Media literacy : a reconception
Date
1988
Authors
O'Neill, J. Michael
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Abstract
This thesis addresses the problem of the impact of television on the information environment of contemporary education. This problem calls for a response from the educational system. Responses so far have been relatively sporadic and, perhaps, not as firmly grounded in foundational pedagogy as they could be.
Several methods of investigation of the problem are employed in this study. A literature review examines the impact of television on the educational environment. Subsequently, models of media literacy that have arisen in response to this impact are delineated. These models are then examined in the context of foundational pedagogical assumptions. As a result of this examination a conceptualization of media literacy curriculum emerges. A pilot video production course is then analyzed in the context of the conceptualization.
The study concludes that media literacy programs, which balance encoding and decoding activities, based on a foundation in theories of experiential learning, may be a reasonable response to the impact of the proliferation of media in North American society. Success and effectiveness of such media literacy curricula may require an expansion of the very concept of literacy itself.