New research, call for proposals, and more!

Monthly Update | August 2020

Enter to Win a Free Book!

This month we’re giving away 3 copies of Cybersafe Young Children, with the foreword by NAMLE Executive Director Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, to lucky members! The book addresses issues related to cyber safety and children’s usage of social media in the early grades to prevent later harmful behavior, such as cyberbullying. To enter your name into the drawing, email us at namle@namle.net by Friday, August 14. Winners will be notified by Monday, August 17.

Media Literacy in the News

Corona Multimedia Showcase seeks to display kids’ creative projects made during the pandemic

This Seattle Times article highlights the Corona Multimedia Showcase, a project of the nonprofit Action for Media Education, which encourages children and their families to develop creative projects that reflect their lives during the pandemic. Submissions are accepted through October 9 and the creations will be displayed during U.S. Media Literacy Week starting October 26. [read more]

Media Literacy in 2020 with Michelle Ciulla Lipkin

On a recent episode of The Pop-Marketing Podcast with Joe Cox, NAMLE Executive Director Michelle Ciulla Lipkin talks about what media literacy is and how 2020 has taught us why it's a critical skill set for a generation growing up online.

[listen here]

WhatsApp adds search feature to help users debunk viral messages

WhatsApp is piloting a new feature that lets users quickly fact-check the contents of forwarded messages. The feature allows users to search for the message’s contents online, which may help them reveal any common conspiracy theories or misinformation the message might contain. [read more]

M-Passioned: Meet Our Members

RaShawna Sydnor

Teacher/Affiliate Professor

Baltimore City Public Schools/Loyola University Maryland

“[Media literacy] is important to me because we consume so much of it in so many ways and as a teacher, I can be an active participant in helping my students make sense of what they see, hear and ultimately taste and feel. Additionally, I can help them recognize how it impacts their thoughts, wants, perceived needs, and expectations. Their understanding of how these forces work to manipulate their decisions/thought process and the methods used, allows them some measure of freedom when they can recognize it and use sound judgement.” [read more]

Infobase News Literacy Webinars

Navigating the News Landscape with the Media Bias Chart

August 13 @ 3 p.m. ET

In this webinar with Infobase, an educational publishing company, Vanessa Otero, founder of Ad Fontes Media, will explain how to use their Media Bias Chart framework to teach news literacy in various educational settings, from using it as a reference resource to teaching students how to place news articles and sources on the chart themselves. [learn more]

Webinar Series: Critical Conversations

August 20 @ 4 p.m. ET

This four-part webinar series by Britannica Digital Learning, in partnership with Urban Word NYC, will tackle conversations about racial and systemic issues affecting today’s students and equip educators with resources needed to address these tough conversations. This panel will offer ways for educators to lead and facilitate conversations on racism, systemic oppression, bias, and action. The other webinars in the series will focus on addressing trauma in a COVID and racial justice-centered world, navigating school policy to transform classrooms, and using the arts to improve classroom engagement. [learn more]

CFP: Northeast Media Literacy Conference

The Northeast Media Literacy Conference is now accepting proposals for their annual conference that will take place virtually November 6-7. They are looking for proposals for academic presentations about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on media literacy practices and the impact that physical isolation and remote engagement will have on the future of media education. They are also looking for proposals for workshops or town hall discussions. Proposal deadline: September 7. [learn more]

CFP: Media Literacy Program Profiles

An upcoming book titled, Power Lines: Connecting with Urban Teens Through Media Literacy in Libraries, is accepting proposals for program profiles from young adult librarians, school media specialists, and youth community organization leaders highlighting a successful young adult program or initiative that teaches and incorporates media literacy with teens from urban communities. Email Jimmeka Anderson at jander44@uncc.edu and Kelly Czarnecki at kellyczarnecki1@gmail.com for more information. Proposal deadline: September 30. [learn more]

Virtual Online Safety Conference

The Family Online Safety Institute will be holding its annual conference virtually on November 18. The theme, “Building Resilience,” will include conversations with experts about the changing elements of online life, the obstacles and benefits we face in our digital future, and how these topics relate to the changing social and cultural landscape. Registration costs start at $45. [learn more]

Text Message Course: Election Misinformation

In this free, two-week text message course from First Draft, participants can sign up to receive short, daily lessons about how to prepare for U.S. election misinformation. The course also aims to educate users about why people create and share false and misleading content, commonly used tactics for spreading it, and how to talk to family and friends about it. [learn more]

Resources

New: Journal of Media Literacy Education 12.2

NAMLE is pleased to announce the publication of the latest issue of the Journal of Media Literacy Education (JMLE). Volume 12.2 of JMLE has been prepared by Maria Ranieri, Elizaveta Friesem, and Elena Gabbi. Special thanks go to copy-editors (in alphabetical order): Olga Gould, Samantha Stanley, and Tamar Wilner. Read the full issue here.

Research: Peer Feedback with Foster Youth Creating Media

New research published in the journal Reflective Practice by NAMLE members Yonty Friesem and Kelsey Greene explores the benefits and challenges of using positive peer feedback with a group of foster adolescents. The findings show that students’ use of peer feedback with different media platforms helped increase the students’ engagement, develop collaboration skills, and enhance their critical thinking. [read more]

Trainers' Pack: Digital Citizenship Education

This publication from the Council of Europe includes training activities and assessment tools to aid educators in enabling children and young people to acquire the competencies they need to participate actively and responsibly as digital citizens in a democratic society. The cost to purchase the handbook is $98. [learn more]

Media Literacy Lab

This new pilot program from the Alannah & Madeline Foundation is designed to help teachers build young Australians’ essential media literacy knowledge and skills through online learning modules. Topics include democratic rights, what is media, artificial intelligence, algorithms, bots, and big data. Teachers can sign up for free until January 2021. [learn more]

Analysis: Americans Who Mainly Get Their News on Social Media Are Less Engaged

A new Pew Research Center analysis found that U.S. adults who rely mostly on social media for political news tend to be less likely than other news consumers to closely follow major news stories, such as the coronavirus outbreak and the 2020 presidential election. This group also tends to be less knowledgeable about these topics and are more likely to consume misinformation.

[learn more]