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Question: How do you define media literacy?
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| Fran Trampiets teaches graduate courses in media education | |
Answer: Media literacy is a two-sided coin. One side deals with the vast amount of data that is available in today’s world. Media literacy helps us live productively and effectively in the information age by developing skills in accessing, analyzing and evaluating information. A media literate person is also able to communicate creatively and effectively through skilled use of a variety of media, both print and electronic.
The second side of the media literacy coin deals with the mass media, and what I like to call the media environment in which we live. When dealing with this aspect of media literacy we can best define it as understanding how the media work, how they affect our lives and how to use them wisely. Understanding how newspapers and magazines, the television and film industries, and the Internet “work” involves knowing something about the technology used, the production process and the business and financial aspects of these industries.
Knowing how they affect our lives means understanding that media both reflect and shape our culture. They are the primary creators of our popular culture and are powerful agents of socialization. We need to recognize techniques used to elicit the desired responses to advertising and entertainment so that we won’t be easily manipulated by media messages. Using media wisely simply means making smart choices and using media for wholesome entertainment and lifelong learning.
Media education is simply the process used to develop media literacy in our students. Its primary goals are critical thinking and autonomy. It’s not a new subject to be added to the curriculum, but an approach to teaching that should be integrated into every subject in this information age.
Fran Trampiets teaches graduate courses in media education at the University of Dayton's School of Education.
