AMLA Celebrates Media Literacy Week 2022
Celebrate Media Literacy Week in Australia: October 24-31 2022
The Australian Media Literacy Alliance is proud to be participating in the eleventh Global Media and Information Literacy Week which starts on 24 October. The theme for this year is Nurturing Trust: A Media and Information Literacy Imperative.
Media literacy refers to the ability to critically engage with media and is essential for full participation in society. AMLA advocate for a national, government-supported approach to media literacy to ensure all Australians have the knowledge, skills and abilities to critically access, use, share and create media.
Research by AMLA members shows that most adult Australian citizens have a low level of confidence in their own media abilities but most believe media literacy is very important: for example, 81% of adults believe children should receive media literacy education at school.
The AMLA founding members represent a unique consortium of key public institutions and networked organisations who are well-positioned to tackle this national priority issue.
Media Literacy Week (Oct 24-30) provides an important opportunity for all Australians to reflect on their media use and to develop their media knowledge and skills. Australian citizens can take part by exploring media literacy resources and taking part in online events.
FREE MEDIA LITERACY EVENTS (listed here)
Monday October 24 2022
A one hour online interactive workshop for educators and parents will demonstrate how to develop critical thinking in the classroom and at home to address the problem of ‘fake news’ and misinformation. The session will be led by journalist Professor Peter Greste and Director of the UQ Critical Thinking Project Professor Deborah Brown.
Wednesday October 26 2022
Teachers are invited to connect their Stage 2, 3 and 4 students to a free digital Media Literate Citizens workshop hosted by the Museum of Australian Democracy. Students will practice their visual thinking skills, create a cartoon and consider how they engage with media.
Thursday October 27 2022
The Media Literacy Week Virtual Excursion presented online by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia will strengthen critical thinking skills for Stage 3 students. Students will be exposed to the techniques used during content creation, learn to question the messages within texts and develop the confidence to engage with all forms of media.
Friday October 28
An online interactive virtual workshop hosted by ACMI Education and The Australian Children’s Television Foundation’s will support students to examine representations and points of view in children’s television. Students will view and respond to short clips drawn from children’s television programs while critically reflecting on their roles as audience members and content creators.
FREE AUSTRALIAN MEDIA LITERACY RESOURCES
Media and Me at the National Film and Sound Archive is a facilitated media literacy program for students aged 9-13 that examines storytelling through animation, advertising, gaming, social media, film and music. The program explores how media methods for influencing and persuading have evolved over time
ABC Education’s Media Literacy Website has over 50 resources teachers and students can draw upon including the popular misinformation interactive Real. Oops. Fake or LOL? that gets students to critically analyse sources of information.
SBS Learn’s engaging collection of award-winning Australian films and series is a perfect point to get you started thinking about representations in media and the themes which shape Australian stories.
Squiz Kids has created a free primary school media literacy curriculum, NewsHounds. Over eight podcasts, and using a fun board-game style digital learning experience, teachers will join Squiz-E the Newshound in guiding students through activities that help them distinguish online fact from fiction. Get started today on helping your students become critical consumers and producers of media.
Online misinformation is pervasive and can be difficult to spot. The Check The Facts campaign by the AAP FactCheck team draws on AAPs professional factchecking experience to help citizens sort the facts from the fakes. The campaign includes humorous short videos and complementary how-to articles to encourage and develop critical thinking and digital investigation skills.
Researchers at Western Sydney University, University of Canberra and Queensland University of Technology have collaborated on a series of media literacy research projects that can be explored here.
AMLA Contact:
Annabel Astbury, Chair, Australian Media Literacy Alliance, info@medialiteracy.org.au
