21st Century Skills: do you know what those are?
Yes? No? Need help?...... Keep reading....
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21st Century Literacy Skills Include Media Literacy |
An open letter to educators from consultant Frank Baker:
Everywhere I go, teachers tell me that their students believe everything
they see, read and hear.
Students today aren't applying the critical thinking skills we know they need in
order to become
active, intelligent citizens and consumers of information. Today's
students only know what they
see on the screens (TV, computer, motion picture, video game) and they don't
have a clue how
it got to the screen: the process. Media literacy, among other things, is about
helping them
appreciate how media are constructed. When we "pull back the curtain," (on
advertising, TV,
film, propaganda ) we help them better understand how media work to influence
and persuade:
critical skills in a 21st century world.
Thanks for visiting my website, devoted to helping teachers (and students)
better understand media, media literacy and its place in the classroom.
In 1999, I conducted a large
study in
which elements of media literacy were identified
in almost every state's teaching standards. But teachers aren't necessarily
receiving
the training on how to implement media education.
I am honored to have been invited by the SC State Department of Education
to assist in rewriting English/Language Arts teaching standards. In support of
those
standards, I conducted "Best Practices" workshops for teachers (in 2005,
2006 and 2008).
To read specifics on where media literacy fits in SC's standards, click
here.
A number of large, national organizations now recognize, endorse and recommend media
literacy.
Among them:
American Association of School Librarians
American Academy of Pediatrics
Annenberg Public Policy Center
Cable In The Classroom
Carnegie Commission on Adolescent Development
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
College Board: Standards for College Success
International Reading Association
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McRel)
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
National Council of Teachers of English
National Council for the Social Studies
National Middle School Association
National PTA
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NcREL)
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
State Ed Tech Directors Assn
(SETDA)
White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Yet, many educators still don't know what media literacy is nor
do they know how
to incorporate it into instruction. That's why I created the
Media Literacy
Clearinghouse
website, and conduct
workshops
for educators across the U.S.
I am pleased that both the website and the workshops have received excellent
reviews.
My work involves helping educators feel more comfortable with media literacy
and
demonstrating simple ways of integrating it into instruction. I have
personally designed
a number of hands-on interactive exercises that meet most state's teaching
standards.
As part of my effort to get MORE media literacy into schools, I authored two
books:
one for elementary (Coming
Distractions: Questioning Movies) and one for secondary
(Political Campaigns and
Political Advertising: A Media Literacy Guide). It is my hope
that more school libraries will consider the kinds of texts they should include
in their
collections.
I invite you to contact me to discuss how I might help your teachers become
better prepared
to help students learn 21st century literacies for 21st century jobs.
Please contact me, Frank Baker, for specifics:
fbaker1346@aol.com or (803) 254-8987.

Learn how to bring Frank Baker, an award-winning*,
nationally
recognized expert to your school or conference.....
In the film "The Wizard of Oz," Toto wisely pulls
back the curtain to
reveal that the Wizard was in
fact a projected image, controlled by
the man behind
the curtain. Like Toto, I too help "pull back the curtain"
to reveal how the media works. I like to call it--
critical thinking about media messages.