WHAT IS MEDIA LITERACY?

MEDIA LITERACY IS THE ABILITY TO ACCESS, ANALYZE, EVALUATE AND CREATE MEDIA IN A VARIETY OF FORMS. ~ NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION (NAMLE)

We live in a world saturated by media, and it can be difficult to navigate. The line between truth and fiction isn't always clear. By learning and teaching the core concepts of media literacy–– being able to recognize biases within media; the how, when, and why we are being targeted; being aware of what isn’t being shown; using our imagination and intention to produce meaningful messages in our own media–– we are together building the foundation needed to effectively examine the world around us in order to become informed and responsible citizens. These navigation skills and habits of critical thinking and dialogue go a long way as we all try to make sense of the information we see and hear every day.

The purpose of media literacy education is to help individuals of all ages develop the habits of inquiry and skills of expression that they need to be critical thinkers, effective communicators and active citizens in today's world. - NAMLE

Media education is the process of learning media literacy skills. We approach this through integrating media arts into academic teaching and learning. Similar to traditional literacy forms, media literacy enhances communication, and can be thought of as a new form of reading and writing.

Media literacy skills are vital to living and learning in the 21st century. And at a moment when families, advocates and public officials are rethinking the way schools operate, media literacy skills are only becoming more and more relevant.

Recommended Media Literacy Education Organizations

*See our Resource page for more

NAMLE- The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing media literacy education, guided by the mission to be the leading voice, convener and resource for media literacy education, NAMLE aims to make media literacy highly valued and widely practiced as an essential life skill.

Common Sense Media– learn about news literacy and how to use film and TV to teach media literacy.

Center for Media Literacy– provides an accessible, integrated, research-based teaching kit and strategy to assist schools and districts in organizing and structuring teaching activities using a media literacy lens.

News Literacy Project: Resources and professional development services for educators wanting to stay informed and build strategies and integrate news literacy into the classroom. Check out the “Checkology” virtual classroom led by real journalists and designed for students grades 6-12 to easily identify misinformation. Listen to this episode of the podcast We Don’t Talk About That where the News Literacy Project discusses misinformation and what people can do to avoid falling for it.