How does it feel to be misrepresented? was originally part of a series of assignments about integrating ethics into production course that I wrote about for the Journal of Media Education. Here it has been adapted as a stand-alone exercise for EDIT Media’s teaching materials database. This assignment was designed for entry-level production students who were preparing to embark on the production of their first documentary project. One of the first hands-on production assignments for entry level production students is to interview each other. However, in order to integrate ethics conversations into the teaching production, in this exercise, I added a new element: not only did students edit their own interviews, they also had to edit a fellow student’s interview. And, not only did they have to edit this interview, but they were asked to intentionally manipulate the interview. In addition to the digital editing assignment, students were given a reading and writing assignment focused on ethics in documentary filmmaking. Students were asked to discuss their feelings about watching videotaped interviews of themselves. This assignment was inspired by the video, “(Hate) Machine,” that was part of the Media that Matters Film Festival.

This diploma thesis deals with media education and the opinion of students on this subject, especially those who have already graduated. The demand for media literacy and related media education began to be widely discussed with the rise of the Internet, increasing the pressure on schools and teachers to teach this subject). The aim of the thesis is to find out mainly what they would change about it, what alterations would they make in the subject. A questionnaire survey based mainly on open-ended questions is chosen to obtain the data needed for the conslusion. This questionnaire will be distributed to those schools that teach this subject. Subsequently, the answers of the students will be evaluated, as well as what they are interested in and especially how they perceive the meaningfulness and usefulness of the subject.

Diploma thesis deals with the issue of media literacy among older school-age pupils. The aim of the thesis is to present how the pupils of the second level of primary schools and grammar schools understand media literacy and the concepts connected with it. The theoretical part of the thesis provides a basic overview of media literacy associated with the definition of terms closely related to this topic and approaches the current form of school media education in the Czech Republic. The empirical part maps the opinions of pupils of two primary schools and pupils of two eight-year grammar schools on this issue. The research was conducted by using a qualitative method of focus group.

The aim of this study is to introduce and analyze the case of the Núcleo de Comunicação Comunitária São Miguel no Ar (Centre of Community Media Sao Miguel on the air, freely translated), known by its acronym NCC, in order to discuss in what ways an educommunication project can contribute to local development and social change, and might be acknowledge as a Communication for Development strategy. The general research question is: in what ways can an educommunication project enhance social participation and contribute to local development? What are the main features of NCC projects in regard to social participation and local development that might characterize it as a Communication for Development strategy? The general aim of this study is to bridge Educommunication and Communication for Development.

The media impact how people perform their gender, and play an important role in the reproduction of gender binary. Media representations of gender can be described as hegemonic in the sense that, because of their complexity, they contribute to the reproduction of gender norms by otherwise agentic audiences. Media literacy education offers useful strategies for helping audiences question media representations of gender, allowing them to trouble the hegemonic system that keeps inequalities in place. This dissertation answers the question: How do high school students respond to the instruction in a media literacy program informed by gender studies and scholarship on media representations? To answer this question, I used ethnographic methods and the case study approach. My main findings are: (1) Classes that involve analysis of media representations of gender have an agenda-setting effect on students, helping them notice problematic media messages and connect them to social problems and inequalities. (2) Media and gender classes can encourage students to engage in social action, even without the teacher’s prompting. (3) Media and gender classes are not part of a standard curriculum, and teachers choose to include them because they are passionate about gender inequalities. This is why these teachers might lean towards the protectionist approach. (4) Students might embrace teachers’ message about the value of gender equality and diversity, but keep their implicit biases unchecked. Teachers should think of ways to address these biases in the classroom. (5) In order to help students acquire a balanced set of media literacy skills, it is important to work on all competencies of the AACRA model of media literacy education: Access, Analyze, Create, Reflect, and Act. / Media & Communication

This dissertation contributes to the history of media literacy by tracing the emergence and development of media literacy concepts and practices in Media&Values magazine (1977-1993), which spoke across discourse communities of scholars, teachers, activists and media professionals to build a media literacy movement in the United States. Media literacy evolved in changing contexts of media studies and education discourses as well as changes in media technologies, industries, politics, and popular culture. Taking a genealogical approach to historical inquiry, this study uses discourse analysis to describe how Media&Values constructed media literacy as a means for reform, as a practice of understanding representation and reality, and as pedagogy of social analysis and inquiry. These constructions position media literacy as interventions in power, articulating agency through addressing institutions, demystifying ideology, and negotiating identities. This history provides perspective on debates across diverse strands of practice in the current field of media literacy education. / Media & Communication

