Rhys Daunic of The Media Spot gave a keynote address at the 2014 Summer Institute of Digital Literacy with his longtime media literacy mentor, Renee Hobbs. Their talk walked the crowd of K-16 educators and researchers through various definitions of digital literacy, and how those are at play in schools developing curricula infused with digital and media literacy across disciplines, then they lead everyone through a production activity.
They modeled critical analysis of a media text (a Brainpop video) as a way of demonstrating close reading of a text. To demonstrate digital authorship in the learning process, they created a screencast of their text analysis.
Following the keynote, the audience broke into small groups and made their own screencasts critically analyzing media texts. To guide the analysis, they used The Media Education Lab’s Media Literacy Smartphone, which provides key questions to consider when analyzing media messages.
KEY IDEAS OF THE KEYNOTE
- Media literacy links together critical analysis with media composition to support learning that connects play and learning in and out of school
- Heightened awareness of the constructedness of media messages improves both reading and writing practices
- Screencasting is a simple digital tool that empowers learners to critique and comment as a form of authorship
- Whole school integration with digital literacy is a collaborative process that evolves organically over time
RHYS’ PRESENTATION ON WHOLE SCHOOL MEDIA LITERACY PROGRESSION
As a follow-up to the keynote, later during the week-long Institute, Rhys presented the following detailed look at how the Brooklyn School of Inquiry has built a whole-school media literacy program over the past 5 years. During the talk, he showed how holistic media literacy adoption includes staff development, designated media literacy classes, and integration by teachers across disciplines. He also walked through how resources (see Related Tools) for organizing this type of integration have evolved over time.
The Media Spot 