Journalhttp://mediateacher.squarespace.com/journal/en-US2009-12-04T05:46:02ZSquarespace Site Server v5.8.4 (http://www.squarespace.com/)NAMLE Conferencehttp://mediateacher.squarespace.com/journal/2009/9/15/namle-conference.htmlDr. Barbara G. Pace2009-09-15T20:22:26ZIn August 2009, I gave two presentations at the National Association for Media Literacy Education Conference (NAMLE) in Detroit. In the first presentation, I discussed the findings from the LaMP studies that we have been conducting over the last three years.

The second presentation was based on an article recently published in The Science Teacher (January 09). In this article, I discuss how practices generally associated with media literacy education (such as genre study and segmenting) can be used to offset the high cognitive burden found in web-based science videos. I drew on the research of Mayer & Moreno (2003) to describe how multimodal texts can create cognitive overload and pose difficulties for students. I then illustrated how analytical practices from media literacy education (i.e. genre study and segmenting) can be used to help students identify scientific concepts.

]]>Media Literacy and Web 2.0http://mediateacher.squarespace.com/journal/2009/9/15/media-literacy-and-web-20.htmlDr. Barbara G. Pace2009-09-15T20:04:23ZDuring the last academic year, I have revamped much our teacher education program to take advantage of the affordances of Web 2.0. Towards that end, I have redesigned the Technology and Media literacy course to include using Web 2.0 tools, such as Voice Thread, Wikis, Nings, and Xtra Normal. Prospective teachers enrolled in the course used these tools to complete assignments and to design web-based activities for teaching texts. We also included a "no tech"/"low tech" option that would allow teachers to make use of media resources even when not connected to the Web. Teaching candidates participated in social networking through a class Ning.

During the Summer of 2009, we collected data from teaching candidates enrolled in the course (LAE 6861). Preliminary analyses of data suggest that the Web 2.0 experiences prompted these students to shift their understandings of literacy practices and the ways that those practices are enacted through using technologies to understand texts. We have submitted a paper on this project for publication.

]]>Welcomehttp://mediateacher.squarespace.com/journal/2006/10/17/welcome.htmlDr. Barbara G. Pace2006-10-17T12:48:25ZThough 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.

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