Media education and media literacy

Teacher(s)

Philippette Thibault;

Language

French

Content

This course will address the link between media literacy, media education and education through media; he will discuss the concept of media literacy with regard to other concepts present in the literature (digital literacy, information literacy, computer literacy, etc.); it will deal with different analytical frameworks for evaluating media activities (e.g. reading, writing, navigating, organizing) and the dimensions of associated skills (e.g. technical, social, informational); Finally, it will address the challenges in terms of skills related to contemporary technologies and their uses.
This teaching will be structured in different modules:

1. Module 1: Introduction to Media Literacy (e.g. the concept of literacy, the concept of media)
2. Module 2: Media Education, education through media and Media Literacy
3. Module 3: Media Literacy Reference Frameworks
4. Module 4: Evaluating Uses and Skills: A Complex Approach
5. Module 5: Perspectives on "New Forms of Literacy"

In a non-recurring way, the course will give place to interventions of Belgian or foreign researchers, experts in the field.

Teaching methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

Lecture with notes, reading portfolio and guided reading/writing exercise.
The guided reading work will be based on a summary presentation of one (or more) text(s) and interactions with the teacher and other student-readers of the same text.
Directed writing will consist of performing a final group writing work based on shared readings. For example, for the academic year 2017-2018, this work took the form of a contribution on Wikipedia during the UCLouvain week dedicated to the platform.
The number of students taking the course in the academic year 2019-2020 does not guarantee social distancing in the allocated room. Nevertheless, the course modalities require a hybrid approach ("blended learning"). 

• The theoretical sessions will be given either in co-modality or in the form of podcasts (accessible on Moodle). At the end of each module, a Q-R session will be organized via Teams.
• Guided reading exercise: instructions and resources will be given via Moodle and a preparatory session via Teams (or in co-modality) will be organized. Each group will then present its synthesis via Teams (or co-modality). 
• Guided writing exercise: "face-to-face" sessions in small working groups will be organized (in November). A more continuous remote follow-up will take place via the collaborative writing tools presented during the course.

Evaluation methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

The evaluation will be carried out as follows: 

• If number of students < 50: An oral exam will evaluate students' theoretical integration as well as their ability to ask questions and criticize the limits of one or the other perspective addressed in the course (50% of the final grade - individual grade).
• If number of students > 50: A written exam (closed and open questions) will evaluate the students' theoretical integration and their ability to pose questions and criticize the limits of one or the other of the perspectives covered in the course (50% of the final grade - individual grade).
• The guided-reading exercise will evaluate the students' participation in the session and their ability to synthesize an author's text in the field of study concerned (25% of the final grade - group grade with an individual part).
• The guided-writing exercise will evaluate the degree of appropriation of this field, both theoretical and practical, and the students' capacity to collaborate in the production of shared knowledge (25% of the final mark - group grade with an individual part).

In case of a "yellow" or "orange" health situation, the examination will take place either via Teams in case of oral exams, or via Moodle or Gradescope in case of written exams. The specific modalities for each of these formulas will be specified at least one month before the examination session.
The modalities for the second session
The modalities of the second session vary depending on whether or not the student has participated in guided reading and writing activities during the year. If so, the student will only take an oral exam according to the procedures for the first session. If not, the student will have to hand in a reading and writing work (details to be communicated after the session) for 50% of the grade AND will take an exam according to the first session's procedures for the remaining 50%.  

Other information

This course is also given to "Master in Media Education" students (co-diplomation IHECS-UCLouvain).
English-friendly Course

• Reading: bibliographical references in English can be provided
• Questions: students can ask their questions in English
• Evaluation: students can do presentations and answer exam questions in English
• Dictionary: students are allowed to use a dictionary (monolingual French dictionary or bilingual French-mother tongue dictionary, as specified by the teacher), including for exams

Online resources

https://moodleucl.uclouvain.be/course/view.php?id=10391

Bibliography

Références (exemple)
Auferheide (1993). Report on the National Leadership Conference on Media Literacy. Queenstown (M.D.): Aspen Institute ;
Buckingham (2009). The future of media literacy in the digital age: some challenges for policy and practice, 2nd European Congress on Media Literacy, Bellaria (IT), 21-24 october 2009 ;
Fastrez (2010). Quelles compétences le concept de littératie médiatique englobe-t-il ? Une proposition de définition matricielle, Recherches en Communication, 33(1): 35-52 ;
Feuerstein (1999). Media Literacy in Support of Critical Thinking, Journal of Educational Media, 24(1): 43-54 ;
Hobbs (1998). The seven Great Debates in the Media Literacy Movement, Journal of Communication, 48(1):16-32 ;
Livingstone (2003). The changing nature and Uses of Media Literacy, Media@LSE, Electronic Working Paper, 4, see: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/.

Faculty or entity

COMU