Final Project 12/16

For my final project, I have created a mockup of a media resource website for a new University of Minnesota campus wide Media Literacy group we are exploring to be spearheaded by a partnership between the Libraries and the Digital Media Center (OIT).

The site is here: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/spic0016/medialit/


Background (objectives and site use):

In the Libraries, we like to think of media literacy as a 3 pronged philosophy with media literacy as an umbrella, and support for non-print media resources ("reading") and student-produced media ("writing") as the two core components of our media program. Of course, as we have learned, there is much more to being media literate depending on your audience and objectives (certainly, I have a lot more understanding of "critical media literacy" now).

There is more to it, but one part of my job is to go out and assist faculty with developing student-produced media assignments, make class visits to discuss the production process and services, and then providing equipment loans and on-demand support to students producing media in the SMART Commons Wilson/Walter.

The DMC also provides consulting services, as well as training on use of media tools and pedagogy (we taught a digital teaching seminar last summer together), in addition to technology assessment.

With all that said, when surveys go out every 2 years, we still find the number one concern is how to effectively integrate technology into curriculum. And I will admit, if you are a faculty member in a non-media intensive discipline (e.g., Sociology) and wanting to assign something like a video project to your students, there are resources (e.g., equipment, production stations, student production support) available, but they are inconsistent across campus (St. Paul has very little) and not always easy to ferret out. In addition, this may be your first time developing an assignment so where do you go for support with the various technology support groups on campus.


And that only covers the production support end of things. Remember media literacy is also about being able to think critically about the information you are consuming in all forms/genres. So, it is my responsibility to help faculty use non-print media resources (e.g., images/audio/video) to support their teaching as well. We license a great deal of digital content, and also have large physical non-print media collections, in addition to the vast repositories of online audiovisual resources.

So combining these elements (critical media literacy, student-produced media, media resources) and with a group on the horizon, I thought it would be a good idea to take a stab at a comprehensive site.

Here are the objectives (educate faculty):
1) What is media literacy and why is it important?

2) Why would I want to integrate media resources into my curriculum and how does that support not only reinforcing my learning objectives, but also media literacy?
a) Where can I find support for using the resources?
b) What media resources are available here on campus and online?

3) How can student-produced media projects enhance their learning, but also support media literacy?
a) Where can I find support for developing and assessing the effectiveness of student-produced media assignments?
b) What resources are available (they are varied by class/dept./college/campus wide)?
c) Can you show me some examples of media projects other instructors are integrating into their courses to teach?

4) What is critical media literacy? Where can I find resources on this topic and others?



Site Use:

While still a work in progress (my site) speaks to the above questions:

Home Page: Brief introduction of media literacy and the purpose of the site.
Why media?: Addresses the question of why it is important to create a multimodal environment and how that is beneficial.
Media Projects:Examples of some student media projects here on campus and the value of student-produced media assignments.
Media Resources:Starts to highlight some of the wonderful non-print media resources we offer (paid money for) here on campus and beyond to support teaching.
Project Dev. Support: Highlights some key resources on campus to provide support on developing media assignments.
Student Support: Discussion on local resources available to support student produced media.
Critical Media Literacy: Defines critical media literacy and why this approach is important in understanding information in the digital age, and its context within varying disciplines.
Digital Tools: Tools that can be used to support media production.
Media Literacy Bibliography: List of sources (articles, books, websites, videos) that better explain the importance of media literacy and uses of media in the classroom.