Page 85 - EdViewptsSpring2019-web

5. Seek out and engage in State Department of leaders must recognize the growing
professional development and Education need to include media literacy as part
learning offered (ISTE, 2018). of daily instruction, regardless of new
Finally, the NJ Department of Educa- mandates. With that said, educational
Students tion must examine the current NJSLS leaders can avoid the backlash of hav-
Students must be empowered learners and revise those standards to include ing to respond to another mandate by
who are active in digital citizenship, who media literacy education. While there establishing a vision and plan now and
are constructing their own knowledge, are clear New Jersey Student Learning to encourage teachers and students
who are innovators, computational and Standards across all curriculum, what is to recognize the importance of media
critical thinkers, creative communicators, missing are the media and digital litera- literacy skills and to include them in daily
and global collaborators (ISTE, 2018). cy expectations. From the perspective of instruction and curricula.
a former history teacher, that will require
Colleges and Universities removing some of the content specific For more information on the bill, visit
www.njleg.state.nj.us and search for
Today’s students are true digital natives. proficiencies in order to make room for the following: S2933/A132-Information
media literacy instruction. The 2016
However, recent college graduates election was an illuminating event that Literacy for Students. For information
entering the teaching profession will fall signaled the need for educating enlight- regarding grassroots actions to address
within that category. There must be the ened consumers of media and informed media literacy throughout the US, see
integration of media and digital literacy citizens to preserve our democracy. www.medialiteracynow.org.
into teacher preparation programs. In
a review of several New Jersey col- On January 9, 2018, Bill A132 was intro-
leges and university teacher preparation duced into the NJ Assembly to mandate
programs, few had required courses re- Information Literacy as part of the K-12
lating media and digital literacy. While it Curriculum. The bill was passed to the
may be “embedded” in a methods class, Senate in September 2018. While this
is that sufficient when addressing a topic mandate would address NJ Department
that is evolving each day? of Education’s response, educational

References
American Free Press Association. (March 2015). How Millenials Get News: Inside the Habits of America’s First Digital Genera-
tion. Retrieved from https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/reports/survey-research/millennials-news/
Casa-Todd, J. (2018). Reflections on Digital Citizenship. Teacher Librarian, 45, 15-18.
Gottfried, J. and Shearer, E. (May 2016). News Use Across Social Media Platforms. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.
org/2016/05/26/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2016/
Hinchey, P., (2003). What's New In…: Introduction: Teaching Media Literacy: Not If, But Why and How. The Clearing House: A
Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas. 76(6), 268-270, DOI: 10.1080/00098650309602017.
Hobbs, R. (2010). Digital and Media Literacy: Plan of Action. Washington, DC. The Aspen International Society for Technology
Education. (2019).
Road Map for Innovating Education. (2019). Road Map for Innovating Education. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards.
Matsa, K., Shearer, E., Silver, L., & Walker, M. (October 2018). Western Europeans Under 30 View News Media Less Positively,
Rely More on Digital Platforms Than Older Adults. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/2018/10/15/social-media-bots-
draw-publics-attention-and-concern/
National Association for Media Literacy Education. (2019). Core Principles of Media Literacy in Education. Retrieved from
https://namle.net/publications/core-principles/
Pattison, D. (2018). Fake News: Teaching Skeptics, Not Cynics. Knowledge Quest. 47(1), 62 - 64.

About the Author
Elizabeth A. Sheridan, Ed.D. is the Pre-K - 12 Supervisor of Social Studies and World Language for the
Pequannock School District. Prior to her current position, Dr. Sheridan was a history teacher for 14 years in
Parsippany Troy-Hills School District and Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland. Beth received her
MAT from The American University, Washington, DC and her Ed.D. from The College of Saint Elizabeth.
Follow Beth on Twitter @Beth_Sheridan6.

Educational Viewpoints -83- Spring 2019