La ricerca affronta il tema delle manifestazioni di “pensiero prevenuto” nell’ambiente digitale, spesso collegate a performance razziste “banalizzate” e socialmente condivise. Per individuare risposte educative specifiche e buone prassi di intervento, è necessario analizzare le diverse forme assunte dal pregiudizio in Rete alla luce degli aspetti affettivo-emotivi e non solo razionali. L’ambiente di ricerca è il Web 2.0, inteso come “realtà aumentata”, ovvero uno spazio non contrapposto al reale ma segnato dalle proprie specificità. Si è individuato un corpus di “razzismi online” da sottoporre a un’analisi di tipo qualitativo-testuale attraverso il software T-Lab e, in parallelo, a un’analisi di tipo qualitativo-motivazionale. I risultati ottenuti sono stati quindi interpretati alla luce di una duplice bibliografia: da un lato quella della pedagogia interculturale e degli studi classici sui razzismi, dall’altro quella sulle caratteristiche del digitale, della pragmatica della comunicazione online e della Media Education. Durante la ricerca si sono inoltre svolte – con esiti differenti – alcune conversazioni via Ask.fm con adolescenti contattati poiché, in vario modo, avevano preso parte a performance razziste; oltre che come caso studio di etnografia virtuale, viene proposto come esperimento di educazione alla riflessività. Si noterà come dalla banalizzazione delle tesi razziste e dalla deresponsabilizzazione dello “stare in Rete” deriva un recupero implicito dell’istanza biologica, su basi non scientifiche, svuotate di senso, ma paradossalmente accettate e interiorizzate. D’altro canto, si incontrano svariati esempi di attivazione di “cittadini digitali”; anche a partire da questo “capitale antirazzista”, si sottolineerà il ruolo dell’educazione alla cittadinanza – interculturale, digitale e morale – nel formare soggetti e agenti morali nella mediapolis, affermando il valore della responsabilità verso gli altri. / The study deals with the topic of manifestations of “prejudiced thought” in the digital environment, which are often linked with “banalised” racist and socially shared performances. In order to identify specific educational responses and good practices of intervention, the various forms taken by prejudice on the Web in the light of affective-emotive, and not only rational, aspects have to be analysed. The research environment is Web 2.0, understood as “augmented reality”, i.e. a space that is not opposed to reality but marked by its own specificities. A corpus of “online racism” has been identified to be submitted to a qualitative-textual analysis through T-Lab software and, in parallel, a qualitative-motivational type of analysis. The results obtained were then interpreted in the light of a dual bibliography: on the one hand that of intercultural pedagogy and classic studies on racism, on the other that on the characteristics of the digital environment, the pragmatics of online communication and of Media Education. Some conversations were also carried out during the research – with different outcomes – via Ask.fm with adolescents contacted as, in various ways, they had taken part in racist performances; as well as a case study of virtual ethnography, this is proposed as an experiment on education on reflectivity. It will be noticed how an implicit recovery of the biological question, with non-scientific bases, emptied of meaning, but paradoxically accepted and internalised, derives from the banalisation of racist theories and the lack of a sense of responsibility of “being on the Web”. On the other hand, several examples of activating “digital citizens” are encountered; from this “antiracist capital” as well, the role of education for citizenship – intercultural, digital and moral – in forming subjects and moral agents in the mediapolis, asserting the value of responsibility towards others, will also be emphasised.

The aim of this diploma thesis, which is entitled "Media education in Czech lessons in secondary schools", is to map out the current state of integration of a cross-sectional theme named Media Education into the Czech lessons of all kinds of high schools in the Czech Republic. The educational process is seen from the perspectives of all its participants. The thesis should bring the list of excerpted scientific texts and research dealing with the object of our interest. And it also aims to describe the interfaces of both educational subjects which emerge from the requirements for the students. The research part is aimed at providing the informations about the particular signs of media education in the obligatory school subject of Czech lessons as well as the success of this effort to increase media literacy by the high school students. This information should be collected by a content analyses of school curricular documents, interviews and questionnaires of both sides of the educational process.The work also brings an analyses of teaching materials represented by Czech lesson textbooks, which are evaluated according to the integration of our cross-sectional theme and its possibilities. The output of this thesis is the suggestion of our own didactic instrument, the didactic test.

This diploma thesis focuses on social networks and their usage in media education at a lower secondary school. The thesis exclusively deals with Facebook and Instagram and is divided into two parts, the theoretical one and the practical (empirical) one. The theoretical part studies both types of social networks and presents their development. Moreover, it focuses on the specifics of electronic communication and alludes to other topics such as media communication, media literacy, media education etc. The concluding passages of the theoretical part then focus on the relationship between media education and the curricular documents of the Czech educational system. The following practical part applies the outcomes of the theoretical part. Firstly, it takes into account works of several Czech linguists on whose findings the empirical analysis rests. Secondly, the reasons why media education should be present in education are listed. In its main part, the thesis then presents an analysis of selected material related to media education and offers possible methodological suggestions relevant to media education. The outcomes of those suggestions for the curricular documents are present, too. Finally, it also copes with research conducted on Czech language teachers and their stance towards Facebook and...

This paper focuses on the much discussed topic of media literacy. Rather than focussing on the education of pupils, it turns to the possibilities of education primarily of high school teachers in the area of media education. It briefly presents the issue of media education and media literacy, and its historical tradition in the Czech lands. It focuses on the principles and rules of adult education from the point of view of andragogy. It analyses the offer of training programs, seminars, professional literature and specialized websites from non-profit organizations, private companies, the state and universities. A separate chapter provides an overview of the subjects taught with media themes at faculties of education. The research focuses on educational strategies and approaches to teaching media skills among several teachers from grammar schools in Plzen. It not only evaluates the amount and type of used forms of education, but takes a closer look at the motivation of teachers for further professional self-development, their relationship to the media and individual capabilities in the implementation of cross-cutting topics at individual schools. In the conclusion, the paper tries to show the positives and negatives of the current situation, to critically evaluate the situation in the area of...