Building a Lesson Plan for Global Media Literacy

What skills/attributes do you think a media literate person should have?

Media Literacy definition: Ability to access, analyze, evaluate and communicate messages in a wide variety of forms. Media literacy is umbrella concept, which promotes pedagogy of inquiry, to make “asking critical questions about what you watch, see, and read” stand at the center of what it means to be media literate (Hobbs, Journal of Communication 1998, p. 28).

GLOBAL MEDIA LITERACY

Critical Thinking & Critical Skills

IDENTIFY how news matters to civil society

MONITOR and compare media coverage

UNDERSTAND the media’s role in shaping global issues

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Civil Society & Global Citizenship

DEFEND the importance of Freedom of Expression for good governance, economic development, informed citizens & global pluralism

PROMOTE news literacy by creating and supporting good media

MOTIVATE media to better cover global issues and events (Olympic Study)

Some notes on Global Media Literacy

by Stephen D. Reese, Academy Faculty

Media literacy, definition and goals (what comes to mind?)

Definition

Ability to access, analyze, evaluate and communicate messages in a wide variety of forms. (often focusing on visual media, television). Media literacy is umbrella concept, which promotes pedagogy of inquiry, to make “asking critical questions about what you watch, see, and read” stand at the center of what it means to be media literate (Hobbs, Journal of Communication 1998, p. 28).

Basic assumptions of media literacy movement

• Media are pervasive and powerful,

Especially television

• Students (consumers) should become more critically autonomous from media

Note distinction between citizens and consumers

• Media as accessible popular culture can be effective teaching tool

We can’t wait to see you!!

Well, the countdown is really here and many of you should be finishing packing and heading for the airport very soon.

I just got an email from Natalia Bocassi, who’s coming from Argentina and saying goodbye to friends…including WAY COOL (!) Jorgelina who was here at the Academy last year. (LOL!!!) As Natalia says, part of their goodbye was Jor giving her “pieces of advice in order to be practical in taking things to Salzburg!” Natalia didn’t say what Jor considers practical–but I’m hoping that Natalia bringing Argentinian music is one part of it. (Everyone, don’t forget to bring your music from home!)

Oh, one last bit of information. The weather was spectacular here today–blue skies and 26/27 (or in the high 70s or low 80s for you Americans)–and is expected to stay that warm throughout the week, although the reports are saying that rain showers are likely on and off from Tuesday on. So don’t forget to pack the rain jacket and some shoes that will survive the wet! (But don’t worry about umbrellas–we’ve got big ones here for everyone to borrow.)

Safe travels, everyone.  And try to get some sleep on the plane!

Getting the Van Shuttle at Munich Airport

Many of you will be coming to Salzburg via the Munich airport, and from there taking an airport shuttle van to Salzburg–directly to Schloss Leopoldskron. Let me give you directions to get there.

DIRECTIONS FOR ARRIVING AT TERMINAL 2:  I believe most of you will arrive at Terminal 2, the main (long-distance flights) International Terminal.

There is only one baggage claim and customs hall in that Terminal. You will come out of customs/ baggage claim doors and immediately turn RIGHT down the hall–you’ll walk past a bakery and supermarket on your left (really!) and then the left-luggage place. You’ll also pass a few shops on the right (the first shop will be the coffeeshop Starbucks). Most of the way down the hall there will be four kiosks on your left (like the rental car kiosks in most US and international airports). One of the middle ones has someone on the desk for Salzburg–there’s a yellow sign above that will list Salzburg as one of the stops.

Give the person behind the desk your name and tell them you’re going to Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg. You don’t need an address beyond that–and they SHOULD have your name/reservation anyway. Then it’s a guess about how long you have to wait. Since so many of you are coming in on the same flights, it may well be that you’ll have the bus to yourselves. (The vans are very nice–easy to sleep in!) I’ve been generally lucky about the wait, but sometimes it’s 45min or so. If you get hungry the supermarket and the bakery next door to it offer lots of choices to eat and drink and I think are better on a morning stomach than the pizza place (which is right next to the door outside on the hallway you’re in). If you need one, there’s a bathroom right near the van kiosks too.

