http://www.euromedialiteracy.net/ Euromedialiteracy's news RSSBuilder Euromedialiteracy 2010-03-11 En Copyright © Euromedialiteracy daily 1 2010-03-11 http://www.euromedialiteracy.net/assets/header1.jpg http://www.euromedialiteracy.net/ Euromedialiteracy's news http://www.euromedialiteracy.net/rss.php?news=2a38a4a9316c49e5a833517c45d31070 The media isnā€™t what it used to be. Or is it us? As citizens in a society dripping with information, are we truly more informed and better at reaching the right decisions? What does it take to be media savvy, as the line between media consumer and media provider is increasingly blurred? Can we trust the experts whose opinions we hear and read? Can we learn to be media-literate, and whose responsibility is it to teach us? An interactive panel debate with Ben Hammersley (Editor at Large, Wired), Matt Locke (Commissioning Editor for New Media and Education, Channel 4) and David McCandless (Author of ā€˜Information is Beautifulā€™). The event is free and open to all. No need to register. Pose your questions in advance at elviswalks.com and forward them to questions@elviswalks.com. Thursday March 18th, 6.30-8pm, followed by drinks. New Theatre, East Building, London School of Economics & Political Science, Houghton St, London WC2A 2AE (map ). Presented by the Media CSR Forum and POLIS . In Media We Trust 2010-02-17 http://www.euromedialiteracy.net/rss.php?news=c7e1249ffc03eb9ded908c236bd1996d Children who blog, text or use social networking websites have better writing skills than those who do not, according to the National Literacy Trust. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8392653.stm Technology boosts literacy skills 2009-12-10 http://www.euromedialiteracy.net/rss.php?news=93db85ed909c13838ff95ccfa94cebd9 Editsense, our DVD of practice footage, is now available. For more information visit www.editsense.blogspot.com Filmsense, the guide to film language, is also available for download purchase. Editsense site and blog 2009-11-24 http://www.euromedialiteracy.net/rss.php?news=43ec517d68b6edd3015b3edc9a11367b Prof.Dr. Alexander Fedorov Results of the All-Russia Research School for Youth "Media Education and Media Competence" * * Article was written with support, supported by Federal Program "Scientific and scientific-pedagogical cadres innovation Russia for 2009-2013" (Activity 2.1. "Organization and conduct of national and international youth scientific conferences and schools") of the Federal Agency for Science and Innovation, Russian Ministry Education and Science. Supervisor of the project "Institutional and technical support of the All-Russia Research School for Youth" Media Education and Media Competence" is Prof.Dr. Alexander Fedorov. Taganrog State Pedagogical Institute was the place of All-Russia Research School for Youth "Media Education and Media Competence" (October 18-25, 2009). It was carried out with financial support from the Federal Agency for Science and Innovation in the framework of the Federal Program "Scientific and scientific-pedagogical cadres innovation Russia for 2009-2013". Research School for Youth held in Russia for the first time, its target value and the method are comparable with the world level in the field of media education and media competence. Information support of the All-Russia Research School for Youth "Media Education and Media Competence": - UN Program Alliance of Civilizations: "Media Education Literacyā€ http://www.aocmedialiteracy.org(Taganrog State Pedagogical Institute - an official partner of this UN Program) - UNESCO Office in Moscow http://www.unesco.ru - Portal of Ministry of Education and Science, Information and Communication Technologies in Education http://ict.edu.ru - All-Russia Internet-portal "Information Literacy and Media EducationĀ» http://www.mediagram.ru - ICO "Information for Allā€ http://www.ifap.ru - Russian Association for Media Education Russia http://edu.of.ru/mediaeducation - Russian Journal "Media EducationĀ» http://edu.of.ru/medialibrary/default.asp?ob_no=34437 The head of the school was Prof.Dr. Alexander Fedorov - the scientist and expert in the field of media education. He is the president of the Russian Association of Film and Media of Russia, the chief editor of the journal "Media Education". Many young scientist participated in All-Russia Research School for Youth "Media Education and Media Competence" - from Belgorod, Borisoglebsk, Vladikavkaz, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Saratov, Taganrog, Tolyatti, Chelyabinsk and other Russian cities. As guests of the All-Russia Research School arrived young scientists from Kiev and Minsk. Russia's leading experts in the field of professional and mass media education were at the opening ceremony and at the roundtable: vice rector of Taganrog State Pedagogical Institute Alexander Fedorov, professor of St. Petersburg State University Sergei Korkonosenko, head of the Laboratory of Media Education (Russian Academy of Education) Elena Bondarenko, Honored Artist of Russia Galina Yevtushenko, Chairman of the Board of ICO "Information for All" Alexei Demidov, professor of Taganrog State Pedagogical Institute Valery Gura. The purpose of the school was, firstly, in the effective development of young researchers and teachers of the best scientific and methodological advances in the field of media education, and secondly, the organization of creative dialogue on issues of media education and media competence; thirdly, to create integrative communicative space for young scientists through increased interpersonal contacts and the intensification of scientific exchange of scientific expertise and information exchange of young scientists. Because applications for the school included a competitive basis, priority is given for young researchers, teachers, graduate students under the age of 35 years, whose scientific achievements and interests were as close as possible to the problems of the school. Organizing committee selected the articles were posted on her official website http://edu.of.ru/mediacompetenceand published in the collection of articles. By the beginning of the school were published and distributed to the participants of the following books: ā€¢ Media education