Media and Information Literacy Repository – South Asia

"Education for Global Citizenship: An ETFO Curriculum Development Inquiry Initiative" is a 2010 project developed with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) to framework and implement global citizenship education. It emphasizes fostering critical thinking, social justice, and active, responsible engagement with local and global issues.

This publication, titled Global Citizenship Education: Topics and learning objectives, is the first pedagogical guidance from UNESCO on global citizenship education. It is the result of an extensive research and consultation process with experts from different parts of the world. This guidance draws on the UNESCO publication Global Citizenship Education: Preparing learners for the challenges of the 21st century and the outcomes of three key UNESCO events on global citizenship education: the Technical Consultation on Global Citizenship Education (September 2013), as well as the First and Second UNESCO Fora on Global Citizenship Education, organized in December 2013 and January 2015 respectively. Before it was finalized, the guidance was field-tested by education stakeholders in selected countries in all regions to ensure its relevance in different geographical and socio-cultural contexts.

UNESCO is leading global efforts on Global Citizenship Education (GCED), which is at the core of Target 4.7 of Sustainable Development Goal 4 on Education. To address the perception that the concept of GCED is concerned mainly with global matters and maybe dissociated from local needs and realities, UNESCO has identified local/national/traditional precepts and concepts that are similar to the UNESCO understanding of global citizenship. As culturally relevant expressions of GCED and to contribute to building peace through the implementation of GCED, the concepts identified here can serve as entry-points to teach and learn about GCED in more locally relevant ways.

This publication provides useful information on integrating GCED concepts, principles and activities into curricula and teaching practices covering a broad spectrum of issues and pedagogies. It contains exemplars illustrating how GCED can be integrated into various subject areas. Diverse resources and materials listed in the document also offer readers a wide range of references. Underscoring the pragmatic objective of this work is the need for teachers to become global citizens themselves.

The Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Network Meeting on Global Citizenship Education “Towards a World without Walls: Global Citizenship Education in SDG 4 – Agenda E2030”, was organized by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC / UNESCO Santiago) and the Asia – Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU), in collaboration with the Chilean Observatory of Educational Policies (OPECH) of the University of Chile. The event, held on October 23 and 24, 2017, in Santiago, Chile, brought together regional researchers, members of civil society organizations and activists, educational communities, social movements, government educational authorities and universities. The objective of the meeting was to promote dialogue on the concept of Global Citizenship Education (GCED), deepen the regional perspective on the topic and create a network that helps strengthen the implementation of GCED in the context of the Latin America and the Caribbean region. This document summarizes the main topics addressed and issues discussed at the meeting. Subsequently, the founding document of the Regional Global Citizenship Education Network for Latin America and the Caribbean, which was elaborated in light of the meeting’s discussions, is presented.

The transnational movement of people and ideas continues to reshape how students and citizens imagine places and cultures. Considering our constant exposure to information delivered via mass media, global educators are tasked with engaging students in learning activities that help them develop skill sets that include a globally minded, critical media literacy. Grounded in cultural studies, and framed by Andreotti's (2006) work in critical global citizenship education (GCE) and Appadurai's (1996) concept of mediascapes, this article examines how eleven global educators in as many countries use films to teach about what they considered to be the “6 C's” of critical global media literacy: colonialism, capitalism, conflict, citizenship, and conscientious consumerism. How global educators foster globally minded, critical media literacy in their classrooms, the resources they use to teach about perspectives too often marginalized in media produced in the Global North, and how educating students about media informs action within global citizenship education in the social studies are discussed.

