A panel discussion at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), San Francisco, CA, August 7, 2015.

1. Mapping the Literacies:
Media, News and Information Literacies
Renee Hobbs
Harrington School of Communication and Media
University of Rhode Island
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass
Communication, San Francisco CA August 7, 2015

3. Definitions of
Digital
Literacy
SKILLS & ABILITIES
➢ Computer Use and Knowledge
➢ Web Literacy
LITERACY
➢ Online Reading & New Literacies
➢ Media Production & Composition
➢ Coding
TEACHING WITH
➢ Technology Integration
➢ Digital Learning
➢ Blended Learning
➢ Connected Learning
TEACHING ABOUT
➢ Information Literacy
➢ Media Literacy
➢ Internet Safety & Digital Citizenship

4. Rhetoric
Print Literacy
Visual Literacy
Information Literacy
Media Literacy
Computer Literacy
Critical Literacy
News Literacy
Digital Literacy
Putting Literacy into Historical Context

5. Motivations
for Using Media & Technology
in Education
12
TAKE THE QUIZ: www.quiz.powerfulvoicesforkids.com

6.  History and Context
 Theory
 Pedagogy
 Motivations
 Challenges

7. INFORMATION LITERACY KEY CONCEPTS
1. Authority is constructed and contextual
2. Information creation is a process
3. Information has value
4. Research is an inquiry process
5. Scholarship is a conversation
6. Searching is a form of strategic exploration
SOURCE:
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL, 2015)
THEORY

8. pedagogy of individualized learning
Teacher librarian
is a guide
PEDAGOGY

9. pedagogy of writing research papers
PEDAGOGY

10. PROFESSOR
You balance your interest in media and technology with a
clear connection to academic standards. You want to be sure
that media and technology are not used in the classroom for
their own sake, but to gain content knowledge. Multimedia
presentations, engaging websites, and educational
technology serve the purpose of helping you deliver the core
content and skills students need to master.
Information Literacy: Focus on Content and Quality
MOTIVATIONS

11. overreliance on simplistic heuristics?
Quality checklists
distort the process
of evaluating
information
A CHALLENGE

12. MEDIA LITERACY KEY CONCEPTS
1. All media messages are constructed
2. Each medium has different characteristics, strengths and a
unique language of construction
3. Media messages are produced for particular purposes
4. All media messages contain embedded values and points of
view
5. People use their individual skills, beliefs and experience to
construct meaning from media messages
6. Media and media messages can influence beliefs, attitudes
values and the democratic process
SOURCE:
(National Association for Media Literacy Education, 2007)
THEORY

13. protection and empowerment dialectic
PEDAGOGY

14. ACCESS
asking critical questions about popular culture
PEDAGOGY

15. ACCESS
a pedagogy of inquiry builds competencies
PEDAGOGY

16. DEMYSTIFIER
As a teacher, you “pull back the curtain” to help students see
how various forms of information and knowledge are
constructed. You emphasize the practice of critical thinking,
helping students ask good “how” and “why” questions.
WATCHDOG
You are a natural critical thinker, aware of how economic
systems and institutions influence our everyday lives,
particularly through the media we use. You want your
students and your peers to be more mindful of the ways that
things are bought and sold. Who owns and controls the
media content that we see, hear, read, and play with? You
feel responsible for giving your students a “wake-up call”
about the economic and institutional inner-workings of the
technology and the world that surrounds them.
Media Literacy: Focus on Media Systems
MOTIVATIONS

17. how responsive to changes in media & tech?
open access
multitasking
transmediation
identity
curation
play
data ownership
representation
surveillance
addiction
displacement
propaganda
A CHALLENGE
Protection – empowerment
paradigm limits pedagogical
innovation

18. NEWS LITERACY KEY CONCEPTS
1. Free expression is the cornerstone of democracy.
2. Discerning fact from opinion is a basic skill and obligation.
3. When the process of gathering and reporting news is
transparent, news and information are more meaningful,
trusted and credible.
4. Effective communication of news and information requires
synthesis of multiple sources into meaningful context and
comprehension of its impact.
5. Information requires verification to be effective.
6. Information in today’s society must empower forums to give
voice to citizens and to monitor the free flow of information.
SOURCE:
(Radio Television Digital News Directors Foundation, ND)
THEORY

19. journalists become teachers
Case studies offer
insight on the values
of the craft
PEDAGOGY

20. focus on journalistic norms of verification
Learners get a behind
the scenes view of
editorial decision-
making
PEDAGOGY

21. PROFESSIONAL
You have high standards for your students’ work, and you
may be seen as the go-to media professional in your school.
You know how to push your students to understand and
emulate the professional conventions that is important to
being taken seriously in the world of media creation. To help
students enter the real world of media creation, you bring
other authors, professionals, and media-makers into your
classroom to enrich the learning experience.
News Literacy: Focus on Formats, Codes and Conventions
MOTIVATIONS

22. is selling journalistic ideals a form of propaganda?
Producer-centered
views about about the
news media distort
and idealize
A CHALLENGE

23. Who Supports Which New Literacies and Why?

24. Teaching Simultaneously
Challenges & Preserves the Status Quo

25. In the dynamic future of expanding literacies…

26. Respect for differing motivations is key

27. REFERENCES
Hobbs, R. (in press). Where did media literacy come from? Uncovering the roots of media literacy through personal narrative.
Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Hobbs, R. & Tuzel, S. (in press). Teaching motivations for digital and media literacy: An examination of Turkish educators. British
Journal of Educational Technology.
Hobbs, R. & Moore, D.C. (2013). Discovering Media Literacy: Digital Media and Popular Culture in Elementary School. Thousand Oaks
CA: Corwin/Sage.
RobbGrieco, M. & Hobbs, R. (2013, July). A Field Guide to Media Literacy Education in the United States. Kingston, RI: Media
Education Lab, University of Rhode Island.
Hobbs, R. & Donnelly, K. Friesem, J. & Moen, M. . (2013, August). Evaluation of PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs. Kingston, RI:
Media Education Lab. University of Rhode Island.
Hobbs, R. (2011). The state of media literacy: A response to Potter. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 55(3), 419 – 430.
Hobbs, R. (2010). Empowerment and protection: Complementary strategies for digital and media literacy education in the United
States. Formare, 70. 1 – 17. Rome, Italy.
Hobbs, R., Cohn-Geltner, H. & Landis, J. (2011). Views on the news: Media literacy empowerment competencies in the elementary
grades. In C. Von Feilitzen, U. Carlsson & C. Bucht (Eds.). New questions, new insights, new approaches. The International
Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media. NORDICOM. University of Gothenburg, Sweden (pp. 43 – 56).
Hobbs, R. (2011). Connecting kids with news in their community. Nieman Reports 65(2), 48 – 51.
Hobbs, R. and RobbGrieco, M. (2010). Passive dupes, code breakers, or savvy users: Theorizing media literacy education in English
language arts. In D. Lapp and D. Fisher (Eds.), Handbook of research on teaching the English language arts. Third edition. New York:
Routledge (pp. 283 – 289).
Postman, N. (1969). Teaching as a Subversive Activity. New York: Basic Books.
Postman, N. (1974). Teaching as a Conserving Activity. New York: Basic Books.

28. Professor Renee Hobbs
Harrington School of Communication and Media
University of Rhode Island
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs
Web: www.mediaeducationlab.com