By Diana Maliszewski “What is your emoji-name?” by Neil Andersen has been one of our most accessed posts since it was first published in 2017. If you used Neil’s lesson suggestions and wanted more along the same theme, here are a few more ideas on how to incorporate emojis into media literacy lessons. Loose…
By Diana Maliszewski with Neil Andersen Students can create some astounding media creations, especially as a collaborative venture. The challenge can be about how to evaluate the end-product, especially when it was a cooperative endeavour. How do you weigh the various types of contributions made by different individuals? This causes anxiety in teachers but…
The Association for Media Literacy officially came into existence in 1978. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the organization, our executive board decided on a goal – to publish 40 blog posts in 2018 on the website. Thankfully, we were able to achieve this goal, and actually exceed it! Below is…
Diana Maliszewski is a teacher-librarian with the Toronto District School Board and currently the newest board member of the Association of Media Literacy, having joined in 2018. She has presented throughout North America and written extensively on media topics such as graphic novels, popular culture, games-based learning, Minecraft, cosplay, and social media. Her awards include…
By Diana Maliszewski Practically everything is media, and that includes apologies. An apology is defined as “a regretful acknowledgement of an offence or failure” (www.dictionary.com). Traditional apologies involve the giver and the receiver of the apology, unless you include the adult that might be forcing an apology between children, like a parent or teacher insisting…
By Diana Maliszewski with Neil Andersen A common adjective to describe recent media experiences is FAST. The speed at which content is published, shared, commented on, and remixed is quick. What are the impacts of the rapid pace of reacting to media texts? A recent, vivid example can be found on Jason Chatfield’s blog. Jason…
by Diana Maliszewski Media literacy can be most impactful when the media texts chosen for study are items that students interact with daily, often without much consideration. The Canadian national anthem, “O Canada”, is just such a media text. Asking pertinent questions that promote critical thinking can lead to fascinating insights. Some of these questions…
These slides (click here) were part of a presentation by AML Director Diana Maliszewski for newly-hired permanent contract teachers in the Toronto District School Board during their Beginning Teacher Summer Institute. Often, new teachers are uncertain about how to approach teaching media literacy outside of some older approaches (i.e. examining cereal boxes or TV commercials)….
The following thread from @Jess5th on Twitter (otherwise known as Jessica Lifshitz, an American elementary school teacher) is a great example of rich discussion, excellent scaffolding, and critical thinking. Although Jess did not necessarily create this as a “media lesson”, it incorporates several key concepts for media literacy. All media are constructions The media construct…
by Neil Andersen, Carol Arcus, Margie Keats, Diana Maliszewski and Michelle Solomon How could victims need rescuing without villains to abuse them? How could a hero demonstrate heroism without a villain to confront? How could a plot reach its climax without a villain to defeat? Heroes may be stories’ main characters, but are villains the…