BMED101 - IfE

BMED101
Media Literacy and Society

MQF Level: 6

ECTS Value: 3 ECTS

Self Study Hours: 60

Contact Hours: 25

Assessment Hours: 40

Overall Objectives

This unit aims to introduce course participants to the relationship between Media Literacy and Society. In this day and age, one cannot oversee the importance Media Literacy skills have in contemporary society. This unit will use Malta as a case study and shall study reports of Media Literacy attainment skills, underpinned by various academic theories around this field of study. This unit is seen as imperative for future Media Literacy teachers to identify with the socio/economic and cultural aspects that Media Literacy impacts directly or indirectly.

By the end of this programme, participants should be able to:

Competences

a. Critically evaluate Media Literacy as a system of knowledge;
b. Develop arguments around the validity of Media Literacy for today’s Digital Age;
c. Critically assess Media Literacy and its impacts on consumption.

Knowledge

a. Identify the role of Media Literacy in contemporary society;
b. Identify key Media Literacy skills compatible with today’s digital citizenship requirements;
c. Explain the importance of Media Literacy education in today’s society.

Skills

a. Investigate how Media Literacy skills empower individuals in today’s society;
b. Raise awareness about the importance of Media Literacy attainment skills;
c. Determine the role of digital media towards effective Media Literacy education;
d. Determine the growth of digital media in today’s learning culture;
e. Critically assess the importance of Media Literacy education in today’s society;
f. Critically evaluate the impacts of Media Literacy in the 21st Century citizenship.

Assessment Methods

This module will be assessed through: Reflective Journal, Class Presentation, Forum/Peer Review
Discussion.

Suggested Readings

Core Reading List:

1. European University Institute (2017). Measuring media literacy in the EU: results from the Media
Pluralism Monitor 2015. [online] Italy: Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Centre for
Media Pluralism and Media Freedom. Available at: http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/45004/RSCAS_2017_01.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowe
d=y
2. European University Institute (2016). Media Pluralism Monitor 2016 Monitoring Risks for Media
Pluralism in the EU and Beyond Country report: Malta. [online] Italy: Centre for Media Pluralism and
Media Freedom. Available at:
http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/46805/Malta_EN.pdf?sequence=1&
3. San Antonio, D. M., Broadening the World of Early Adolescents. ASCD [online], Available from:
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/apr06/vol63/num07/abstract.aspx

Supplementary Reading List:
1. Timss & Pirls International Study Centre, (2011). Timss & Pirls. Boston College: International
Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).
2. OECD (2015), Students, Computers and Learning: Making the Connection, PISA, OECD Publishing.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264239555-en
3. Bräuchler, B. and Postill, J. (2010). Theorising media and practice. New York: Berghahn Books.