INDEX TO THIS EDITION:
NEW CML WEBSITE
CALENDAR
CML SERVICES & RESOURCES:
CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS:
DOWNLOAD THIS:
AROUND THE MEDIA WORLD
NEW ADDRESS

=======================NEW CML WEBSITE======================

MAJOR RE-DESIGN AND EXPANSION GIVE CML WEBSITE NEW DEPTH

CML is excited to announce the launch of its newly expanded and re-designed website – which incorporates a wealth of articles, teaching resources, and easily understandable media literacy theory, background and history. These elements, collected and created over the past 30 years, are presented with engaging new graphics and organized into easily navigable sections and topic areas. Be sure to take the site overview "guided tour" which provides a step-by-step, introductory "walkthrough" of the site for new visitors.

Key features of CML's new online presence include:

• Professional development materials (including leadership guides, resources and in-service opportunities)
• In-depth articles on media literacy (including historical documents, research and a comprehensive archive of over 300 articles from Media&Values magazine)
• Online browsing and purchasing of CML's recommended resources (featuring links to colorful, newly expanded product pages)

A huge thank-you goes out to CML staffer Sarah Bordac plus the staff of GPN Educational Media for the extensive collaboration and hard work put into this enormous project! And please let us know if you encounter links that don't work or any other problems; there are always bugs with new sites but we'll correct them as fast as we can.

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NEW DATES FOR FREE CALIFORNIA MEDIA LITERACY INSTITUTE

California public school teachers take note that the free, two-day institute on media literacy developed by CML and the Museum of Tolerance will be held on Sunday, March 23 and Monday, March 24 at the Museum. Be sure to reserve your spot for this wonderful learning opportunity – educators traveling from outside of Los Angeles may receive up to $100 for travel expenses and a free hotel room for Sunday evening. Contact Tools for Tolerance® for Educators at: (310)772-7625, or email: mot@wiesenthal.net for additional details and to obtain a registration form for this exciting event.

=====================CML SERVICES & RESOURCES===============

1. NEW CML/GPN FULL-COLOR CATALOG RELEASED

Watch your mailboxes! The Center for Media Literacy / GPN Educational Media are releasing a new, full-color catalog featuring All CML-endorsed products (including 50 new resources)! Grouped even more cohesively for educators, there are new sections with resources for Staff Development and Teaching in a Media Culture. A particularly helpful feature are Standards connected to different product subject areas. New foundational teaching tools carried exclusively by CML include the new CML MediaLit Kit"! and Assignment Media Literacy.

If you're not currently on our catalog mailing list, be sure to sign up here.

2. ASSIGNMENT: MEDIA LITERACY NOW AVAILABLE FROM CML

CML is pleased to announce national distribution of the acclaimed Assignment: Media Literacy program created by Dr. Renee Hobbs for the State of Maryland with funding from the Discovery Channel. The program is the first comprehensive, U.S.-based media literacy teaching package linking to standards across the curriculum and articulates well with core standards in most every U.S. state. The Elementary Unit (K-5) is the first to be made available and features a 162-page curriculum guide, lesson plans, reproducible worksheets and a 40-minute video with 11 segments supporting hands-on learning activities. SNAPS Photo Cards for visual analysis are also included. Reports from hundreds of Maryland classrooms indicate the curriculum is not only user-friendly for teachers but also effective in increasing critical thinking and reading skills as well as creative writing and communication. CML and GPN are delighted to make the curriculum available throughout the US!

3. CML AND LAUSD COLLABORATE ON NUTRITION EDUCATION PROJECT

The tie between "junk food," advertising and children's eating habits recently hit the headlines in an unusual way. A lawsuit against McDonald's alleges that the restaurant contributed to two children's diet-related health problems. This is just one of the stories circulating about a potential correlation between fast food, food marketing and the rise of obesity and illness in U.S. children. Working with CML, the Los Angeles Unified School District has decided to address this important theme by collaborating on an innovative three hour presentation for K-12 teachers titled "Media Literacy: A Recipe for Action." CML's Regional Coordinator of Training, Jeff Share, describes it as "training that suggests ways to use media literacy as a means of integrating nutrition education into the curriculum." Plans are in the works to potentially expand the program to additional local schools.

A strong teaching tool connected to nutrition education is (one section of) of the classic, best-selling resource, Buy Me That, 3!: The Kid's Survival Guide to Food Advertising – which deals with the "construction" of ads and how foods are made to look so appealing. Also check out PBS' food advertising-oriented media literacy site at: http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/.

