Teachers Need to Catch Up To Media Literacy

In a recent NCTE article by ednews.org titled "Survey of Educators Finds Lack of Focus on 21st Century Media Literacy Skills," the site says that students today are connected to so many media technology tools, but 80% of teachers "have to learn about how to teach media literacy on their own."

Teachers want to be more well-equipped with the technology use their students are involved with because then the teachers can educate students how to use the tools wisely and to their advantage.
"While young people spend more and more time using all forms of media in and out of the classroom, teaching them how to be thoughtful about their media use, to recognize the overt and hidden messages in media and to consider the consequences of their own actions online is simply not a priority in most schools."

"Media literacy means knowing how to access, understand, analyze, evaluate and create media messages on television, the Internet and other outlets. It also means knowing how to use these and other technologies safely, productively and ethically," and teachers want to help students use these resources effectively...they cannot do this, though, without proper training in these areas.

We are taught, as teachers, to make our students literate and effective citizens in and outside the classroom. If we do not have the resources to involve ourselves with media, then we need to have the administration keeping us up-to-date with technology.

“Young people are immersed in technology, and the tools that help them create web sites, blogs, videos and podcasts also allow them to be authors and publishers. They can reach a worldwide audience, so we have to teach them to do this thoughtfully,” said Gallagher. “With a small but committed effort, schools could take steps to incorporate media literacy into their school-wide curricula.”

Source: http://www.ednews.org/articles/7474/1/Survey-of-Educators-Finds-Lack-of-Focus-on-21st-
Century-Media-Literacy-Skills/Page1.html