital and media literacy definitions are divergent
● Local control of schools lead to significant disparities
● Testing culture discourages innovation
Opportunities
● Specialists including librarians & technology specialists
may support innovation
● Venture capital & entrepreneurship in edtech : new
digital resources
● Growing appreciation of connections between formal
& informal learning
● Wide variety of PD experiences and providers with
many connections between university, K-12 & research
30. Supporting Language Learning through
Advertising Analysis Activities
Six-week teacher action research project designed to explore
media literacy pedagogy in the context of ESL with new
immigrants to the United States
Subjects: High-School students ages 14 – 19 enrolled in the
Newcomer Program at Benjamin Rush HS, Philadelphia
RESEARCH METHODS
Classroom observation
Interviews with teachers
Analysis of student work samples
SOURCE: Hobbs, R., He, H. & RobbGreico, M. (2014) Seeing, Believing and Learning to be Skeptical:
Supporting Language Learning through Advertising Analysis Activities. TESOL Journal.
31. CLOZE READING ACTIVITY
Magazine | audience | context
collaborated |purpose | targets
message | attention | technique
company | differently | represents
persuade | lifestyle
The Dettol _____________________ made this
ad for a hand sanitizer. The authors are the
company and the ad _____________ that they
paid. They ______________ to create the ad.
The ad was in People _____________________ on
a full page next to an article about a movie star in
April 2011. Readers saw the ad in this
_____________________.
The target _____________________ is people
who ride the bus. Mostly working class people
ride the bus. This ad also shows a woman, so
maybe it _____________________ women more
than men.
4. The most important _____________________
in the ad is that buses are not clean. When you
hold a handle in the bus, you can get the germs of
other people on the bus. The main
_____________________ is that you must clean
33. Turkey
Challenges
● National curriculum is teacher-centered
● Big disconnect between research and K-12 education
● No tradition of continuing education for teachers
● Substantial divide between center & periphery
● Lack of access to Turkish digital content
Opportunities
● Youth culture – most teachers are under age 30
● Growth of private schools creates pressure to innovate
● Government funding for technology is available
● ICT and Media Literacy electives in middle-school
34. Cross-National
University-School Partnership
Program
Six-week pilot project designed to explore media
literacy pedagogy in the context of global
communication
Subjects: Middle-school children ages 11 – 13 and
their teachers
• SAINT MARK’S SCHOOL – San Rafael CA USA
• Gokkusagi MIDDLE SCHOOL, Canakkale, Turkey
RESEARCH METHODS
Interviews with teachers
Analysis of student work samples
Classroom observation
40. 1. Getting to Know You
2. Learning about Two Countries
3. Analyzing TV Shows that Feature High School
4. Discussing Current Events
5. Exchanging Student Videos about Daily Life
43. American students have
only basic information
about Turkish history,
daily life and culture
56. ANALYSIS OF POPULAR CULTURE IN SCHOOL.
Students can identify cultural values in the
representation of school in popular television
programs but cannot identify misrepresentation
across culture.
DISCUSSING CURRENT EVENTS IN SCHOOL.
Turkish students are not comfortable talking
about the current political situation in their
country and American students cannot
appreciate their reticence.
AWARENESS OF POWER/KNOWLEDGE GAPS.
American students gain new awareness of
global power imbalances as they confront their
own lack of access to global popular culture
through online interpersonal communication.
57. What Can be Learned Through
Cross-National Comparison of
Media Literacy Initiatives?
58. RELATIONSHIPS. Develop personal
relationships through information sharing to
promote trust and respect
COLLABORATION. Experiment and take risks
by discovering new approaches to
collaboration
VALUES. Appreciate opportunities and
challenges within a particular values
framework, cultural or institutional context
REFLECTION. Analyze one’s own attitudes
and challenge assumptions & stereotypes
through social engagement
TAKE ACTION. Work together to combat
inequity, prejudice and discrimination
Media Literacy is a
Movement
59. Why Do We Need
Global Media
Literacy Education?
Relationships
Collaboration
Values
Reflection
Action
60. Conclusion
Innovation in media literacy education is deeply situational
and contextual
Small scale programs contribute to innovation when
experience is shared authentically within the knowledge
community
Issues of representation and focus on popular culture
activate critical thinking about personal and social identity
in relation to culture and values
Global partnerships promote innovation to advance new
knowledge in the field
61. 12
Definitions of
Digital
Literacy
SKILLS & ABILITIES
➢ Computer Use and Knowledge
➢ ICT Skills & Digital Skills
LITERACY
➢ Online Reading & New Literacies
➢ Media Production & Composition
➢ Coding
TEACHING WITH
➢ Technology Integration
➢ Digital Learning
➢ Blended Learning
➢ Connected Learning
TEACHING ABOUT
➢ Information Literacy
➢ Media Literacy
➢ Internet Safety & Digital Citizenship
62. 12
Definitions of
Digital
Literacy
SKILLS & ABILITIES
➢ Computer Use and Knowledge
➢ ICT Skills & Digital Skills
LITERACY
➢ Online Reading & New Literacies
➢ Media Production / Youth Media
➢ Coding
TEACHING WITH
➢ Technology Integration
➢ Digital Learning
➢ Blended Learning
➢ Connected Learning
TEACHING ABOUT
➢ Information Literacy
➢ Media Literacy
➢ Internet Safety & Digital Citizenship
64. EDUCATION CREATIVE ARTS
GOVERNMENT CIVIL SOCIETY ORGS
TECH INDUSTRY ACTIVIST
expanding variety of stakeholders
65. We must embrace new approaches and
new stakeholders who help us expand the
concept of literacy
66. A Proposed Unifying Principle
We use the power of information and
communication to make a difference in
the world
67. Hobbs, R., He, H. & RobbGreico, M. (2014) Seeing, Believing and Learning to be Skeptical: Supporting
Language Learning through Advertising Analysis Activities. TESOL Journal.
Hobbs, R. & Tuzel, S. (2014). “The Use of Media Literacy Instructional Strategies for Promoting Intercultural
Communication in U.S. & Turkish Middle Schools.” Paper presentation to the International Association for
Intercultural Communication Studies (IAICS). Providence, RI. August 1.
Hobbs, R. & Friesem, L. (2014). “Connecting Continents.” Online professional development program with
Russian educators. Russian Academy of Education, March 25.
Hobbs, R. (2014). “How Teachers Motivations Shape Digital Learning.” Workshop presentation at SXSW Edu.
Austin, TX. March 24.
Hobbs, R. (2013). “Global Developments in Media Literacy Education,” Media and Digital Literacy Lab
(MDLAB). Keynote address at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. August 18.
Hobbs (2011). “How Digital and Media Literacy Supports Global Understanding,” Arab-US Association of
Communication Educators (AUSACE), Beirut, Lebanon, October 30.
Hobbs, R., Yoon, J., Al-Humaidan, R., Ebrahimi, A. & Cabral, N. (2011). Online digital media in elementary
school. Journal of Middle East Media 7(1), 1 – 23.
Hobbs, R., Ebrahimi, A., Cabral, N., Yoon, J., & Al-Humaidan, R. (2011). Field-based teacher education in
elementary media literacy as a means to promote global understanding. Action for Teacher Education 33, 144
– 156.
www.mediaeducationlab.com
68. Renee Hobbs
Professor of Communication Studies
Director, Media Education Lab
Harrington School of Communication and Media,
University of Rhode Island USA
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs
WEB: www.mediaeducationlab.com