The Media Spot

The Media Spot recently submitted a proposal for for a Knowledge-Networking Award from the MacArthur Foundation to develop an area of our website into a Media Literacy Learning Network (MLLN), via an initial pilot program. The writing process helped us galvanize ideas we've been rolling around for awhile, and create a clear direction for the future of TMS and this website. A big thanks goes out to The Learning about Media Project, Renee Hobbs of The Media Ed Lab, Dan Storchan of AUSSIE PD, and Pablo Conrad at PS124 for discussing the ideas with us and agreeing to contribute to the pilot network.

Over the past 2 years we've been promoting school blogs as a tool for incorporating media education in the classroom and teaching students safe and responsible online habits. Any talk of blogging or social networking and kids these days doesn't get far without a discussion of online safety. With all the hype around Internet predators and cyber-bullies lurking on blogs and sites like MySpace (enter Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator I, II, or III...") there is (understandably) a lot of resistence to introducing social networking tools into the K-12 environment.