media teacher

Though media education (the process of teaching and learning media literacy) has been successfully integrated in other parts of the world, it has not been widely practiced in the United States. Generally, when media texts have been taught in the US, the instruction has been focused on helping students resist the influence of media or on using media as a hook for other "more important" instruction.

The purpose of this website is to expand this view of media and to assist educators in thinking about the role that media play in contemporary culture and the importance of studying media as forms of communication. Research in media education (e.g. Alverman, 1999; Buckingham, 2004) suggests that children and adolescents use media as a social tool and as a source of information, of creativity, and of pleasure. Despite the significant role of media in US culture (Gitlin, 2002), students in US schools rarely have the opportunity to interrogate media texts or to think critically about the role of media in modern life. This remains true even though research by Hobbs & Frost (2003) and more recent research from  the US DOE M.E.A.L. Project indicate that the study of media can lead to greater understandings of traditional print texts.

This website was created so that educators could reflect on how opportunities for studying media might be structured in school. Its purpose is to provide a space for educators at all levels to reflect on teaching media and to share resources, insights, and stories. The site was built on the assumption that all members of society must be prepared to read media, to comprehend the elements of media production, and to reflect on the role of media in defining human experience and shaping political choices.

Project LaMP (Literature and Media Project)

LaMP is focused on methods for teaching narrative media in English / Language Arts. One aspect of the Project is a new course "Literature in the Media" that was developed by Marty Mayer and Dr. Barbara Pace (University of Florida). The course was submitted to the Clay County School Board in Florida and proposed to the state. It gained state approval and Ms Mayer taught the course for the first time in the 2005-2006 school year. We are currrently analyzing data from the first offering of the course.

A few of the reasons that we have for supporting the use of media texts in traditional classrooms are listed below:

(1) Any text can be used as a thinking device to anchor dialogue, encourage critical thinking, and support an attitude of mindfulness.

(2) Literacy is multifaceted and socially and culturally constructed. In-school literacy learning should  acknowledge this reality and should include multiple forms of literacy and opportunities for critique, reflection, and production of new texts.

(3) Media texts provide opportunities for engaging conversations focused on the elements of a text. These conversations can function as sites for modeling processes, applying metalanguages, and building background knowledge. They can support active and engaged reading of both the word and the world.

Media Literacy at the University of Florida is a strand of three professional development courses: Teaching Multiliteracies, Teaching Media Literacy with the Internet, and Teaching Narrative across Media. 

For more information on LaMP, the online specialization in Media Education at UF, or the Teaching Media Literacy with the Internet course, contact Dr. Barbara Pace.