M2 Discussion Forum Posting: Media Education
This module provided an overview of media education and an introduction to media literacy.
The key concepts of media literacy education (MLE) are as follows (Pungente O’Malley, 1999):
- All media are constructions
- The media construct reality
- Audiences negotiate meaning in media
- Media messages have commercial implications
- Media messages contain ideological and value messages
- Media messages contain social and political implications
- Form and content are closely related in media messages
- Each medium has a unique aesthetic form
From working through this module, I realized that there is a need for MLE in the K-12 curriculum. Students growing up in our media-saturated society do not necessarily have the media literacy skills to determine the true intentions and meanings of the messages they receive. Only with such literacy skills can students have the ability to critically examine the content they receive through the media. This understanding ultimately led to the selection of my topic for the Media Production assignment: Who needs media literacy education?
Reference
Pungente, J., & O’Malley, M. (1999). More than meets the eye: Watching television watching us. New York: Martin McClelland & Stewart. Retrieved from http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/canadas-key-concepts-media-literacy