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Media Literacy Institute 2025

In the AI age, media literacy education has never been more important. This course addresses the pressing need for students to develop media literacy skills, including critical thinking and deeper insights about the media messages they consume and produce each day. Media literacy promotes inquiry into stereotypes, representation, biases, ethical challenges, and other concerns that must be…

Civic Engagement and the Impact of Artificial Intelligence

The Civic Engagement lecture series is an ongoing series with an overarching goal to highlight individuals who use their time and talent to create space for others to be civically engaged in unique ways. The April panel, Civic Engagement and the Impact of Artificial Intelligence, will focus on the opportunities and challenges of generative AI as a tool for public information. DATE:  Monday, April…

April Virtual Round Table

Join us for our first ever graduate symposium virtual round table! Our graduate symposium consists of students from around the world, who are conducting graduate research on media literacy. After refining their research focus with our executive director, Yonty Friesem, as a part of an informal, six-month virtual media literacy course, they are now ready to share their research with the Media Ed…

Fact Checking (Previously) Invisible History

Fact Checking (Previously) Invisible History: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Remembrance ProjectIt is important to study and understand our history. This is true for events sometimes perceived as “hard history,” which involved unjust, discriminatory treatment and even violence between different groups and individuals. Researching and fact checking these historical events presents unique as well as…

Media Literacy: Critical Thinking for an AI World

MEDIA LITERACY Critical Thinking for an AI WorldStarting April 12, 2025 Work with a team of Palestinian and American educators to create a media literacy program for Palestinian young adults to build resilience and critical thinking skills  WHY IT MATTERSIn today's digital age, navigating the complexities of media is crucial for everyone. Media literacy plays a crucial role in building resilience…

Bioneers 2025

Misinformation, “Truthiness,” and Critical Thinking: Seeing Through the Madness by Enhancing Media Literacy for All  One of the most disconcerting trends in modern political discourse is the increasing feeling that there is no “shared reality” between opposing sides on many issues. In a world facing so many wicked problems simultaneously, the growing inability to collectively discern fact from…

February Virtual Round Table

Join us for our first ever graduate symposium virtual round table! Our graduate symposium consists of students from around the world, who are conducting graduate research on media literacy. After refining their research focus with our executive director, Yonty Friesem, as a part of an informal, six-month virtual media literacy course, they are now ready to share their research with the Media Ed…

Free Speech in an Era of Digital Platforms

DATE: Wednesday, March 12, 2025 TIME: 10:00-11:00 AM ESTLOCATION: Online. Free  …

Digital Literacy and Fandom Culture

Read here about our full webinar series on Leading from the Library.In this webinar, we'll discuss how interest and participation in fandom culture contributes to the development of digital literacy skills. Drawing on principles of connected learning and the Virginia Tech Digital Literacy Framework, participants will explore how learning…

Media Literacy is for Everyone

In response to the enthusiasm and excitement around our last event in October, we are excited to officially invite you back to Rhode Island PBS for the next event in the recurring series, “Media Literacy is for Everyone”.  DATE: Tuesday, February 11 TIME: 5:00 - 7:00 PM ESTLOCATION: Rhode Island PBS, 50 Park Ln, Providence, RI We're dedicated to the process of building relationships, identifying…

Digital Authorship Graduate Course

Digital Authorship (EDC 534) is offered in the Spring of 2025 semester by Professor Renee Hobbs. It is one of four required courses in the Graduate Certificate in Digital Literacy. The course is offered fully online in an asynchronous format for Anytime Learning.​DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS JANUARY 20, 2025 ABOUT THE COURSE: The course examines how AI tools can be used for creative expression and…

Book Party, Media Literacy in Action, 2nd Edition

Join Renee Hobbs for a book party to celebrate the publication of Media Literacy in Action, 2nd edition!DATE: Wednesday, February 5, 2025TIME: 12 PM - 1 PM ESTLOCATION. Online. REGISTER HEREHelp students…

Together We Rise: The Next 100 Days

Together We Rise: The Next 100 Days Co-Creating Connections and Possibilities in a Time of Transition The program continues! Join us for reflection and fellowship. This weekly webinar addresses themes of social connection, political transition, stress reduction, and media literacy. Sessions include guest speakers, guided discussions, and mindfulness practices. We are co-constructing the support…

Participatory Storytelling and News

Participatory storytelling is reshaping news and public discourse, driving both polarization and civic engagement. Join us for “Participatory Storytelling and News” as we unpack insights from Kate Starbird’s research on misinformation and modern media ecosystems. Drawing on the Tech Policy Press December 2024 podcast interview with Starbird, this session explores how educators can better…

AI ChatBot Ethics

AI-powered chatbots are reshaping how we interact online, but they also raise pressing ethical and practical concerns—especially for parents and teachers. Join us for AI ChatBot Ethics as we examine how children and teens engage with these tools, from companionship to questionable information sources. Drawing on the BBC TechLife podcast “Dating a Chatbot” and recent high-profile stories, we’ll…

Reconsidering Clyde Miller and the IPA

Surviving Election Season & Beyond

Media Literacy for Concerned Citizens Disinformation, political ads, and scams…oh my! Is it safe to turn on your TV or go online these days without fear of the things that go bump in the night? Media literacy is a practice that can help you tame the media monsters, providing you and your loved ones the questions to ask about the many media messages we receive each day to identify bias,…

