PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
A few weeks ago I was fortunate to be invited to represent NAMLE at the national release of the Knight Commission Report on the Information Needs of Communities. This report recognizes the need for the free flow of information in sustaining democracy, as well as the critical role media literacy plays in making this a reality. As media literacy educators, we know that simply providing information is not enough if students and others do not have the tools to interpret and make sense of the content. The need for media literacy education was explicitly mentioned in one of the 15 recommendations set forth in the report and media literacy principles were integrated into several others. I applaud Charlie Firestone, NAMLE Advisory Council member and one of the leaders of the report in his role as Executive Director of the Communications & Society program at the Aspen Institute, in his efforts to include media literacy as a vital component of the report. Now that the Commission report has been released, the next step is implementation. Now that NAMLE is a part of this important discussion, you can be sure I will work to continue making sure our voice is a part of the next steps.
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NAMLE Needs You.
You can make a difference and advance the mission of media literacy education by joining a NAMLE Committee: Communications Committee
Karen Zill · Web management, UPDATE newsletter & external communicationDevelopment Committee Cindy Pulley · Fundraising: Corporate and foundationProgram Committee Paul Milhailidis · Programmatic development, Journal of Media Literacy EducationConference Committee Deb Parker · Coordination & Development of 2011 NAMLE Conference
Conference Program Committee
Vanessa Domine · Programmatic Development of 2011 NAMLE Conference
Membership Committee
Kelly Mendoza·Membership recruitment, renewal & service
Finance Committee
Brian Cohen · Budgeting, reporting, strategizing & all things fiscal
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Voices From the Field
"We don't teach children to read in order to protect them from bad books; we teach them to read and write because those are essential skills for navigating our world. The same should also be true for teaching media literacy skills in schools: the goal should be empowerment rather than protection.. . . " [read full article] Cynthia Scheibe, "Sounds Great, But I Don't Have Time!" Helping Teachers Meet Their Goals and Needs with Media Literacy Education. JMLE, 1 (2009), 68-71.
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What's new with you? Contact usand we'll include it in a future issue of Update. Next submission deadline: November 16th
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Looking for the best teaching materials for media literacy? Go to
TeachMediaLiteracy.org
[scroll down for money-saving coupon]
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 edia Literacy Moment
SHOW: Community
DESCRIPTION: In the new comedy Community, the Spanish teacher, who is Asian, begins the class by talking about how people ask him why he teaching Spanish; he goes into a dramatic monologue consisting of Asian stereotypes. Later on there is a protest staged that is satirical in nature. The episode is self-consciously satirizing culture through the classroom / campus setting.
WATCH IT HERE: The whole episode can be streamed in Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/community
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The
purpose of
media literacy education is to develop the habits of inquiry
and skills of expression needed by critical thinkers, effective
communicators, and active citizens in today's world.
--NAMLE
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aking Headlines
Doing it right (10/06/09) On the heels of the Knight Commission Report, The Center for Social Media (American University) identifies 8 Public Media 2.0 projects that have discovered recipes that work. CSM recently looked at how educators are introducing students to social media tools in their white paper: Public Media 2.0: Dynamic, Engaged Publics. You can also read CSM's Kate Donnelly blog about the intersection of public media with media literacy. GMLP Remixes Culture (10/10/09) NAMLE organizational member, Gateway Media Literacy Partners, Inc. had its third successful Media Literacy Week (October 4-10) in the St. Louis region. The event was free and open to the public and offered a lively mix of offerings, including participation by NPR correspondent, David Folkenflik and NAMLE members Frank Baker, Renee Hobbs, Melinda Bier and Art Silverblatt [view program]. [view the 2009 Charles Klotzer Media Literacy Awardees]CIMA Report Release (10/02/09) The
Center for International Media Assistance and the National Endowment
for Democracy released 3 reports on Global Media Literacy: Understanding the News; Citizen Journalists; and Empowering Youth Worldwide.[free download] ····························································
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ember Spotlight
Battle for Mind & Health In a recent issue of The Attached Family, food journalist and NAMLE member Melinda Hemmelgarn educates
parents about the dangers of letting the media make children's
nutritional decisions. [learn more]
Modern Media Literacy
The current issue of Afterimage features articles by NAMLE members (subscription required):
-Lost Literacy: How Graphic Novels can Recover Visual Literacy in the Literacy Classroom (Cary Gillenwater)
-The Power of Fair Use for Media Literacy Education (Renee Hobbs)
-Connecting Cultures: New Dynamics in Global Media Literacy (Paul Mihailidis)
-Kids Today! (Book Review) on Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives (Gretchen Schwarz)
-Media Literacy Resources from Barry Duncan, Kelly Mendoza, and Chris Boulton
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ark Your Calendars
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edia Literacy Curriculum
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arketplace Feature
Karen Sternheimer's best selling It's Not the Media: The Truth About Pop Culture's Influence on  Children explains why "the media" is blamed for so many tragic events and why we are encouraged to believe (by the media) that media violence or video games or advertising are at the root of so many social problems. Order your copy today. Sale Price $10.40 (reg price $25.00).
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Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy released its report in Washington, DC. "
HOME, Inc. is partnering with TechFoundation and MIT Comparative Media Studies for a one-day conference on Media Literacy on October 24 @ MIT Campus. 
Peter Gutierrez, Jennifer Powers & Katie Monnin are
presenting 
The Summit provides a forum for producers, broadcasters and regulators of media for children and other professionals and community leaders committed to the improvement of quality media for children.
help educators understand and facilitate media literacy in their classrooms. The program consists of a booklet, PowerPoint workshop, and a facilitator's guide with handouts 
coverage of breaking news, edit clips together and add your own commentary to see how the choices you make shape the message you send. A Teacher's 
Guide also available with sample activities, assignments, discussion questions and worksheets.