Our non-profit organization Tuleviku Meedia was established in 2017 in Tallinn, Estonia. We are working in the field of media, journalism, education, research, and consulting. Our partners are media outlets, educational institutions, foundations, NGOs, and other institutions whose mission coincides with ours. Currently, our main target groups are youth and educators in Estonia, especially in remote regions of Tallinn and Ida-Virumaa, including language minorities and vulnerable communities.
Practice makes perfect
Mikk Granstrom, a junior researcher at Tallinn University, has been researching the methods of successful learning strategies. He stated what many of us have felt for a long time: pupils are not told what they are doing and why they are doing it. His PhD thesis "Teachers' and students' knowledge of learning strategies and their teaching in the classroom" is dedicated to how the joy of learning can only come with the ability to learn consciously.
My own and other MIL-enthusiastic educators’ teaching experience shows that when starting a topic connected to media literacy, you should motivate students to think of why this topic, and media literacy in general, can and will be useful for you (the student) – today and tomorrow.
As media is a very practical field, let’s start with “learning by doing”. This approach is highly effective in helping students develop critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding of the media landscape. This hands-on engaging method has successfully worked both in our own projects for youth and in other activities in schools. During the NPO Tuleviku Meedia events, educators shared that this method is suitable for different classes and different age groups.
The educators can engage students in creating their own media content, analyzing advertisements, fact-checking social media posts and news stories, and discussing the impact of media on society.
For example, one of the educators from Tallinn who participated in our projects told us about the media literacy lessons she created for her 3rd-graders. Lessons were dedicated to the news as a genre and its standards. After that, pupils wrote their news pieces for the illustrations provided by the teacher. This proved to be a very engaging exercise, which not only improved the writing skills of the students in their mother tongue but also improved primary school students’ media literacy, understanding of news, and the criteria of this major journalistic genre.
Moreover, talking about internet-fraud schemes and security risks should start at a very young age. Experience of another educator from Tallinn, Estonia, who also has studied MIL in our projects, said that this topic appeared almost spontaneously when discussing the use of smartphones with pupils of the 1st grade. Kids very eagerly shared the experience when internet fraudsters called their parents or even themselves. Unexpectedly, such young students were well-informed about these risks. But it’s an example of only one class. Unfortunately, this shows the importance of MIL education from a very young age.
News: old-fashioned but important
Educators should motivate students to share their own experiences with media and social media platforms, misinformation and other media risks. Firstly, this will give the teacher a new insight into the youth’s media consumption and the issues that their students face.
Of course, you can’t learn about traditional media not consuming the media products. Every lesson should start with discussing the news: local, international, and news from the field that interests students and provides food for thought and discussion. And as news is new every day, remind the students to read the updates daily.
Also, it’s important to emphasize that when providing students with examples a teacher has to find fresh ones every time. It may sound easy and simplistic, and, yes, it takes time, but our goal is to show the students that keeping up with the news is crucial, if you want to be an active citizen - and an educator has to show the example.
For students, it’s also significant to understand the standards of trustworthy traditional media, because they still turn to traditional media during major news events in their country and abroad. Several Reuters Institute reports show that even though young people, the so-called digital natives, do not usually consume traditional media on a daily basis, they turn to traditional media in a situation of crisis.
How to vote and where to work
In Estonia, young people from 16 years old can vote in local elections since 2017. The turnout of young voters hasn’t been very high. Although there is a percentage of very politically active young people, the majority aren’t interested in this important right they have or just don’t follow the agenda and don’t see a point in voting. In my opinion, it’s strongly connected to civic education level and media literacy as its important part. Life shows that those young voters who follow the news and have an active civic position are more media literate than the average level in their age group.
What has also worked great in my project for youth is a block of peer-to-peer masterclasses where young journalists, bloggers, visual designers, filmmakers speak about their experience, journey and career, and how media literacy has helped them find their professional way. This helps young people to speak the same language, share very similar experiences, and hear about the importance of media literacy from their peers and become inspired.
Media literacy is a crucial skill in today's information-saturated world. Creating journalistic texts involves the ability to critically analyze and evaluate media content, understand its context, and produce unbiased journalistic pieces based on credible sources. This also helps students evaluate their strengths and features to improve in terms of communication, researching particular topics, fact-checking, using digital media tools, public speaking, etc. Those skills can be of crucial importance in understanding your professional career, choosing a higher education path and even looking for your first job.
And finally, don’t forget that meeting journalists and visiting editorial offices helps to open the media world to students and make it a bit closer and more trustworthy.
I strongly believe that media literacy can and should be included in many different lessons and school activities, starting from primary school. It requires motivation and certain know-how from a teacher but remember to keep the topics as close to life and practice as possible, and engage students in creative and diverse tasks. And it will all work out!
Author: Julia Rodina, NPO Tuleviku Meedia
Photo by: Margarita Mironova-Malkin / Tuleviku Meedia
This article was created in partnership with the Baltic Center for Media Excellence
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