Events
Media and Global Issues: Getting Connected to the World
March 7, 2006
Tuesday, March 7 at the National Film Board Theatre, 5:30 - 7:30 PM, 150 John St. ( Richmond & John St.)
Toronto, ON
The new website of the Association for Media Literacy contains rich resources for exploring many media topics -- especially global issues.
After award-winning journalist Olivia Ward's keynote address on media and global hotspots today, we will showcase the website and explore topics connected to our global theme. These will range from students' immersion experiences in the Dominican Republic to teaching about the media implications of September 11 and the Asian Tsunami.
Members: Free
Non-members: $10
Students: $5
Unwaged: Pay what you can
No reservations required.
For more information contact Barry Duncan at (416) 233-8282.
The need to study the media in a critical and coherent way has become increasingly obvious in recent years, as they have come to occupy a central position in our cultural and political life. Virtually all that we know, or think that we know, about the world beyond our immediate experience comes to us through the media. The fact that the media remained outside the school curriculum at the same time as they came to dominate so many aspects of our society, and indeed, our individual consciousness, is a tribute to their power to influence us on many levels. It is not surprising then, that we have come to study the media; it is only surprising that it took us so long to start.
OISE's first media literacy conference will happen on October 23rd. This is a conference designed especially for teacher candidates, since media literacy is now a mandated part of the curriculum at the elementary and secondary levels. In 2007, Ontario's Ministry of Education released new guidelines that emphasized the importance of teaching media education as part of the secondary English curriculum. Today, Ontario’s elementary report card requires teachers to report on students’ media literacy learning. On Oct. 23rd we connect the classroom to the world and explore the media and pop culture interests of young people today. From the phenomena of You Tube and Social Media, to video production and identity, the conference will explore the importance of an expanded definition of literacy -- one that includes print, screen-based and electronic media -- and one that applies across the curriculum. This conference will provide a wide choice of workshops offering answers to the following questions:
- What is media literacy?
- How is media literacy education practiced and experienced?
- How might media literacy education be integrated with other subjects and broader educational needs?
- What must teachers teach?
- What must students learn?
- How do teachers report and support students’ media literacy achievement?
- How can media literacy evolve with new media environments and new educational challenges?
- getting started in media literacy
- integrating media literacy into various subject areas
- assessing media literacy
- using production in the classroom, including podcasting, video production, and photo essays
- exploring the world of social media
- Internet safety
- gender, race and identity in the media
- citizenship and global issues
- video games and classroom applications
- media literacy and social movements
Registration is FREE. Lunch will be provided. We look forward to seeing you on October 23rd!!
WHO WE ARE
The Association for Media Literacy (AML) is a voluntary, non-profit organization made up of teachers, librarians, consultants, parents, cultural workers, and media professionals concerned with the impact of the mass media on contemporary culture. The AML is the official subject association for teachers in Ontario and consults with the Ministry of Education on curriculum development and revision for the elementary and secondary panels.
The AML has supporters from across Canada, throughout the United States, and from around the world. Our international membership is particularly strong in those English-speaking countries where the educational system has given some priority to media literacy, notably England, Australia and Scotland as well as the U.S.
Founded in 1978, The Association for Media Literacy-- referred to by some as “the most influential media education organization in North America” --was the first comprehensive organization for media literacy teachers in Canada. Ontario was the first educational jurisdiction in the world to mandate media literacy as part of the English curriculum, largely as a result of AML lobbying.
Among its initiatives, the AML:
- was involved in planning the first ever National Media Literacy Week in 2006, along with the Canadian Teachers Federation, Media Awareness Network and CAMEO.
- created the Additional Qualifications courses in Media at York University and OISE/University of Toronto.
- supported the genesis of sister organizations in most Canadian provinces and their umbrella organization, CAMEO.
- originated the concept and purpose of the Media Awareness Network.
- hosted national and international media education conferences (most recently, Summit 2000 in Toronto) and created several resources, including the seminal Media Literacy Resource Guide, which has been translated into Japanese and Spanish
- developed Think Literacy documents for the Ministry of Education, which provide teachers with strategies for teaching media literacy in Language Arts and English classrooms.
- successfully lobbied for a media studies component in the elementary language curriculum, as well as a media studies strand in every English course at the secondary level.