This study investigated the effect of media and information literacy (MIL) on the ability to identify fake news, disinformation and misinformation, and sharing intentions. The experimental approach was selected to study both the control group and experimental group made up of a total of 187 respondents. Comparative analysis of the two groups revealed that although more respondents in the experimental group were able to identify the inauthenticity of information presented to them, some of the respondents in the control group were also able to do the same, even though they did not receive MIL training. Conversely, some respondents in the experimental group, even though they were trained in MIL, could not determine the inauthenticity of information, possibly because the one-off training given to them did not allow them to assimilate all the information in one sitting. Nonetheless, the results of the bivariate correlation computation showed that MIL trained respondents were more likely to determine authenticity or otherwise of information and less likely to share inaccurate stories. This means that when MIL increases, sharing of fake news decreases. This is yet another evidence that MIL enables information consumers to make informed judgments about quality information. It is recommended that MIL is incorporated into mainstream educational modules andconsistently revised to reflect the demands of the times. MIL programs must also con-sider how to effectively reach those without formal education. Actors within the information, communications, and media ecology must contribute to their quota in making information consumers more discerning with the right MIL sensitisation.

Given the seemingly ever-increasing scholarly production about the ideas and ideals of global citizenship education (GCE), it is not surprising those discussions started to gain influence in teacher education (TE) debates. In this study, we examine the discourses that tacitly shape the meanings of GCE within the contemporary academic literature on TE. After analyzing the peer-reviewed scholarship published from 2003 to 2018, we identified patterns in how GCE for TE was described and defended, beyond the differences in their conceptual frameworks. The dominant trend found is to frame GCE as a redemptive educational solution to global problems. This framing requires teachers to embrace a redemptive narrative following a model of rationality based on altruistic, hyperrationalized and overly romanticized ideals. Ultimately, literature contributes to the configuration of an excessively naïve discourse that tends to ignore the neoliberal context in which both GCE and TE take place today.

The authors developed a structural model of formation of information and media literacy of higher education applicants and the use of “cloud” technologies in the educational process of sustainable development. The researchers analyse the levels of formation of such literacy of higher education applicants in the process of sustainable development (cognitive and informative, constructive and search, creative and productive levels). The authors noted the effectiveness of the designed model. Positive dynamics of the development of indicators of the mobility under research are demonstrated on the basis of comparative analysis of the generalized obtained data before and after the experiment. The article presents the methodology of interaction of information and media literacy and “cloud” technologies in the educational process. Summarizing the results of the experimental research using statistical and comparative methods of analysis, made it possible to trace the dynamics of quantitative and qualitative changes in the basic structural components, in particular in the indicators of the interaction of information and media literacy and “cloud” technologies in the educational process of sustainable development of higher education applicants. The results of the research indicate the significant increase in all indicators.

The following is excerpted from a white paper produced for the Catherine and John MacArthur Foundation as part of their launch of a new initiative on Youth and Digital Learning. The full report can be read at http://www.projectnml.org. In this first part, we establish how the opportunities and risks posed by the new participatory culture force us to reassess media education for the 21st century. In the second installment, we will identify a framework of social skills and cultural competencies that we feel should be the foundations for this new media literacy education.

Digital storytelling in cultural and heritage tourism offers significant potential for youth engagement through social media platforms. However, current digital storytelling frameworks illustrate research gaps in integrating digital storytelling guidelines with social-media-specific requirements. Therefore, this review aims to develop an integrated digital storytelling for social media framework that extends traditional digital storytelling guidelines with four additional elements of contemporary digital engagement. The investigation employs bibliometric analysis through VOSviewer software version 1.6.20 to examine four paired domains: digital storytelling and cultural tourism, digital storytelling and social media, youth and cultural tourism, and youth interaction with digital storytelling through social media. Results revealed thematic clusters informing the development of four new framework elements: (1) social media platform integration, (2) multimedia engagement, (3) community participation, and (4) cultural authenticity. This review contributes to the knowledge by advancing digital storytelling theory through social-media-specific elements, providing methodological innovation through comprehensive domain analysis, and offering practical implementation strategies for cultural tourism practitioners.