DIRECTIONS FOR ARRIVING AT TERMINAL 1:  In order to find the shuttle company desk from Terminal 1 you should do the following:

After you collect your bags, pass through passport control and exit the arrival terminal to the main part of the airport, turn left and follow the signs towards “Airport Center.” This will lead you down one level and eventually you will come to a place with shops and restaurants. When you get to the place where there is train information (ticket machines and stairs to the “U Bahn”), turn right. You can still follow the signs to “Airport Center.” After turning right and walking past the “U-bahn” and train information area you will come to a desk in the middle of the hallway that has a sign saying, “Transfer Service.” Go to this desk and tell them your name and confirmation number. You may also want to show them a printout of the attached document. They will be expecting you and they should already know your destination. You may have to wait for a little while if there are others with whom you are sharing a shuttle. They will bring you right to Schloss Leopoldskron which is the home of the Salzburg Global Seminar and the location of the Academy.

The ride to Salzburg is a good hour and a half to two hours (depending on traffic), and the scenery is nice if not spectacular–it gets much prettier the closer you get to Salzburg and the mountains. We’re usually the first stop they drop off at.

Also note that the person behind the van counter at the airport usually speaks a little English–the driver may not.

Final List of Attending Institutions

Here is the final list of schools attending the 2008 Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change.

We’ll have all the students information posted soon!

PS: We hope that everyone is working to complete the pre-academy assignments, and we look forward to seeing everyone in LESS THAN ONE MONTH!

AFRICA

Makerere University (Uganda)

Polytechnic of Namibia (Namibia)

Stellenbosch University (South Africa)

ASIA

Tsinghua University (China)

EUROPE

University of Bournemouth (UK)

MIDDLE EAST

American University of Beirut (Lebanon)

NORTH AMERICA

University of Maryland (USA)

University of Miami (USA)

University of Texas (USA)

CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICA

Ponitificia Catolica Universidad (Argentina)

Ponitificia Catolica Universidad (Chile)

Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico)

Pre-Academy Homework and Review

Before arriving in Salzburg, all participants need to prepare for the Academy by completing the homework assignments that have been sent via email and by reading/reviewing the media literacy material already on the Academy website. Specifically, here are your two responsibilities:

1. PRE-ACADEMY HOMEWORK – Look out for your email with the subject heading: “Salzburg Academy: Homework to be completed before coming to the Academy.” Completing these assignments by the deadline - JULY 14 – is very important to the success of the Academy. Send in your work as soon as possible. If you have any questions, contact executive producer James Blue. If you have technical questions about how to email your homework contact Dr. Jad Melki.

2. (REVIEW) – GLOBAL MEDIA LITERACY ANALYSIS CRITERIA – In 2007, the Salzburg Academy participants created a wealth of information around the 5 A’s of Global Media Literacy – Access, Awareness, Assessment, Appreciation, Action. You will be using the 5 A’s to build your lesson plans this summer. CLICK HERE to visit the Global Media Literacy portion of last year’s web site and review the work. Please make note of how the 5A’s were defined and used.

Lastly, review the general reading and resources posted on the Academy web site, (under the RESOURCES section). Familiarizing yourself with these texts will further help you prepare for an engaging and intense three weeks.

Thanks for your attention to these tasks. For general questions about the homework, please contact Dr. Paul Mihailidis.

We looking forward to seeing you all soon!

The Salzburg Team

Academy Perspectives

To the right of this post you will see a new section on the blog, called Academy perspectives.

This part of the blog is for you to hear from the class of 2007, and to enter into dialog about the Academy and some of the experiences that you can expect to encounter. We have enlisted a host of 2007 Academy alumnae from around the world to post ideas and contribute to discussions. The first two posts are from students Aaron Novak (what to expect in Salzburg) & Dani Parnass (perspectives & global politics).

PS: NEW POST FROM ORLY GOLDSMITH, MEXICO, CLASS OF 2007!

We would love for you to read these comments, share thoughts, ask questions, provoke new ideas. It’s never too early to engage with the critical thought that the Salzburg Academy engenders.

Please go read, respond, and engage!

The clock is ticking…and it’s a beautiful day here in Salzburg…

Everyone,

I wanted to add a welcome from here in Salzburg, where I am already living at the Meierhof where you all will be staying for three weeks (see my updated post below for information about your rooms and what to bring).