and media competence: All-Russia scientific school for youth. Collected papers of young scientists; ā€¢ Media education and media competence: a collection of educational programs for schools; ā€¢ Media education and media competence: questionnaires, tests, control tasks; ā€¢ Media education and media competence: experts say. This is the list of persons, who involved in the scientific school master classes, lectures, practical exercises: the president of the Russian Association of Media Education, the chief editor of the journal "Media Education", Prof. Dr. Alexander Fedorov; professor of St. Petersburg State University, Prof.Dr. Sergey Korkonosenko, Head of the Laboratory of Media Education (Russian Academy of Education, Moscow), Dr.Elena Bondarenko, Dr. Galina Yevtushenko (Moscow), Dean of the journalism faculty, Belgorod State University, Prof.Dr. Alexander Korochensky; Assistant Professor, Saratov State University, Dr. Marina Zhizhina, professor of Taganrog State Pedagogical Institute Valery Gura, media educators from Taganrog State Pedagogical Institute: Dr. Irina Chelysheva, Dr. Natalia Ryzhikh, Dr. Elena Muryukina, Dr. Victoria Kolesnichenko and other professionals in the field of media education and media competence. During the All-Russia Research School for Youth "Media Education and Media Competence": - Young researchers and teachers have been effectively utilized modern media education theory and methodology that account for age audience, and especially the use of all types of media (mass communication), technology, critical analysis of media texts of different types and genres; - Youth audience (scientists and teachers to 35 years) were studied theoretical foundations of the scientific school "Media education and competence", the basic theory of media education, the basic theoretical approaches to the critical analysis of media texts in the learning process (scientific impact); - In the process for conducting a scientific school (lectures, seminars, practical work, creative assignments) young scientists and specialists were able to master modern methods of media education (methodological effect). An important feature of the Research School can be regarded as a combination of the transfer of scientific experiments for young scientists from the expert community (distinguished scholars in the field) with the possibility of mutual discussion of reports of young scientists, testing and questioning. The fields of application of the results can be all areas of media education, media competence, media litearcy - in higher, secondary and secondary schools, institutions of further education. Terms of consumers of scientific and methodical result: teachers, graduate students and university students, academic researchers in the field of media and media education, school teachers, libraries, a wide audience interested in themes of media education. Proposed in the Research School of methodological approaches to media education is being introduced in the educational process of higher professional education in Taganrog State Pedagogical Institute (03.13.30 specialization" Media Education "). Topic of the project is also reflected in the current course and degree planning and preparation of theses. Results of the School can be used for: - Prepare proposals for the Russian Ministry of Education and Science to create a list of new university disciplines in the direction of "Media Education", to introduce in schools the components of an integrated media education and choice of subjects for students (media education subjects); - Receipt of university professors, graduate students, young scientists, school teachers, researchers in the field of media education full and accurate information about the current state and prospects of development of media education in Russia and in the world and use this knowledge in the educational process of universities and schools of Russia; The practical significance of the results of the All-Russia Research School for Youth "Media Education and Media Competence": due to the principled possibility of wider use of its results and conclusions of scholars, graduate students, students, teachers in the teaching process (lectures, seminars, and execution of course, degree, dissertations) of any modern university. After completion of the project is expected introduction of the model of critical thinking and media competence teaching university students in class media education cycle. It is also possible (when the new grant support) on the base of the university scientific and methodological Center for Media Education. -- Prof. Dr. Alexander Fedorov, president of Russian Association for Film and Media Education http://edu.of.ru/mediaeducation http://edu.of.ru/medialibrary http://www.mediagram.ru All-Russia Research School for Youth "Media Education and Me 2009-10-29 http://www.euromedialiteracy.net/rss.php?news=9778d5d219c5080b9a6a17bef029331c BOOK REVIEW Development of Media Competence and Critical Thinking of Students of Pedagogical Universities Alexander Fedorov, 2007, Moscow: IPOS UNESCO IFAP. 616 pp. ISBN- 978-5-98517-064-1 For many years the research in Russian media education has been carried out by representatives of different academic fields independently, autonomously. Media teachers cultivated various directions in media education including film education, integrated media education through press, photography, radio, television, advertisement, music, and computer literacy. Variety of different views on media education theory and practice resulted in the narrowing of the vision of nature and aims of media education, concept and terminological noncompliance of the research. The academic research in media education activated in the 1990s-2000s, theoristsā€™ and practitionersā€™ efforts became more organized and focused, to the great extent due to the activity of the Russian Association for Film and Media Education. The necessity for the quality breakthrough towards the conceptual consolidation of the research, critical reflection and systematization of the curricula, developed by the representatives of various directions and approaches in theory and practice of media education, is becoming increasingly urgent and