Media literacy

Teacher librarians can help students gain media literacy so they will be discerning media users.

Here are some websites and research to back up those practices.

http://cyberfamilies.blogspot provides family-oriented theme-based Internet activities.

http://tinyurl.com/FakeNewsLibGuide offers lots of activities to build skill in identifying fake news.

http://propaganda.mediaeducationlab.com/ Media over Media analyzes contemporary propaganda

http://en.childrenslibrary.org/ provides thousands of online books, including hundreds in non-English languages.

https://www.schooltube.com/ offers lots of fun educational videos.

http://www.readingrockets.org/ teaches reading and helps struggling readers.

Supporting research:

UNICEF (2017). The state of the world’s children in 2017: Children in a digital world. New York City, NY: United Nations Children’s Fund. https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/SOWC_2017_ENG_WEB.pdf

This article by NPR provides a roundup of some of the latest research, as well as some previous reports, on the pros and cons of children using digital resources, with the goal of helping guide decision-making in families around screen use.

Rideout, V. (2017). The Common Sense census: Media use by kids age zero to eight. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/research/csm_zerotoeight_fullreport_release_2.pdf

Common Sense’s study views the media habits of children in the United States. That in turn has helped inform adults about important matters affecting children, such as how much screen time to recommend.

Robertson, C. (2017). Tech control of your future on special media. Paper presented at Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference, Belfast, Oct. 2-5. http://www.hmc.org.uk/blog/young-people-rebelling-social-media-survey-reveals/

The study provides evidence of a growing backlash among young people who wish social media did not exist due to negative aspects such as online abuse and fake news.

The Children’s Society safety net: Cyberbullying’s impact on young people’s mental health – Inquiry report (2017). London, England: The Children’s Society. https://youngminds.org.uk/media/2189/pcr144b_social_media_cyberbullying_inquiry_full_report.pdf

This study determined how social media can cause anxiety among youth – specifically through cyberbullying