National Association for Media Literacy Education

MEDUCON Austin to be held from June 8th to 10th

Rhys Daunic — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:31:17 +0000

Please register before May 15th to get early bird discounts for educators and media scholars for the MEDUCON Austin to be held from June 8th to 10th at the University of Texas Alumni Center, 2110 San Jacinto Boulevard, Austin, TX 78712.

Conference objectives:

Learn and understand ways of enhancing the positive influence of media & communication technology to develop positive thoughts and actions; enabling character education
Promote effective use of media & communication technology in imparting education
Encourage the integration of human values in media and education
Empower participants to create stress free and violence free environments that enhance and nurture learning and promote holistic development of children and youth. Learn and understand the importance of emotional and social intelligence in developing successful leadership traits.

Conference highlights:

Panel discussions to facilitate best practices of how to harness the power of media to enhance teaching and accelerate learning
Brainstorming solutions on how knowledge, skills and values can be imparted to the next generation using the power and influence of media
Thought provoking speakers to inspire and educate on improving creativity, leadership and decision-making
Self-awareness techniques to help enhance creativity, improve emotional and social intelligence, nourish positive human values and thereby empower participants to take responsible decisions.

Speakers:

Dr. Mary Beth Oliver, Distinguished Professor and Co-Director of Media Effects Research Lab, Pennsylvania State University
David Kleeman, President, American Center for Children and Media, Chicago
Dr. Michon Benson, Principal, WALIPP Preparatory Academy, Houston
Dr. Leonard Moore, Professor and Associate Vice-President for Diversity and Community Engagement, University of Texas-Austin
Dr. Srividya Ramasubramanian, Assistant Professor and Director of Communication Research Lab, Texas A&M University

Contact Srivi Ramasubramanian at srivi@tamu.edu for more details. Visit the conference website for information about registration and conference sessions at: www.globalmeducon.org

Applications open for the 2012 NCTE Media Literacy Award

Rhys Daunic — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:20:03 +0000

The NCTE Media Literacy Award Committee is proud to announce that it will award the seventh annual Media Literacy Award at the Annual Convention in Las Vegas, November 15-18, 2012.

Go to ncte.org for more details.
Previous award winners are profiled on FrankBaker.com.

Deadline for application for the 2012 award is Monday, June 30th, 2012. The award winner will be notified by the end of August, and will be expected to make some brief comments at an awards ceremony in Las Vegas.
The Media Literacy Award will be presented to an individual, team, or department that has implemented and refined exemplary media literacy practices in their school environment. The Award Selection Process will be based on a portfolio review by a panel from the Media Literacy Award Committee.

NAEYC Position Statement on Technology and Young Children

Rhys Daunic — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:59:12 +0000

A joint position statement was recently issued by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College.

Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8

View the interactive PDF below, and see additional resources on their website.

Open publication – Free publishing

An invitation from the NAMLE Membership Committee

Rhys Daunic — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:40:45 +0000

We invite you to join/rejoin NAMLE to help forward our vision—to help individuals of all ages develop the habits of inquiry and the skills of expression that they need to be critical thinkers, effective communicators and active citizens in today’s world.

Your voice is essential as we gear up for the 2013 conference in Los Angeles, which will offer participants engagement, interactivity, and information. Renewing your commitment to NAMLE will also gain you entry to participate in a series of live chats, webinars, and local events.

If you join by May 11th your name will be put into a prize drawing for seminal media literacy texts.

Just click here to Join/Renew.

NAMLE Seeks Executive Director

NAMLE Board of Directors — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:25:47 +0000

Position

Part time Executive Director, approximately 20 hours per week. This is a “virtual” position. The Executive Director may be located anywhere within the United States. The Executive Director must be available to attend the NAMLE conference (July 11-13, 2013) and the NAMLE Board retreat (January 11-13, 2013).

Contract dates

September 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013. (It is the hope and intention of the Board to continue this position beyond this initial time frame.)

Salary

$13,000 ($1,000 per month)

Job Description

The Executive Director reports to the Board of Directors and is responsible for the organization’s consistent achievement of its mission and financial objectives.

General responsibilities

Work with the Board to assure that the organization has a long-range strategy which achieves its mission, and toward which it makes consistent and timely progress.

