Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Giving Tuesday. So many days, so little time. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to your inbox...did you know today was  a day of action to restore net neutrality? I have heard from many in the media literacy community concerned about the FCC's repeal of net neutrality rules and the impact it will have on access to information.  If you are inclined and passionate about this cause, check out these two  websites ( https://www.deadlinefornetneutrality.com  
and  https://www.battleforthenet.com ) which outline  steps for easy action. 

If you want to learn more about net neutrality, here are some resources that I have found helpful. Check out the following: This Wired article.   This episode of John Oliver's Last Week Tonight. This College Humor video.  This CNET guide.  And, of course, I'd love to hear from anyone who feels differently about the repeal of net neutrality.  You can always email me at mciullalipkin@namle.net.

Since Media Literacy Week wrapped (what a week!), I have been busy catching up, watching and reading some pretty awesome media content. I thought I'd share some of it with you.
  
If you haven't seen this yet, check out this great parody of Bohemian Rhapsody which looks at our social media lives. I think it's super commentary on online dialogue and debate. (I found it a lot funnier than my 20 year old students. "Queen, who?")

I finally watched the two part Frontline series The Facebook Dilemma.  The documentary  examines the platform's impact on privacy and democracy. I've been a little obsessed with following the unfolding stories about Facebook in the news.  I think this series does a great job summarizing things. (FYI: Mark Zuckerberg is not interviewed.)



I've also discovered the most effective and hysterical defense against too much screen time - the WeCroak App. Its tag line? Find happiness by contemplating your mortality. See below for an actual notification you get from the app. 

 

If this doesn't get us off our phones, not sure anything will. :)

If you haven't yet, take a moment to read Sonia Livingstone's blog post entitled  Media literacy: what are the challenges and how can we move towards a solution?  This post is based on her presentation at a UNESCO event for  Global Media and Information Literacy Week 2018 . Speaking of global media literacy, on October 24 at the Global MIL Week Feature Conference in Lithuania, Assistant Director-General of Communication and Information, Moez Chakchouk, announced the UNESCO Executive Board supported a resolution for a Global MIL Week to take place annually. This is an exciting development for Global MIL and for the media literacy movement around the globe. I will be sure to keep you informed of any updates. 


Finally, I also wanted to share our latest student voice blog post written by NAMLE's Student Leadership Council member Alexis Romero entitled Monsters & Empathy: 'Arrival', Difference and Elections.



Wishing you peace and calm during this busy time of year, 
Michelle Ciulla Lipkin's signature 



Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, Executive Director

mciullalipkin@namle.net
@medialiteracyed
@ciullalipkin
#medialitwk