Encouraging Lightbulb Moments: ‘Single Stories’ and the Lack of Diversity in the Media

Leigh Kolb, English and Journalism Instructor at East Central College

December 5, 2016

Filed under Lesson Plans, News & Media Literacy, News & Media Literacy Corner, Writing

When we ask students to critically analyze texts and ideas, the most powerful moments often occur when they flip on the lightbulbs themselves--not when we do it for them. Students will look sheepish when they admit they get their news from Facebook headlines; they know--at least on some level--they need to be more critical in t...

Making News Literacy a Trending Topic

Leigh Kolb, English and Journalism Instructor at East Central College

October 31, 2016

Filed under Civics, News & Media Literacy, News & Media Literacy Corner, Recent News, Tech

United States Media Literacy Week - Oct. 31 - Nov. 4, 2016   When asked, teenagers--high-schoolers and college students alike--will typically say that if they feel connected to the news at all, it's through sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat. They will often say that they read the...

Plan now for Constitution Day: Teach the First Amendment

May 4, 2016

Filed under News & Media Literacy Corner

Teachers can prepare now to teach the First Amendment as part of Constitution Day on Sept. 17 with the materials and ideas below. Many teachers incorporate First Amendment instruction into their curriculum on a weekly basis by using news articles to discuss First Amendment issues. In Peter Paccone’s clas...

Mini-grants give classrooms premium access to Checkology — a news literacy e-learning platform

April 15, 2016

Filed under News & Media Literacy Corner

The News Literacy Project is offering teachers a new cutting-edge e-learning platform and first-rate resource for the classroom. The Checkology™ e-learning platform incorporates many of the best practices in e-learning, including self-pacing, blended and experiential learning, personalization, rich ...

Citizens around the country promote open government during Sunshine Week

March 11, 2016

Filed under News & Media Literacy Corner

Across the country, citizens are celebrating access to public information during Sunshine Week, March 13-19. The goal of Sunshine Week is to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Here are just a few highlights of Sunshine Week planned during the week all...

Sunshine Week offers teachers opportunity to teach watchdog journalism

February 26, 2016

Filed under News & Media Literacy Corner

Knowing how to access information, such as public records, is a critical component of news literacy and an important role of journalists. Started by the American Society of News Editors in 2005, Sunshine Week, March 13-19, provides the perfect opportunity for educators to address the Freedom of Information Act, ...

Satire in news transforms the way audiences consume information

January 19, 2016

Filed under News & Media Literacy Corner

With some news programs, magazines and websites blurring the line between news and satire, the way viewers consume news is changing how they make informed democratic decisions. “Everything we watch affects the way we think,” Michelle Ciulla Lipkin,  executive director of the National Association for Media Litera...

Virtual reality brings changes to the journalism world

December 15, 2015

Filed under News & Media Literacy Corner

Virtual reality is taking the journalism world by storm and thanks to cheaper equipment and apps, it could be coming to a classroom near you. As a news anchor at KOMU 8 in Columbia, Missouri, and later as a chief storyteller at Veterans United Home Loans, Sarah Hill has spent most of her life telling...

Journalists should start taking vertical video seriously

December 4, 2015

Filed under News & Media Literacy Corner

  The great horizontal versus vertical video formatting debate has been taking place on the Internet since the birth of the first smartphone. Now, publishers and editors who once forbid “amateur” vertical video are starting to change their views. Thanks to the introduction of smartphone ...

Classrooms use model news literacy lessons for English, science, math and social studies classes

November 30, 2015

Filed under News & Media Literacy Corner, Uncategorized

The American Society of News Editors and the Journalism Education Association in partnership with the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute launched a free news literacy curriculum for English/language arts, science, math and social studies in September 2015. How are you using these model news literacy...