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Media and Information Literacy
All the information in the world is at the tip of our fingers. All we need to do is go online and we will be able to find everything- from the latest news, latest fashions, to the trendiest restaurants, or that ONE piece of information you were missing for your report. To be able to survive in a technological world, traditional media needs to incorporate new technology.
Radio stations, yellow pages, broadcasting companies, and newspapers... They all have a website, probably a social networking site, as well as a Twitter account. Why? Because this is the way we communicate and research nowadays.
No longer do I, Tania, go in search of a service in the yellow pages. I Google it. Same happens with the news... I don't go out and buy a newspaper, but rather I log into the newspaper's webpage and read the news that way. New media offers immediate gratification- quick finds, quick answers. Traditional media takes time, you have to learn how to find information using keywords.
As for my students... I feel like having all the information at the tip of their fingers makes them lazy. While we were at the library working on their Country Research, I realized how they don't know how to look for information. They would type whole questions into the "database search" (something they would do with Google and get millions of websites)and then wondered why the answer would not magically appear. I feel like kids need to know how to use both kinds of media to access information, if only so that they understand that not everything will be handed to them that easily.
I remember one of the first emails I ever received. It was one of those emails where they talked about stuffing little kittens in bottles and selling them. As a cat lover, and an emotional teenager, I was outraged. I immediately sent it out to all my contact list (and I know that if I had had Facebook then, I would have posted an angry comment/picture/link with this information)and vowed to save every single one of those poor kittens.
I soon found out it was a hoax.
Teaching about new media is important. Having all this information available is amazing, but it can also be treacherous. We need to know how to identify real information and what isn't true. Had I known better, I would have realized that that email I received years ago was a fake, however just as I did before, a lot of people fall into these traps. So...with new media/communication comes great responsibility.
People are now constantly posting on their social networking sites what they think about different articles and situations. Social networking became a vessel for any sort or debate. During the elections, every post was about who they were voting for, and why. Because information is so easily accessible, and anyone can post anything on line, it is very important to decide if the information you are re-posting is real (or else you will be like 15 year old me, resending emails about bottled kitties).
As a teacher, I feel like new technology is a good way to communicate with students and families. It opens yet another space where they may feel more comfortable explaining problems, fears, etc. As for new media, I feel like it is important to use it, but there needs to be deep education on how to use it. A challenge, once again, would be the desperate need to educate the students on how to use media in a positive way.
I love your comparison of cats in bottles to information literacy! It goes to show that we are all capable of making a well-intentioned mistake. As you said, "I feel like kids need to know how to use both kinds of media to access information, if only so that they understand that not everything will be handed to them that easily" - I agree. I think that we, as teachers, we are now more responsible for teaching concepts and higher order thinking skills as opposed to information. Information can be found on the internet, but some may involve cats in bottles. Teachers need to teach how to distinguish good information from bad.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison was just fantastic! and I also remember that email perfectly, I was also outraged, the thing is that I never found out it was a hoax and I just forgot about its importance since there was another big shocking news to be outraged about so quickly; makes me think of the relevance of all this, as you perfectly define, immediate gratification, that maybe sometimes it doesn't make the same impact as it used to when presented in a different way of transmission, as for instance, that impact you got from the first page news on the newspaper, remember how in movies when something made a huge impact, it would make it on the first page? I wonder if facts are losing their relevance as the news spread so differently know.
ReplyDeleteAs you mention, there is all sorts of information out there, true reliable sources, and ... kittens in jars. It is our vital role and responsibility to teach our students about media literacy. This information is very accessible for our students, therefore it is in their best interest that we guide them through their search and learning process.
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