Provide leadership in program, organizational and financial plans with the Board and staff, and carry out plans and policies authorized by the board.

Promote active and broad participation by volunteers in all areas of the organization’s work.

Maintain official records and documents, and ensure compliance with federal and state regulations.

Maintain a working knowledge of significant developments and trends in the field of
media literacy education.

Meet regularly with board president regarding all areas of responsibility.

Assist in planning and execution of conference, working under the guidance of the Board Conference Committee chair.

Fundraising responsibilities

Serve as primary fundraiser and work with Development Committee chair and Membership Committee chair in planning funding “asks”.

Ensure that grant-funded or donor-funded projects or programs reflect high quality execution.

Communication responsibilities

See that the Board is kept fully informed on the condition of the organization and all important factors influencing it.

Publicize the activities of the organization, it’s programs and goals (in coordination with the Board Program Committee)

Establish sound working relationships and cooperative arrangements with funders, community groups, volunteers, and organizations.

Represent the organization, its programs, and point of view to agencies, organizations and the general public.

Budget and Finance responsibilities

Work with the treasurer and Board in preparing an annual budget.

Work with the treasurer to assure that the organization operates within its budget guidelines.

Jointly, with the president and secretary of the board, conduct official correspondence of the organization, and jointly, with designated officers, execute legal documents.

Background information

NAMLE currently employs a part-time bookkeeper and a part-time database coordinator. These positions will continue and will work with the Executive Director.

NAMLE is a “virtual” organization with board members throughout the United States.

Deadline for submission materials is June 1, 2012. All submissions must be sent via
email to EDposition@namle.net

May 2012 M-Passioned Member: Jaclyn Kahn

Jaclyn Kahn — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:49:55 +0000

1) What do you do?

I am a Focus teacher and History teacher at a private school for middle and high-school students with learning disabilities in New York City, Winston Preparatory School. As a Focus teacher, I work one-on-one with students in various academic areas based on need, including decoding, encoding (spelling), reading comprehension, written expression, academic problem solving (organization, executive functioning), and social problem solving. For each Focus student, I create a curriculum based on goals formulated by both informal and formal assessments, and use various reading and writing programs (e.g.,WILSON) to enhance instruction. I also create a curriculum for both my History classes based on the learning profile of the groups. Because I am able to create my own curricula based on student need, I definitely work to include media within both classroom environments.

2) Tell me about your latest work or project in media literacy.

Our school is trying to enhance our use of technology within the classroom so that our students have multiple ways of learning; being hands-on with technology definitely has its benefits! I try to infuse technology into my classes, especially History, so that the students can not only be engaged, but to help them visualize and understand the concepts more readily. In History class specifically, we have a focus on current events. With the upcoming presidential election, the media has demonstrated that there are many types of media bias, and that many media outlets have some form of liberal (ex: MSNBC) or conservative (ex: Fox News) bias. My high-school students have been exposed to various types of media, and they have identified whether or not there is a clear bias, whether it would persuade viewers to think a certain way, and which voter demographic would be more open to viewing/listening to certain stations. For those students who have not been aware of these biases in the past, they are now more cognizant of this, actively making choices about which media outlets they will use as actual news sources, compared with those they take less seriously.

3) Why is media literacy important to you?

Media literacy is important to me because it effects our daily lives. There are many people (students and adults) who do not realize that there are biases within our media. At the beginning of the year, I had students who took what political analysts were saying to heart, and not analyzing whether or not there would be any bias in what they said (ex: Bill O”Reilly and his opinion about a President Obama’s policy). I think that this is an important skill that is not directly taught in schools, though it definitely should be! Everyone, not just students with learning disabilities, should learn this skill.

4) What are you most excited about in the media literacy field?

I am excited to be working with students using media, and having students learn how to identify important aspects of the media they may have not considered in the past. It affects how they think about what they view, and thinking critically about media is always a good thing!

5) Why did you become a NAMLE member – what benefits do you see to membership and how will it support your work?

I became a NAMLE member so that I could connect with other educators, and to learn more about how I can use media literacy within my classrooms. By learning more about media literacy myself, I will be helping my students to learn, and share this knowledge with others!