apparent. In my opinion, over the recent years the most significant influence on the progress of the theoretical and methodological foundation of Russian media education has been exerted by the media education school based at the Taganrog State Pedagogical Institute under the supervision of the President of the Russian Association for Film and Media Education, Professor A.V. Fedorov. The crucial claim for the intellectual leadership in Russian media education was his 700 pages monograph published in 2001: ā€œMedia Education: History, Theory and Methodsā€. This work of encyclopedia scale and later numerous publications of other representatives of the Taganrog school was geared towards the reflection on the theory and concept of media education and consolidation of the academic knowledge about it, accumulated both by Russian and foreign media scholars. Taganrog researchers designed (the first one in our country) the curriculum for the specialization for pedagogical institutes (03.13.30 ā€œMedia Education), which was certified in 2002 by the Curricular Board of pedagogical specializations of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. Another convincing evidence of the Taganrog school leadership was the publication of the new fundamental monograph by A. Fedorov ā€œDevelopment of media competence and critical thinking of the students of pedagogical institutes. Moscow: UNESCO Program ā€œInformation for Allā€. The significance of this work for the development of Russian media pedagogy is difficult to overestimate. No media education research until this one has presented the theoretical model and technology of the development of media competence (including critical thinking) of the pre-service teachers. The need for solving these problems is very urgent. Despite the rapid development of media education, there is no single, commonly shared conceptual terminological glossary in Russia, which is an important prerequisite for the establishment of the new scientific field. This is also true for such key term as media competence. In Russia as well as abroad, terms ā€œmedia cultureā€, ā€œinformation cultureā€, ā€œaudiovisual cultureā€, ā€œmedia literacyā€, ā€œinformation literacyā€, ā€œaudiovisual literacyā€, ā€œcomputer literacyā€, ā€œmulti media literacyā€, ā€œmedia competenceā€, etc. are widely used and sometimes interchangeably, too. The new monograph of A.Fedorov contributes to a large degree to the formation of the common terminology of media education. This work includes the comparative analysis of key terms characterizing the ability of the person to interact with media. I agree with the author that the term ā€œmedia cultureā€ applied to the evaluation of the knowledge and skills of the person seems to be less appropriate because of its ambiguous definition. The term ā€œinformation cultureā€ is wider than ā€œmedia cultureā€, because the first applies to the complex interactions of the person with any kind of information including media, and the latter refers to the sphere of a personā€™s contacts with media only (p.25). The conducted analysis let the author of the monograph draw the conclusion that it is the term ā€œmedia competenceā€ that defines the essence of the personā€™s skills to use, critically analyze, evaluate and communicate media texts in variety of forms, types and genres; to analyze the complex processes of media functioning in society. The ultimate definition of the concept ā€œmedia competenceā€ suggested in the monograph clarifies the term: ā€œMedia competence of the personality is the sum total of its motives, knowledge, skills, abilities (ā€¦) facilitating the choice, use, critical analysis, evaluation, creation and communication of media texts in different types, forms, and genres, the analysis of complex processes of media functioning in societyā€. Characteristics of different levels of a personā€™s media competence presented by the researcher are reasoned and quite persuasive (p.35). However, in my opinion, the practical-operational (activity) marker and creative marker of media competence cannot be univalently differentiated. The development of creativity through communicating with media today should also presuppose the development of creative qualities, skills and abilities necessary for the participation of a person in technically mediated communication as its subject. In the modern information field there is a social call for not only the development of the independent critical thinking of a personality towards media, but also the development of the creative potential and experience letting people use media to create own media texts. This idea corresponds to the logic of the general theoretical reflections of the monographā€™s author. A.Fedorov belongs to those media education researchers who stand for teaching students skills of creation own media texts. Therefore, the descriptors of the high level of media competence (Tables 2 and 8) should, to my mind, include not only ā€œstrive for learning to create media texts, to study the examples of professionalsā€ but also the existence of creative aptitude to produce such texts on oneā€™s own. The monograph contains the first detailed classification of the descriptors of the professional media competence of the modern teacher. The researcher sets up a high level of professional prerequisites for future teachers: as a result of media education they should acquire a lot of methods of academic research, and the techniques of organizing extra curricular work, which they will have to do at schools. It is the imperative of the time: A.Fedorov point out that the pressing necessity today is to provide media education for teachers at both pre-service and in-service levels. Russian secondary school is still behind universities as far as the integration of media literacy is concerned. This gap should be certainly overcome. Recent surveys of Russian school studentsā€™ general literacy revealed that they lack skills to work with lengthy, documentary, or conflicting information presented within the texts of complicated structure and out of the main text structure as well. Many school students failed to demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate information, understand