It is a well known fact, and one that is embedded throughout our Australian Curriculum and Government Policy (Melbourne Declaration) that literacy in the modern age means so much more than reading and writing skills. We have moved to an age where digital literacy and media literacy are critical and valuable skills for young people as the jobs and economies they will encounter are dense with digital technologies and persuasive media imagery.
Being digitally literate also means being digitally competent; a technical ability with digital technologies as well as social aspects of digital technologies and impacts on individuals, communities and societies.
Having media literacy is more about thinking critically about the mass media that surrounds us; news, magazines, advertising, social media etc. The boundary between living alongside and freely choosing what media we come in contact with is blurred by the amount that is actually embedded into our daily lives, and the lives of children. An understanding of the moral implications of how we communicate, the impact on people, and cultures is imperative for our young people of today who will grow to be our next producers and consumers of media. In the school curriculum this looks mainly at communication skills, critical thinking and information management skills. The curriculum looks at the way students need to be critical consumers of media in society.
I definitely agree that these terms are complementary to one another, but I do see a shift in the way that students could not only be consumers, but more on 'critical watchdogs' being morally aware of stereotypes, bias, racism and other subdued elements of media.I see a shift in how students can not on be participants in digital literacy, but creators and planners of it too!
No comments:
Post a Comment