The concept of digital literacy has been defined in numerous ways over the last two decades to incorporate rapid technological changes, its versatility, and to bridge the global digital divide. Most approaches have been technology-centric with an inherent assumption of cultural and political neutrality of new media technologies. There are multiple hurdles in every stage of digital literacy implementation. The lack of solutions such as local language digital interfaces, locally relevant content, digital literacy training, the use of icons and audio excludes a large fraction of illiterate people. In this article, we analyse case studies targeted at under-connected people in sub-Saharan Africa and India that use digital literacy programmes to build knowledge and health literacy, solve societal problems and foster development. In India, we focus on notable initiatives undertaken in the domain of digital literacy for rural populations. In Sub-Saharan Africa, we draw from an original project in Kenya aiming at developing digital literacy for youth from low-income backgrounds. We further focus on Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Tanzania, where field studies have been conducted on the use of digital technologies by low-literacy people and on how audio and icon-based interfaces and Internet lite standard could help them overcome their limitations. The main objective of this article is to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) in the context of digital literacy skills as one of the pillars for digital inclusion. We will learn how digital literacy programmes can be used to build digital literacy and how KPIs for sustainable development can be established. In the final discussion, we offer lessons learned from the case studies and further recommendation for stakeholders and decision-makers in the field of digital health literacy.

L Elkins (1998), recently appointed editors of the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, noted in their first issue of the journal that the potential for such reinvention is reflected in the way “texts and literate practices of everyday life are changing at an unprecedented and disorienting pace” (p. 4). Attributing the changes largely to new information technologies arid to the complex multiliteracies that these technologies entail (New London Group, 1997), Luke and Elkins characterizled the era in which we are living as New Times. It is a time of major shifts in cultural practices, economic systems, and social institutions on a global scale; a time when literacy educators from around the world are speculating about the ways in which new technologies will alter conceptions of reading and writing.

This article explores the urgent need for integrating media literacy and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the educational process, especially in the face of increasing information warfare and technological changes. The authors argue that media literacy is not only a skill but a crucial tool for ensuring critical thinking and social stability. They emphasize the role of educators as primary „operators” of information and discuss how improved media literacy can make educational systems more resilient against external threats. Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach, the article aims to develop effective systems for bolstering the media literacy of educational staff as a pathway to achieving specific Sustainable Development Goals.

Students who participated in a required yearlong Grade 11 English media/communication course that incorporated extensive critical media analysis of print, audio, and visual texts were compared with students from a demographically matched group who received no instruction in critically analyzing media messages. A nonequivalent group's design examinedstudents' reading comprehension, writing skills, critical reading, critical listening, and critical viewing skills for nonfiction informational messages. Results suggest that media literacy instruction improvesstudents' ability to identify main ideas in written, audio, and visual media. Statistically significant differences were also found for writing quantity and quality. Specific text analysis skills also improved, including the ability to identify the purpose, target audience, point of view, construction techniques used in media messages, and the ability to identify omitted information from a news media broadcast in written, audio, or visual formats.

The aim of research is to determine differences in media literacy competences in relation to socio-demographic characteristics of examinees from academic society in Serbia. This research was conducted in 2013 on 726 examinees. Hypotheses have been analysed by multivariate analysis of variant (MANOVA) and correlation analysis while testing differences in professions regarding incomes has been done by X2 analysis. The results show that there are significant differences in media literacy competences among examinees regarding gender, age, area of education and income. The results do not differ from the results of other cultural, economic and social contexts.

The 21st century has marked an unprecedented advancement of new media. New media has become so pervasive that it has penetrated into every aspect of our society. New media literacy plays an essential role for any citizen to participate fully in the 21st century society. Researchers have documented that literacy has evolved historically from classic literacy (reading-writing understanding) to audiovisual literacy to digital literacy or information literacy and recently to new media literacy. A review of literature on media literacy reveals that there is a lack of thorough analysis of unique characteristics of new media and its impacts upon the notion of new media literacy. The purpose of the study is to unpack new media literacy and propose a framework for a systematic investigation of new media literacy.

In recent years, the media literacy education movement has developed to help individuals of all ages acquire the competencies necessary to fully participate in the modern world of media convergence. Yet media literacy education is not practiced uniformly at all educa tional levels. This study used a survey to compare the extent to which students are ex posed to several basic elements of media literacy education at the high school and univer sity levels. Results suggest that students are exposed to more course content related to media use and creation in high school, but more course content related to media analysis in college.

