Author’s Statement
In researching the theories and foundations of media literacy, especially as applied in the classroom, I found that media literacy is an ambiguous topic. There is no solid foundation for teaching media literacy nor an accepted, universal definition of the topic itself. Debates range from the implications of including politics and studying society to the foundational definitions of literacy and whether educational systems should change to accommodate student interest in new media.
Even when use of emerging technologies is encouraged, some teachers point out that institutions do not evaluate technologies nor recommend specific uses. At the same time that students are learning about media technology outside of the classroom, teachers may be unaware of these technologies much less how to use them for educational purposes.
Additionally, most published writing on media literacy is theoretically based rather than application oriented. The thread that linked varying theories together was to encourage questioning of media--questioning the content, the creators, the choice of medium. The few authors that leaned toward application offered only a beginning for curriculum structure, but little in-depth explanation. This vagueness could be due to the variety of topics available to be used in media literacy education.
With so many topics available, the forms of media as well as how they are integrated become an issue. Future media literacy research would do well to concentrate on how to teach the teachers to use, evaluate, and apply media and the related technology.
In light of this, the materials I provide for teachers wishing to integrate media literacy into their curriculum aim to make one medium (blogs) more understood. Rather than defining power structures, I believe that understanding and using media will aid in both teaching and learning about the media.