I’m sitting in my apartment here with the windows wide open and I can turn one way and see the current group of Salzburg session fellows from all over the world who are here for a session on Asia and the Pacific. They are sitting out in small groups on the various terraces, talking over coffee and tea and enjoying the sun and the view over the lake and the mountains. Just about every week another international group comes to the Schloss and settles in to work on some major global issue. (Visit the Salzburg Global Seminar website to get a sense of what else goes on here).

And like you will, they work sometimes indoors in a formal lecture hall or in seminar rooms, but at other times, you can find them seated on benches by the lake, or with their feet in one of the fountains, or lounging on the grass next to the rose gardens–still at work but enjoying the day and the spectacular site.

Every once in a while someone will look up at the group of swans (a gaggle of swans?) who are lording it over the lake’s edge with their ducklings (goslings? swanlets?)–all making lots and lots of noise because they want to be fed.

If I look in the other direction from the lake terraces I can see the fort on the small mountain that looms over the old town of Salzburg–huge and white against the blue sky, and a wonderful place to explore during a few hours off from classes and work.

It’s also fun to wander the main street–for shopping or just to enjoy all the wrought iron signs!

And then if I turn just a bit further I can make out the platform towers for the diving boards at the swim center next door (see the post on those pools below too). I can’t see too much, but I can hear lots of laughter and lots of splashing coming from the slides!!

So start making your packing lists, make sure you have the little things: such as a passport, maybe a plug adapter for your laptop if you’re bringing one, and sunglasses. Oh, and don’t forget to pack in a raincoat too. Just in case!

Looking forward to seeing you all. Very soon.

Susan

Welcome to the 2008 Salzburg Academy!

First, congratulations for being selected to participate in the 2008 Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change! We’re very excited for this summer, and it’s our pleasure to welcome you all.

Second, welcome to the Salzburg Academy Blog, where you’ll find lots of fun, interesting, and relevant information you’ll need between now and July 29th.

Here’s what you will find-now and in the lead up to the Academy-on this blog:

1. Photos and Bios of all participants -
See the column on the right? That’s where everyone will be featured, with a headshot and small bio. As the names of the students are posted, feel free to write a note, introduce yourself, and get to know your fellow participants before July!

2. Logistical Information for Salzburg – Below this post you’ll find lots of needed logistical information for salzburg, including What about Laundry? How do I call home? What’s around the Schloss? and so on. More information will be posted as the Academy nears, so make sure you read what’s up now and look for more new information.

3. In the Media/On the Media – New and interesting media topics are regularly updated for the Academy, as a way to sensitize us to some of the issues we’ll be discussing at the Academy. If you see any interesting media events/issues/topics/coverage, that you would like to share, please send it in to us, and we’ll post for all to see and discuss.

4. Reading Requirements – In the lead up to the Academy, you’ll have to do some reading/preparation for the program. We’ll be posting readings/preparatory work to this blog sometime in the summer. We’ll notify everyone when this happens.

5. Rooming Assignments - Below on this post, you can read a bit about the room/board at Schloss Leopoldskron. You’ll note what amenities are included in the rooming, and what isn’t. As we near the Academy, we post the rooming assignments of all the students, so you can talk to your roommate (or you may have a single room) a bit before you arrive.

Information on the blog is constantly updated, so check in regularly to hear more about the Academy this summer, and to chime in on some of the discussions we may have heading into what should be a memorable experience.

Best, and we’re all very excited for this Summer.

- Salzburg Academy Team -

If You Want to Arrive Early in Salzburg or Stay Late…

Several of you have asked whether it would be possible either to arrive a day early or stay a day or two later because of plane connections or other issues. We checked with the Salzburg Seminar management who run the “hotel” facilities, and at this point the rooms are not all completely booked (although they may well be as the dates get closer). So, the short answer is that you (or family members) could reserve rooms before or after the Academy session, but you would have to pay for them. Salzburg would give you the alumni discount rate, contact Paul to inquire more about this rate.

If you don’t want to pay that much, there are other hotels and a hostel/pension that are relatively close to the Schloss as well as to town that are recommended:

Hotel Josefa http://www.hotel-josefa.at/
Hotel Hoelle http://www.hoelle.at/
Jugendgästehaus Salzburg http://www.jfgh.at/salzburg-e.php

Another option is to simply look on the Salzburg Information website under accommodation. www.salzburg.info. There you can search for rooms based on price, location, etc.

FYI, for the future, Paul has posted the names and links of these hotels, etc. on this site–look for the link at the right.