Teachers must first acquire the necessary media literacy skills, strategies, dispositions, and pedagogy to impactfully integrate media literacy into their instruction. Furthermore, previous studies have suggested designing curricu lar resources as an effective form of media literacy professional learning. This case study examined how high school teachers of different content areas integrate media literacy into their instruction while participating in an on line professional development course and how high school teachers applied the content from a media literacy online professional development course to design media literacy instruction. Findings indicated teachers made mi nor changes to their previous instructional practice, which indicated that participating in the online course led them to think about media literacy integration in new ways. Additionally, teachers applied the online profes sional development content by using media to build background knowledge, offering explicit media literacy strategy instruction and support, promoting independent practice at the intersection of content curricula and media lit eracy, and assigning media production to demonstrate content knowledge. Recommendations include equipping teachers with media literacy back ground knowledge, examining instruction stemming from media literacy pro fessional development, and empowering teachers to design media literacy instruction through critical lenses.

In this paper, through an exploration into our experiences as educators concerned with marginalized populations of learners in secondary and post secondary settings, we argue for a pedagogy that brings together the realities of 21st century literacy practices with critical media literacy. We present a framework for teaching critical media literacy that addresses the complex facets of equity in 21st century literacy practices.

The article centers around the idea of developing students’ media literacy through integrating English and American mass media resources (multimedia form) into the English classroom. It is based on teaching experience at Dostoyevsky Omsk State University where the module ‘Mass Media Analysis and Interpretation’ has been incorporated into the practical course of English language teaching (ELT). According to the suggested approach, multimedia texts analysis and interpretation allow students to access, analyze, and evaluate various kinds of British and American mass media – TV news programs, talk shows, movies, etc. The article is illustrated with recent examples of the mass media incorporated in the media-oriented classroom. The writer shares her own experience of designing methods for media analysis in terms of cultural, political, ideological, and socioeconomic implication.

As new online and cellular technologies advance, the implications for the traditional textbook model of curricular instruction are profound. The ability to construct, share, collaborate on and publish new instructional materials marks the beginning of a global revolution in curricula development. Research-based media literacy frameworks can be applied to all subjects, and they enable teachers to have confidence that, in employing the frameworks to address academic subjects, themes or projects, students will gain content knowledge. Teaching through media literacy education strategies provides the opportunity to make media literacy central to teaching and learning, since media literacy process skills enable students to become self-directed lifelong learners, capable of addressing any subject. What are characteristics of curricula that use media literacy frameworks? How does such curricula differ from traditionally constructed curricula? And why should administrators and teachers embrace this change? As education is moving from paper-based, face-to-face classwork to technology-enabled curricula that is better, faster and cheaper, educators need new yet proven approaches and curricular resources to delivering effective lessons and outcomes. With media literacy education, this shift is not only possible but also imperative for providing curricula for the globalized classroom.

German approaches to media literacy education are concerned with the questions, how the variety of media can be used in a meaning ful way for learning and teaching and what educational tasks result from the extensive use of media. Considering these questions there are various conceptual ideas, research and development projects as well as implementations into practice in the field of education and teacher training. The development and the current situation of approaches to media literacy education in Germany are described and discussed in the article. Thereby, the focus is on media literacy education in schools.

With our paper we analyze four renowned media literacy models from Ger many, UK and USA to derive, through comparisons, the necessary core competencies which apply to all professions and that are valid across disciplines. In the results, as key-competencies, we identified critical analysis as essential to be able to act as self determined individuals in so called mediatized societies. Further results show that media literacy learning can be developed in formal learning settings, as well as in non formal and in informal learning settings that complement each other. Media literacy promotion is therefore a cross-disciplinary task for all kinds of professionals in the educational and social systems. With referring to the concept of mediatization, we also show the deep social impact of media on people’s lives and explain why it is helpful to see media literacy learning as part of lifelong learning. We finally conclude, that the terms «teaching media literacy» and «media literacy education» are no longer applica ble. Instead, we highly recommend the terms «promoting media literacy» and «media literacy learning». By seeing media literacy learning as a cross-disciplinary task and as a process of lifelong learning, our findings can help to unify discussions about media literacy on a global level.