All Blog Posts (229)

Bringing School to the 21st Century

I would like to invite you to participate in a 10-minute online survy on school curriculum. It is anonymous and the results will be used for education purposes only. You are invited to share your suggestions on how to better educate children for the 21st Century. Thank you for your time and input.
Click Here to take survey

Added by G. Wan on November 11, 2009 at 6:26pm — No Comments

Poliwood: a new doc on the role of media in politics

I heard a fascinating interview today (on XM Radio's political channel POTUS) with director Barry Levinson about his new film, a documentary, called Poliwood. It premieres Monday November 2 on Showtime at 730pm ET. Although the film appears to address celebrity in politics, it also addresses how politics has become like entertainment and that only those (politicians) who look good and sound good get attention. Sounds like this one has tremendous… Continue

Added by Frank W. Baker on October 29, 2009 at 3:00pm — 1 Comment

Studying Monsters?

The Los Angeles Times reports on a UC-Berkeley course which "is one of a number around the country that mix scares and scholarship, using zombies, vampires and other ogres to study popular culture."

Added by Frank W. Baker on October 29, 2009 at 7:47am — No Comments

Pop Culture and The Run for the Presidency

Ok, I admit, this is a promotion for my new book: Political Campaigns and Political Advertising: A Media Literacy Guide (Greenwood Press). In this text, I covered the role the media has played in getting candidates elected President. So I cover everything from photography (from the Lincoln campaign to today) to the development of radio, television (commercials, debates and… Continue

Added by Frank W. Baker on October 24, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

NCTE New Media Gallery 2009- Don't Miss It !

You’ve heard of blogs, wikis, and nings, but you’re wondering how to use them in your classroom? We have some exciting possibilities on exhibit at our New Media Gallery, Friday, November 20, 2009 from 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. in Room 202A of the Convention Center. Sponsored by NCTE’s Commission on Media, the New Media Gallery can be your “one-stop shopping” location for all things related to new literacies. Showcasing teachers… Continue

Added by Frank W. Baker on October 20, 2009 at 12:01pm — 1 Comment

Invitation to sumbit manuscript

Hi,

I invite you to submit your manuscript to a special issue of New Horizons in Education with a theme of media literacy eduction.

I am a professor at Ohio University and has been a firm believer in the power of media literacy education. I serve on the editorial borad of the journal New Horizons in Education published by Hong Kong Teachers' Association. I am the guest editor of this special issue of the journal with Media Literacy Education as the theme. I would like to invite… Continue

Added by G. Wan on October 13, 2009 at 1:35pm — No Comments

Rescheduled Online Digital Media Production Class

**Rescheduled Online Digital Media Production Class**

The purpose of this series is to provide teachers with an understanding of how media concepts can be included in your curriculum while still meeting State Standards and Benchmarks. The series will provide numerous handouts, examples and hands-on opportunities to aid in the development of your media curriculum.

Class begins online starting Tuesday, October 20 at 6:30 p.m. EST and continues for five consecutive Tuesdays… Continue

Added by Kara Clayton on September 26, 2009 at 10:36am — No Comments

Literacy Accountability In A New Media Age

A middle school teacher's commentary in the current issue of Education Week urges his fellow educators (and test producers) to consider the kinds of texts young people attend to today. "Reading video, images and other multimodal texts," he says, "demands just as much critical thinking and analysis as a challenging excerpt from Moby Dick."

Added by Frank W. Baker on September 23, 2009 at 1:45pm — No Comments

Obama TV Speech Controversy & Media Literacy

It seems to me---whether your students watch or not---here is a great media literacy /teachable moment opportunity. Here are some questions that might be considered--by both teachers and students:

1. Where did you first hear about the President's speech?

2. What (and where) have you read or heard about what he is planning to say?

3. Who is his primary audience? (Might there be a secondary audience too?)

4. Where in the curriculum might you discuss the importance of… Continue

Added by Frank W. Baker on September 4, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Visual Literacy: Comparing Obama Magazine Cover Images

As we all know, the news depends on visual images, as much as the written word, to communicate. With that in mind, I have gathered together three recent current events/news magazine covers, all of which represent President Obama as a doctor. I have created a simple one page handout that you might decide to use with your students. Let me know what you think. Frank

Added by Frank W. Baker on August 21, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

Access Denied

Started PD back at school last week and discovered that this website is blocked by my district's filter. Anyone have any suggestions.

Added by Brandon Jones on August 15, 2009 at 10:13pm — 3 Comments

New book: Shimmering Literacies: Popular Culture and Reading and Writing Online

Peter Lang Publishers. Book description: This book examines the powerful role of popular culture in the daily online literacy practices of young people. Whether as subject matter, discourse, or through rhetorical patterns, popular culture dominates both the form and the content of online reading and writing. In order to understand not only how but why online technologies have… Continue

Added by Frank W. Baker on August 12, 2009 at 10:25am — 1 Comment

PBS repeats doc on Depression Era Photographers

NOTE: Copyright allows this program to be recorded, used and retained for one year.

Local broadcast: check your local PBS station's broadcast schedule for the exact date and time in your area. Many stations are airing this during the week of August 10-15.

Documenting the Face of America: Roy Stryker and the FSA/OWI Photographers

An exploration of challenges faced by New Deal-sponsored photographers Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, Walker Evans, Jack Delano… Continue

Added by Frank W. Baker on August 5, 2009 at 7:25pm — No Comments

Quick! Tell Us What KUTGW Means

From the August 5 edition of The Wall Street Journal: the language of texting and IMing.

Added by Frank W. Baker on August 5, 2009 at 1:46pm — 4 Comments

Looking Back on NAMLE's "Bridging Literacies" Conference

Ryan's email reminded me to post this new website where I have embedded links to some bloggers who wrote about happenings at the just concluded National Association of Media Literacy Education bi-annual conference in Detroit Michigan. Among other things, NAMLE unveiled the first issue of its new online journal:

The Journal of Media Literacy Education. This year's conference was full of engaging events and… Continue

Added by Frank W. Baker on August 4, 2009 at 8:14pm — 1 Comment

ACT/SAT prep

www.grockit.com - Online collaborative ACT/SAT prep groups. Might be of interest to some of your students!

Added by Kelly Farrow on August 4, 2009 at 3:47pm — No Comments

Fantasy genre ppt - for intro of genre and various notable YA authors/works

Fanstasy_genre.ppt

Added by Jessica Wolf-Golbach on July 27, 2009 at 12:15pm — 2 Comments

Fahrenheit 451

I am going to be teaching Fahrenheit 451 this fall to high school sophomores and I want to make sure they really connect with the novel. I never read the novel for a class or saw it taught, so I want to make sure I can tailor it for the age group and make it really meaningful to the students. If anyone has any suggestions for how to go about teaching it or specific activities that have been effective in your own classroom, I'd love any advice! I just feel like this is such an influential… Continue

Added by Sydney Eagleton on July 22, 2009 at 2:31pm — 6 Comments