concepts contradicting their expectations, to extract necessary information from texts of different types. The development of the Russian system of education in the post-Soviet period often gives birth to amazing paradoxes. One of them is the obvious negligence to the adequate training of future generations of Russian citizens for life in the new information era, which was proved by the research results. The entire chapter of the book is dedicated to the extremely important problem- the development of critical thinking through media education. A.Fedorov classifies and compares numerous Russian and international explanations of critical thinking that allow wording his own definition: ā€œCritical creative thinking towards the system of media and media texts is the complex reflexive process of thinking including the associative perception, synthesis, analysis and evaluation of mechanisms of media functioning in society and media texts combined with audiovisual imagination, virtual experimentation, logical and intuitive foresight in media fieldā€ (p.90). It is critically important that the author sees the development of critical thinking not as the ultimate aim of media education but as its constant component. Close attention should be paid to the analysis of different media education models presented in the monograph. A.Fedorov generalized the existing Russian and international patterns of media education and developed the classification distinguishing between following models: educational- informative; ethical; pragmatic; aesthetic, and sociocultural. He conducted a thorough comparative study aimed at the defining their main advantages and drawbacks. The chapter dedicated to it grants access to the insightful picture of the wide spectrum of Russian and foreign research and practical schools of media education. In the next chapter the author formulates and reasons his own model of media education of future teachers. The chapter contains the extended characteristics of theoretical and methodical bases of media education concept developed by the scientific school supervised by A.Fedorov. One of the clear advantages of this concept is the fact that it embraces the weightiest achievements of humanistic oriented media pedagogy. The chapter devoted to the development of media competence and critical creative thinking in the process of media education of teachersā€™ training institutes, describes educational technologies used for training of future teachers (including compiling clusters and portfolios, creative assignments). Not only instructorsā€™ interest but also everyoneā€™s whose work relates to media studies will be drawn to the contents of the chapter dedicated to teaching critical analysis of media texts and other practical activities. The author gives a comprehensive overview of different methods of a media textā€™s analysis and social functioning of media, including the content analysis; structural analysis; plot analysis; analysis of stereotypes; cultural mythology, translated through media texts; character analysis; personal (autobiographical), iconic, semiotic, identification, ideological and philosophical, aesthetical, and hermeneutic analysis of the cultural context. Each of the above methods is illustrated with examples of its application. The monograph, like other works by A.Fedorov, is distinguished by the underpinning on objective results of sociological researches and a broad academic outlook. For its main characteristics, the work worthily belongs to the world academic discourse on media education problems. The new work of A. Fedorov is transfused by the spirit of enlightening optimism, based of the belief in the potential possibility of a personā€™s and societyā€™s enhancement under the influence of the spread of knowledge and culture, and teaching them maximum quantity of people and not only the narrow circle of the elite. The researcher notes: ā€œOf course, the one hundred percent media competence of people is as much an illusion as the one hundred percent equality of people in all spheres of life including education and culture. However if we have the desire, capacity and skills to develop the media competence and critical thinking of if not millions, then thousands, hundreds or even dozens of people, it is a good aim worthy to work forā€¦ā€. The development and spread of culture in general and the culture of communication with mass media in particular is a challenging, often unappreciative work, changing a person and society extremely slowly. But the whole history of human civilization proves that it is not in the least a senseless ā€œplowing of the waterā€. The critical analysis of media contents, its reflective perception and evaluation, ability to create and distribute own media texts democratize and enrich the media discourse, and become the responsibility of every sound citizen in the information era. Modern mass media with their huge potential of impact on society can act as instruments of practical implementation and development of democracy as well as the all embracing manipulative Matrix, serving anti democratic interests of narrow political and economic elites. Under the modern conditions of ā€œmedia saturatedā€ political and public life, the extensive participation of citizens as actors in mass communications and producers of media texts becomes a significant prerequisite for the further advance and improvement of democracy, preventing it from harmful transformation into the manipulative ā€œmediaocracyā€. The apparent tendency of the democratization of the media discourse observed today should be accompanied by the growth of preparedness of the audience for the competent conscious participation in mass communications, in an active social dialogue through media. Thus the enhancement of media education turns into one of the priority democratic, humanistic aims. Theoretical and applied consolidation of the Russian media education, which is undoubtedly encouraged by the monograph of A.Fedorov, will bring us closer to the accomplishment of this mission. Dr. A.P.Korochensky, Professor, Dean of the Journalism Department of the Belgorod State University Development of Media Competence and Critical Thinking of Stu 2009-10-29