4. CML CONDUCTS SESSION AT PBS RTL CONFERENCE

CML President, Tessa Jolls recently conducted a seminar for PBS Ready to Learn outreach coordinators who work with teachers and parents of young children. The 90-minute presentation introduced the Center's new media literacy teaching tool, the CML MediaLit Kit™ and provided an overview of how media literacy is currently implemented by two PBS outreach professionals, Lynne Christian of KCET, Los Angeles and Tracie Klosterman of Nebraska Educational Telecommunications. Watch for more about CML's groundbreaking new MediaLit Kit"! in future editions of CONNECT.

5. CML FOUNDER CONTRIBUTES TO MINDFULNESS IN THE MARKETPLACE

CML founder Elizabeth Thoman, along with forty-three other religious thinkers and activists, weighed in on perspectives related to economics, corporate power, and globalization in the new book, "Mindfulness in the Marketplace: Compassionate Responses to Consumerism." The collection of essays, published by Parallex Press, includes contributions from Buddhist leader Thich Nhat Hanh and His Holiness the Dalai Lama! Liz's chapter, titled Re-Imagining the American Dream is on the CML website at: http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article79.html. To purchase a copy, click here.

===================CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS==================

1. NMEC STUDENT MEDIA FESTIVAL DEADLINE APPROACHING

The deadline for submitting projects to the National Media Education Conference's Student Media Festival is right around the corner - March 8th! Educators who are members of AMLA may enter media productions on behalf of individual students or student groups. For full details including selection criteria, log onto: http://www.amlainfo.org/smf.html. Also, now is the time to make plans to attend NMEC, "Literacy and Liberty: Rights, Roles and Responsibilities in a Media Age" taking place from June 28 to July 1st in Baltimore, MD. Read more about it at: http://www.amlainfo.org/nmec_conf.html.

2. NEW CLASSROOM RESOURCE FROM MEDIACHANNEL

A great, new on-line media literacy resource center is available for K - 12 educators at mediachannel.org. The site features helpful tips and tools for teaching media literacy and articles on different subject areas.

======================DOWNLOAD THIS=========================

1. KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION ISSUES REPORT ON TV SEX

CML's Elizabeth Thoman and Jeff Share recently attended a Museum of Radio & Television event presenting the Kaiser Family Foundation's third biennial Sex on Television 3: Content and Context study. A key finding was that while depictions of sex on TV are still prevalent, shows are now more likely to at least include "safer" sex issues such as using protection.

A strong resource for extending this important issue into the classroom is the video Teen Sexuality in a Culture of Confusion [please link to product page] – which is currently available in CML's online and print catalogs.

2. COPYRIGHT ISSUES EXPLORED BY FREE EXPRESSION POLICY REPORT

With increasing use of the Internet, issues such as copyright and "fair use" are hotly debated topics. The Free Expression Policy Project's report, The Progress of Science and Useful Arts: Why Copyright Today Threatens Intellectual Freedom tackles these subjects with a fascinating look at the challenges to art, scholarship, and free expression posed by current copyright law. A key goal is to help inform the dialogue (which also includes trademark, patent, and "trade secrets" law). FEPP Director Marjorie Heins also offers an insightful and provocative examination of "indecency" laws aimed at protecting children from cultural harm in her book Not In Front of the Children ,currently available through CML's online and print catalogs.

Another FEEP program parents, educators and after school programs can utilize is The Youth Free Expression Network which is extending an open call for young people aged 13 - 21 to act as writers, artists, and speakers on issues of censorship and free expression. Selected student-produced works will be displayed on the YFEN website. For more details, log onto: www.fepproject.org/yfen/about/contact.htm.

3. MEDIA OWNERSHIP ANALYZED BY 11 YEAR-OLD CHILD

A fascinating article in CONNECT FOR KIDS describes why media ownership matters to children - and is authored by an 11 year-old girl. Her Open Letter to the FCC "on behalf of kids in this country" is an excellent example of children examining media with a critical eye. Use this piece as a model for your students or children to develop their own perspectives about different media issues.

====================AROUND THE MEDIA WORLD================

Which magazines would you (or your students) identify as the top-sellers in America? If you guessed Time or Newsweek – you're in for a surprise! An article in Daily News Business lists the nations five leading publications as InStyle, Real Simple, Cosmopolitan, Architectural Digest and People. Use this information to engage students in a lively discussion about different magazine themes, writing styles, and audiences. What types of articles would be found in different publications and why might certain magazines out-sell others?

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The CENTER FOR MEDIA LITERACY is a non-profit organization established to promote critical thinking about the media and to provide leadership, training and resources for media education in schools, religious and community organizations.

In the global media culture of the 21st century, we believe in empowerment through education for children, young people and adults.

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