Media Literacy Interactively and for All

As a result of the growing number of alternative media, the rise of distrust in the media, and fears of possible hybrid attacks, gaps in media literacy have become a societal problem (Haider & Sundin, 2022). Media literacy development is both increasingly important and highly underestimated in the Czech Republic’s educational system.

Interactive Courses for Secondary School Students and Senior Citizens

The paper will present the project “Media Literacy Interactively and for All” (https://medgram.cz/), which is being developed in cooperation with the Library of the Czech University of Life Sciences, the Faculty of Education of Charles University, and the University of South-Eastern Norway. The project focuses on the two most vulnerable groups regarding media literacy levels – high school students (jsns.cz, 2018) and senior citizens (Moore & Hancock, 2022). The project also connects them and tries to increase understanding between generations.

A Synergy of Knowledge and Potential of Several Universities

Libraries, in general, are a natural environment to educate the public in media literacy. This education has also been declared as a key theme for Czech libraries for 2022 – 2024. University libraries in the Czech Republic have great opportunities to contribute to the promotion of media literacy. However, they have not yet made much use of it. This paper will present how we have taken advantage of the opportunities provided by inter-university cooperation and present outcomes that can be used in more than just the Czech Republic.

In the project, we use not only the contacts we have as universities through a network of cooperating secondary schools and a network of centres for lifelong learning but also modern teaching methods and software tools. The main core consists of two MOOC courses designed to meet the needs of each group. The courses use a newly developed system of interactive electronic learning e-books and come with detailed methodologies and tutor guides. In addition, we create an escape game that links general media literacy topics with real-life examples.

References

  • Haider, J., & Sundin, O. (2022). Paradoxes of media and information literacy: The crisis of information. New York, NY: Routledge.
  • JSNS.cz. (2018). Mediální gramotnost středoškoláků a jejich postoje k mediím: Research report. Praha. Retrieved from https://www.jsns.cz/nove/projekty/pruzkumy-setreni/medialni_gramotnost_zaku_2018.pdf
  • Moore, R. C., & Hancock, J. T. (2022). A digital media literacy intervention for older adults improves resilience to fake news. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1-9.. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-08437-0

Kristyna Paulova
Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic

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