Teaching Media Fluency

 Teaching Media Fluency

Media fluency is summarized by Lee Crockett as a two-part skill: receiving and producing media content (n.d.-b). Both input and output require attention to the message and medium (what is being communicated, and what is the mode of communication?). Media fluency in terms of production involves several steps: having something to say, knowing the audience, gaining technical skills to produce content, and making content accessible to others. One must have knowledge of content, design, technology, and communication to be fluent in media. 

Media fluency with receiving information requires listening to the message and interpreting meaning through the medium. A study on media literacy’s impact on students’ ability to identify reliable sources on specific platforms found that “media literacy skill occurs synchronously with a variety of media such as newspapers, television, the internet, and social media, but it is in great demand today, especially for people like students dealing with the use of information in a daily basis” (Shabani & Keshavarz, 2021). Media literacy skills are transferable and must be taught at a foundational level to then be applied to specific outlets. The skills of critical thinking, discernment, and scholarly research will apply to media literacy as well. 

Production of media requires more advanced skills than intaking it.  In a reflective article on the collaborative creation of educational media, Thomas et al. identified flexibility as an essential quality in making quality content; they had to learn “how to be flexible in response to external drivers (e.g. changing engagement format, communicating collated feedback for smooth online working)” (2021). They also needed resilience as many time-consuming U-turns took place in their process. Resiliency was demonstrated with the following reflection: “Far from being a waste of time, however, these ‘riffles’ formed an important part of the process, and ultimately led to a more dynamic and thoughtful creation” (Thomas et al., 2021).  Therefore teachers must be concerned with encouraging flexibility and resilience when teaching fluency in media production. 

Just as teachers help students gain fluency in reading (intake) and writing (output), we must now help them to gain fluency with media which is becoming their primary mode of gaining and creating information. Teachers of media fluency can build up a foundation of knowledge in their students by focusing on fostering critical thinking, discernment, flexibility, and resilience. 

References:

Media Fluency. (n.d.-b). [Video]. Kaltura. https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/index.php/extwidget/preview/partner_id/2167581/uiconf_id/39959791/entry_id/1_u2j5ajm0/embed/dynamic 

Shabani, A., & Keshavarz, H. (2021). Media literacy and the credibility evaluation of social media information: students’ use of Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram. Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, 71(6/7), 413–431. https://doi.org/10.1108/gkmc-02-2021-0029 

Thomas, M. J., Giannoulatou, I. D., Kocak, E., Tank, W., Sarnowski, R., Jones, P. E., & Januchowski‐Hartley, S. R. (2021). Reflections from the team: Co‐creating visual media about ecological processes for young people. People and Nature, 3(6), 1272–1283. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10241