Media Literacy: Social Media in Schools

What is "Media Literacy"?
The first strand of language and literacy that we have looked at in class is Media Literacy. We were asked to look at various educational blogs and resources that pertain to media studies. Media is an important aspect of learning and is outlined in The Ontario Curriculum. As noted in this document, media literacy is the result of study of the art and messaging of various forms of media texts. Media literacy explores the influence of mass media and how various forms of media have an impact on a learning experience.

Media Literacy Expectations

As discussed previously, media literacy is an important part of The Ontario Curriculum and has four overall expectations, which is shown in the picture to the left. These expectations alongside the media literacy strand aim to help students develop necessary skills used to understand, create and interpret media texts.


Social Media in Schools
Social Media in Schools by Vicki Davis is a an online article I read that discusses the movement towards social media in the 21st century and the beneficial role it can have in elementary schools. One of the focuses within this article is the role of parents and how they have become increasingly distanced from their child's education due to various reasons such as their careers. This resource sets social media up to be a way of connecting and learning where parents can interact and communicate with their child's school and education. Social media aligns with the media literacy strand of learning and can contribute to the expectations associated with this strand provided above. It goes beyond these expectations, however. Social media allows students to take their learning outside the classroom setting. Phones have become so advanced that they can virtually do anything a laptop can. It allows students to connect to educational material and relate it to real world problems and events, making the learning process not only effective but engaging and interesting.

Using Social Media in the Classroom: A Best Practice Guide
In Using Social Media in the Classroom: A Best Practice Guide, Megan Poore discusses the transition between "Traditional Media" and "Social Media". One of the important features that differ between these two types of media is the level of interaction. Traditional media consists of a 'one-to-many' delivery method where information is transferred from a producer to a consumer. Poore explains that examples of this type of media include newspapers, books, television, and magazines. Poore argues that social media challenges this concept and can be thought of as "networked media". This type of media allows immediate interaction and commentary between both the consumer and producer. The Social Media in Schools article discusses the need for parental involvement within schools. This book intertwine with this article as it helps redefine social media as a means of communication and elaboration.

Media Literacy, Teaching and the Role of Parents

In my placement classroom, there is a Bring Your Own Device policy in place. My associate teacher is very savvy with technology and finds an opportunity to use technology in every lesson. The Smart Board is used on a daily basis, but several projects and assignments are developed through some form of technology. Students not only communicate with each other in the classroom, they communicate with other classes of the same grade level. My associate teacher has also made an effort to involve parents with education and makes sure that every parent understands what is being taught in the classroom and sends them any important information regarding their children. Without social media, this task would be extremely difficult and might not be possible for some parents.

My Goals with Social Media

Having read the article by Vicki Davis along with some passages from Megan Poore's book, I understand social media to be a productive tool that allows students to have fun and be engaged while learning. Much like many of the courses I am currently taking, Blogger is an effective way to communicate ideas and learning experiences. Blogs allow students to write about experiences and knowledge they've gained while reading and commenting on their peer's blogs. Parents can also view these blogs and see their child's learning process in effect. Twitter is another way students can learn trough socializing and can be accessed by both parents and teachers. Twitter and Blogger are two dominant forms of social media in today's technology world and can help teach students about their Digital Citizenship, how social media can be an effective tool to learning if used appropriately, and how learning and education transcends past the traditional views of media.