I did a research on "What is Media Literacy" and to my surprise there was not one clear concise definition. The following website, "Media Awareness Network"(http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/teachers/media_literacy/what_is_media_literacy.cfm) provide great insight on this topic. They discussed the difference between media literacy and media education. They defined media literacy as " ... the ability to sift through and analyze the messages that inform, entertain and sell to us every day." That means understanding all the "commercial entities" out there that bring us information on music, tv, commercial etc... On the other hand media education " encourages a probing approach to the world of media"- it asks the question of who is the message for, why and what strategies to take to make the information meaningful.
Okay, I thought, so, that means that if I am media savvy, I can look at all the commercial and pinpoint what is important to me and if I am media educated I know what to use to get my point across to the audience I select.
However, I came across a video that I believe puts "media literacy" in its proper perspective as it relates to where we have gone in education in the last 100 years. I mean we have gone from Web 1.0(the stone age of technology) to now Web 2.0. I saw this video and could not stop saying "how true". The video is entitled: "Mr. Winkle Wakes"- this is what is happening in our current educational system. Please check it out!
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