Media Literacy Theory of Change Model

Introducing the Media Literacy Theory of Change ModelJoin media literacy researchers Erica Austin and Shawn Domgaard to learn about a new theoretical model, published recently in Communication Theory, that conceptualizes how media literacy activates both cognitive and affective components of the message interpretation processes along with skills that can be taught, engaged, and adapted as a…

What's New at Project Look Sharp

As we start the school and academic year, we are thrilled to have the founder of Project Look Sharp, Dr. Cyndy Scheibe, to discuss how Project Look Sharp's website provides a plethora of resources to critically analyze media texts for students in grades K-12 and post-secondary courses. In this session, Cyndy will introduce how to use the website and then showcase the Project Look Sharp approach…

Teaching the Conspiracies

A 2-Week Deep Dive Micro-Credential Course for Emerging and Established LeadersBuilding upon the success of the first micro-credential course "Teaching the Conspiracies" in February's MediaEd Institute, we are thrilled to offer a new follow up with four new modules of online professional learning experience…

Perception, Fear, and Media: Roots of Polarization

Perception, Fear, and Media: Roots of PolarizationA 2-Week Deep Dive Micro-Credential Course for Emerging and Established LeadersBuilding upon the success of the February's MediaEd Institute, we are thrilled to offer a new online professional learning experience for educators who want to advance their…

Teaching Media Literacy: What Works

Teaching Media Literacy: What WorksTuesday, June 4, 2024 | 3:30pm - 5:00pm Sponsored by the Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles…

The Media That Makes Us

This webinar series features participants of the MediaEd Institute and their final projects. Learn more about the MediaEd Institute Here.  In this presentation, Erin James will share a slide deck that can be used to teach media literacy to middle schoolers. With an emphasis on girls, their adolescent identity and self-…

Revising The Media Literacy Critical Questions

The Media Literacy Smartphone was build on a long history of critical reflection of media messages. The Media Education Lab is improving the resources for practitioners of media literacy in K-12 and post-secondary education. And in order to update them, we look to redesign the critical questions for analyzing a media text to support learners and educators of all ages. Join us as we examine the…

Using Media Literacy to Confront Glamorous Illusions

  The Blank Space of Vaping PreventionUsing Media Literacy to Confront Glamorous IllusionsStep into the "Blank Space" where vaping's glamorous illusions take center stage. In this keynote address, we unravel the urgent and insidious dangers of vaping, as influenced by the deceptive allure perpetuated through social media influencers. Envision a new era in tobacco prevention,  where we will…

How to be a Courageous Citizen in a World of Weaponized Words

DATE: Mar 12, 2024 TIME: 9:00  - 9:30 AM Eastern Time (US and CanadaLOCATION:…

Postcolonial Media Studies

In this 8th and final webinar, we discuss ‘Postcolonial Media Studies: Possibilities, Challenges and Limits of an Emerging Discipline’. Speakers Radhika Parameswaran’s and Sangeet Kumar’s talk will explore how the emerging sub-discipline of postcolonial media studies can illuminate different aspects of our discipline. We will explore the possibilities and limits of postcolonial theoretical…

What Conspiracy? Media Education in/and the Mirror World

Read here about our full webinar series on Inequalities and Media Education. One of the most striking outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the spirited and public opposition to vaccinations and vaccine mandates. The gradually fraying line between virtual and offline “real” worlds increasingly…

MediaEd Forum

Join us for the 17th MediaEd Forum!We've changed the name of the Northeast Media Literacy Conference (now in its 17th year) to reflect the growing global diversity of our online knowledge community!Conference Theme: Confronting the ChallengesFriday & Saturday, January 12-13, 2024 ONLINE VIA ZOOM…

Media Literacy Matters

Renee Hobbs is thrilled to be a featured presenter at the European Digital and Media Literacy Conference in Brussels, which puts the many faces of digital and media literacy in the European spotlight during the Belgian EU presidency. February 27 - March 1, 2024Brussels, BelgiumThe conference is focused on showcasing and exchanging initiatives, tools, projects and practices that can be integrated…

E-Cig Influencers

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disability in the United States and cigarette smoking is implicated in 1 in 5 adult deaths, resulting in over 480,000 premature deaths per year. 1 in 10 high school students vape, and there are 2.1 million teenage e-cigarette users in 2023, with more than 1 in 4 using e-cigarettes daily. Learn how you can talk to teens about the social…

Learning, Design, and Play: How to Make Games and Teach Them

“Learning, Design, and Play: How to Make Games and Teach Them” focuses on ways of designing games around particular learning goals and how youth learn through playing games. A panel of designers and expert game facilitators with a variety of gaming contexts join researchers from the Literacy Research Association's Critical Gaming Literacies Study Group for this one hour event. Panelists will…

How Media Literacy Week Promotes Community

DAY: Monday, December 18th, 2023TIME: 12 pm EST | 6 pm CET | 1030 pm ISTLocation: Register for Webinar Here. In this webinar, Pamela Morris and her colleagues and students will review and reflect on their experience in developing Media Literacy Week in Columbus, which was sponsored locally by Indiana…

Media Club: A case for optimism

In this session, Maria Polski discusses how media education is enhanced by the accumulative approach, positing that a modern communicator must be competent at all levels of communication: oral, written, print, visual and digital. She presents a case for optimism: a way to encourage humans to develop and maintain the cognitive skills promoted by each of the communication technologies. A reader…

AI 101: Introducing students to generative AI

Read here about our full webinar series on AI in the Classroom  In this webinar, we’ll share a model for introducing students to some of the “big questions” about machine learning and generative AI. While many students have experience using generative AI, not all do - and many are unaware of the ways in which machine…