Exploring The Value of Political Media in the Classroom (Jan 23, 2009)
The selections from Media That Matters illuminate Richard Beach's varied justifications of teaching media literacy.
Beach (2007) writes, "As future citizens whose votes will influence public policies, students should be able to critically examine how media representations reflect the influence of ideological and economic forces" (p. 8). The video, "The News is What We Make Of It," highlights this point as it considers the manipulation of a local story, a new school uniform policy, to suit the agenda of the powerful (in this case, parents, faculty and staff, school board members) as opposed to actual student opinion. The short's argument was driven home when the misinterpreted student openly protests media monopolies. She argues that media awareness and critical literacy is crucial for preventing further capitalist exploitation and journalistic hegemony.
Another video, "Battleground Minnesota," exemplifies Beach's emphasis on "helping students communicate in multimodal ways" (p. 8). Beach (2007) argues, "Given the ways in which people in contemporary society communicate with others in highly multimodal ways, students need to learn ways to combine print and media text to engage audiences" (p. 8). From my perspective, "Battleground Minnesota" invites youth to participate in politics and the arts through self-expression and digital media. Similar videos on u-tube (I'm thinking of "You Can Vote However You Like") have sparked student engagement in the recent elections. Further, it's arguable that this very participation influenced the nation's presidential vote. Certainly, political publicity, marketing, and advertisement have forever been changed after the u-tube outcry for Barack Obama.
Like Beach, I believe that media literacy is a valuable tool for students to explore within the classroom space. The ease of passive viewing in the home diminishes as students realize the connection between their world and the media. Further, students can respond to the news and their own realities through digital, multimodal expression. Like the female student suggests in "News is What We Make Of It," students can form meaning and share their own ideas through the creation of alternate publications like blogs, online newsletters, utube videos, etc.
Undeniably, online media and other digital technologies consider today's youth as among their top consumers. Teachers must recognize this relationship in order to teach critical media literacy in their classrooms and capitalize (no pun intended) on student interest.
Beach (2007) writes, "As future citizens whose votes will influence public policies, students should be able to critically examine how media representations reflect the influence of ideological and economic forces" (p. 8). The video, "The News is What We Make Of It," highlights this point as it considers the manipulation of a local story, a new school uniform policy, to suit the agenda of the powerful (in this case, parents, faculty and staff, school board members) as opposed to actual student opinion. The short's argument was driven home when the misinterpreted student openly protests media monopolies. She argues that media awareness and critical literacy is crucial for preventing further capitalist exploitation and journalistic hegemony.
Another video, "Battleground Minnesota," exemplifies Beach's emphasis on "helping students communicate in multimodal ways" (p. 8). Beach (2007) argues, "Given the ways in which people in contemporary society communicate with others in highly multimodal ways, students need to learn ways to combine print and media text to engage audiences" (p. 8). From my perspective, "Battleground Minnesota" invites youth to participate in politics and the arts through self-expression and digital media. Similar videos on u-tube (I'm thinking of "You Can Vote However You Like") have sparked student engagement in the recent elections. Further, it's arguable that this very participation influenced the nation's presidential vote. Certainly, political publicity, marketing, and advertisement have forever been changed after the u-tube outcry for Barack Obama.
Like Beach, I believe that media literacy is a valuable tool for students to explore within the classroom space. The ease of passive viewing in the home diminishes as students realize the connection between their world and the media. Further, students can respond to the news and their own realities through digital, multimodal expression. Like the female student suggests in "News is What We Make Of It," students can form meaning and share their own ideas through the creation of alternate publications like blogs, online newsletters, utube videos, etc.
Undeniably, online media and other digital technologies consider today's youth as among their top consumers. Teachers must recognize this relationship in order to teach critical media literacy in their classrooms and capitalize (no pun intended) on student interest.
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