RollerMache ( Study Guide)

DESCRIPTION

Our current media landscape and culture presents fantastic opportunities of knowledge, entertainment and empowerment. But while we all consume media and exercise some level of critical analysis of the content that we are exposed to, its complexity is such that we need to regularly pause to scrutinise the structures of power behind media and the messages that it is delivering to us. Media literacy is crucial for anyone, but particularly for youth in order to navigate our present world. Youth already embrace new media technologies passionately. Teenagers are the biggest adopters of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, and they are also the most prolific users of self-publishing sites such as Blogger and YouTube. Through these and other similar applications the whole structure of cultural production and knowledge attainment is changing. By teaching Media Studies, we do not validate these applications to youth – these applications validate themselves. Each of these applications and technologies has the potential to improve a child's future work and social prospects. However, all are also potentially dangerous to those who do not understand the implications online profiling or the dangers of irresponsible media production. Despite these concerns, we cannot and should not suppress contact or discussion of technologies in our class rooms as without adequate exposure to their functionality and implications, students will experience difficulties adapting to tertiary study, employment and indeed the changing norms of a society which is itself heavily reliant on digital technology, literacy and culture. It is generally recognised that skilled twenty-first century citizens are expected to have:

• Information Technology Skills: the ability to access information and manipulate it using a variety of digital tools
• Media Literacy Skills: the ability to respond to and evaluate media and digital media and online materials for validity and reliability through a variety of critical thinking strategies and to become skilled readers and creators of media texts
• Media Studies Skills: the ability to understand media texts, technologies and processes from various perspectives including their structure and features, their industry production and distribution context, audience reception and the impact of media in society.

Increasingly, teachers are including internet sites and activities in their Media Studies and English programs. However, some teachers feel that they themselves lack the knowledge and expertise to teach Media Studies in any detail to their students. For these reasons we have developed the RollerMache initiative that allows students and teachers to investigate, create and upload their own media online where it can be viewed by others within a safe and moderated area – one that ensures children's details and identities are protected and that makes sure no unwelcome content appears. RollerMache encourages and invites the use of internet and other media technologies within learning contexts and recognises the empowerment gained from sharing and distributing this media. We feel that in order to effectively analyse media, an understanding of media production is indispensable. This course gives students a hands-on experience of media creation that can either stand alone or compliment an existing Media Studies or English course. SKU: SG524 Visit our website to view thousands more products like this and order online at: