News Items
President's Message - Fall 2006
November 1, 2006
I think 2006 will be remembered as a very good year! This year marks the first ever National Media Education Week, brought to you by the Association for Media Literacy, the Canadian Teacher’s Federation and Media Awareness Network. The week is taking place from November 20 – 24 and will provide all of us with a well deserved opportunity to promote and celebrate media education in classrooms, schools and communities across the country.
As part of NMEW, on Friday, November 24th the AML will be hosting a National Videoconference — the first of its kind for media educators in Canada. The Videoconference will provide us with an important opportunity for dialogue on issues central to media education today. We hope you’ll join us!
In Toronto, we’ve also planned an event with the NFB which will take place on Tuesday, November 21st. Politics, Identity and Education: Exploring Directions for Canadian Media features a panel discussion with experts from media education, and from the television, film, and news industries. For more information on this event and the Videoconference, click on the Events listings below.
As well as preparing for NMEW, we are currently offering AQ courses for K – 12 teachers through York University and OISE/UT. For the first time, media literacy is now included as a separate strand in the elementary curriculum in the new Grades 1-8: Language, 2006 document. Enrolment in the AQ courses certainly reflects teachers’ interest in and enthusiasm for elementary media education. We anticipate that the revised secondary English document, due out at the end of this school year, will maintain the presence of media literacy in core English courses and as a stand alone credit. The AML is committed to offering support for teachers, especially those new to teaching Media Literacy at the elementary level. Be sure to continue to check our website for events and resources planned specifically for elementary teachers.
It’s obvious we have a lot to celebrate this year year. We’d love to hear about what’s happening in your classrooms and how you’re celebrating NMEW. Feel free to send in lesson plans, event information, and articles to [ mailto:carcus@rogers.com ]carcus@rogers.com We hope the website will be used as a forum for an exchange of ideas and information during NMEW and throughout the year.
Once again, thank you for all of your support. We look forward to hearing from you!
Carolyn Wilson
AML President