Media Literacy

Media literacy is not necessary something that I have given much thought to in the past. However, it reaches a whole new level of meaning in my mind when I step back and think about how skilled the young generation of students that I will teach are with computers, especially when compared to the experiences I had with technology at their age.
I found the UVA video very interesting and powerful when considering web safety and the possiblities for harm on the internet. Web safety is something that should go hand in hand with technology lessons within the school setting. Students should be made aware by their teachers that not everything on the internet should be taken as gospel. Teachers, in turn, need to realize this as well and educate themselves on the appropriate procedures that should be taken when integrating technology into the curriculum. Secondly, as Will Richardson points out in his blog, students need to be taught "how to asses" what they are reading on the internet. I found his analogy about magazines very clever and it made me really see the material that is out there on the web in a new light. Teachers and students need to learn "best practices" when evaluating the credibility of information on the web so that they can use them when evaluating the things they come across on the internet everyday.
Before having students actually do a project that required web-based research, I would do an activity with them to teach how to effectively determine credible information on the internet. For the actual research, I would most likely keep them within one information rich site, because with elementary school children, you cannot run the risk of veering off and getting into a bad situation. But I would show them expamples of credible information and information that is not necessarily credible and what to look for in determining this. I would use a creative analogy that they could relate to in order to illustrate this idea, similarly to how Will Richardson did this in his blog with magazines.
Thirdly, and more on the topic of media literacy as opposed to web safety, I think it's important for teachers to be aware that media can be used to "speak in a different language" as the film with George Lucas pointed out. As I've mentioned before I was a Mass Communication major and learning how to communciate through film can be very powerful. It enables you to refine your own ideas and understanding and reach and touch others. I think we do need to look closely at the way we are teaching communication skills. I am all for good old fashion writing- I think that skill is so important and should not be lost. But on the otherhand, there is much to be gained from learning how to interpret, analyze, and "read" alternate forms of communication through advertisements and movies. It makes you more aware of your surroundings and less likely to fall for things when you are taught to look at them with a critical eye. I would love the opportunity to be involved in the teaching of a basic communications class with elementary school students, that goes beyond just computers and the internet into possibly even making a small film. I beleive this gives children another creative outlet and opportunity to express themselves.