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Join CML Staff and 500+ Media Educators from 6 Continents at National Media Literacy Conference in Baltimore June 28 - July 1

It's going to be the largest gathering of media educators and the biggest media literacy conference ever to be held in the USA! Over 500 educators, community leaders, researchers, health experts, religious and youth leaders will come together at the end of June to participate in 75 sessions, workshops, panels and conversations with 170 speakers from every continent but Antarctica! Add research poster sessions, new video screenings, caucus gatherings, the Media Literacy Media Awards, a youth media festival, exhibits, a bookstore with author signings, an evening crab feast, box lunches and breaks for networking, networking, networking – and it all rolls up into the dynamic 4-day National Media Education Conference 2003 at the Wyndham Inner Harbor Hotel in Baltimore, June 28 - July 1.

Five CML staffers will play key roles in the conference including Elizabeth Thoman and Jeff Share conducting CML's acclaimed "Crash Course in Media Literacy" as a Saturday pre-conference: Media Literacy 101; Tessa Jolls and Jeff sharing lessons learned from Project SmartArt, CML's federally funded demonstration project on media literacy and violence prevention; all three will join Andrea Tompkins and Sarah Bordac throughout the conference in the CML/GPN Resource Center, Bookstore and Preview Room where CML's resource catalog comes to life and you can examine and preview over 200 books, videos, DVDs and teaching curriculum endorsed by CML and available for purchase through GPN Educational Media.

• Conference schedule and list of presentations and workshops
• Keynote Speakers and special events
• Online Registration + link to hotel reservation site
• Pre-conference Seminars, including Media Literacy 101
• Or download the 16 page registration brochure with everything you need

See you in Baltimore! And be sure to introduce yourself and tell us what you'd like to see more of in CML CONNECT!

California Teachers Have Second Change to Attend Free Media Literacy Institute, June 8 - 9
If you are a public school teacher in California, don't miss out on a second chance to attend our free program, "A Special Institute on Media Literacy: How to Empower Youth to Make Sense of Our Media World!" Following the success of the March institute, CML and the Museum of Tolerance are pleased to offer K-12 public school educators another opportunity to attend the two-day Tools for Tolerance^® for Educators program June 8 and 9 at the Museum in West Los Angeles. Sessions will address the impact of the media's role in representing society and the challenge this presents for anti-bias education. Registration requires a refundable $10 deposit (to reserve a spot) - and includes travel and hotel accommodations for one evening along with some meals (conditions and restrictions apply). 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.

Pacific Film Archive Presents Visual Literacy Workshop, June 19-20
High school teachers in the Berkeley, California area take note of an intensive, two-day workshop, "How to Read a Film" presented by the Pacific Film Archive and designed to help educators prepare students to better "read" the diverse and complex images surrounding them-including film, television, and computers. Sessions will expose teachers to the basic practices of visual literacy while encouraging the productive use of media within the classroom. Top-notch presenters include Kathleen Tyner, Steve Seid, Joe Lambert, and Mindy Faber. The cost is $60.00. For more information, call Steve Seid at: 510/642-5253.

CML SERVICES & RESOURCES

Enliven your classroom, library or home collection with the latest media literacy resources from the Center's May, 2003 selection of new product releases. Fourteen "New For You" titles are now available exclusively online with topics including: photography, multimedia production, oral communication activities, CNN's coverage of the first Gulf War, September 11, radio pioneers, film censorship, youth video production, and women in Hollywood. Look for our next new releases in July.

Click here to access CML's complete online Media Literacy Catalog.

Enhance Teacher Inservices with 'MIND OVER MEDIA'
Looking for a program that models "best practices" in media literacy classroom instruction? This is it! With summer fast approaching, now's the time to plan staff in-services for both summer and fall. Mind Over Media is an ideal tool for media literacy teacher development. The 60-minute video shows dynamic educators (grades kindergarten through high school) putting media literacy "into action" across the curriculum – and in classrooms from New England to California. Produced and aired nationally on Court TV in collaboration with the National Education Association and Cable in the Classroom, the program's four 12-15 minute segments make it ideal for in-service training or to introduce media literacy to parents and community leaders. Although low in cost, this is a high value, foundational teaching tool enhanced by a 30-page online leader's guide 30-page online leader's guide written by the NEA.

CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS

Radio Provides Creative Foundation for Language Arts Lessons
The more a student can "own" a lesson or apply it to their personal experiences, the more engaged and "connected" they will be with its subject or theme. Radio provides a creative foundation for young people to document stories about their lives – and to express how they see the world around them. It also supports language arts and production skills such as research, interviewing, expression, storytelling, communication, listening, recording, and editing. Use the following two lesson ideas to ignite personal storytelling and news reporting in your classroom.

The wonderful site Radio Diaries from Joe Richman and Radio Diaries, Inc. (producers of the NPR series "Teenage Diaries") provides detailed description on how children can create their own radio documentaries or "diaries." There are success stories, basic principles, technical tips, interviewing guidelines, web resource referrals, youth radio resources – and even a downloadable "Teen Reporter" PDF handbook (featuring the collective knowledge of a long history of radio reporters, producers and storytellers).

Another engaging lesson incorporating language arts, global history and media studies for grades 6 - 12 is the New York Times Learning Network's Radio Free School: Writing News for Radio – wherein students explore radio news formats, styles and sequences – then write segments for a student-centered news radio program.

Also, be sure to check out CML's website Focus Page on History of Media which explores the evolution of media in areas such as news, comic strips, the computer age and photography.

Related Resources:

• Empire of the Air – Ken Burns documentary on three of radio's early pioneers.
• Talking Radio – Historical account of the rise, decline and rise again of radio. Great reference book.
• Radio Out of Thin Air – Video on the history of radio featuring technological breakthroughs, early pioneers and early broadcasts.

Internet Lessons Stimulate Storytelling and Reporting Skills
The power of media and technology in the classroom can be seen in innovative projects young people are crafting using the Internet. For an example of how 60 college sophomores created their own series of web essays, check out Dr. Renee Hobbs' Media Analysis Project (or MAP) in which conceiving and producing websites helped students discover how to use the unique features of a website for expression and communication. Access these student-produced sites at: http://mediastudies01.babson.edu and http://mediastudies02.babson.edu.

For more ideas on how to incorporate Internet activities and lesson plans into your own class, check out the following pages:

• Internet lessons from the Media Awareness Network - on issues such as web hoaxes, hate on the Internet, freedom of information/privacy and online marketing to kids.

• Two timely lesson plans come from the New York Times Teacher Connections. Don't Believe the Type: Exploring Internet Hoaxes and Their Impact involves students exploring Internet ethics in order to create a "Guide to Internet Honesty", and is appropriate for grades 6 to 12. And in Web Writer's Block: Investigating Internet Censorship Around the World students evaluate websites banned in various countries and investigate the reasons why particular regions would want to block information from their people.

• Cable channel WAM! airs Mark's Web World – a commercial-free, 30 minute series for teens highlighting the latest in computer technology, the Internet, web sites and reviews of new computer software related to particular show topics. The program may be taped and used in the classroom for up to one year from original broadcast.

• Be sure to also check out CML's website Focus Page on Computer Literacy/Digital Revolution for articles and additional information on the Internet, digital technology and computers.

Related Resources:

• The Web-Savvy Student – Activities designed to help students ask basic critical thinking questions about messages they receive from the Internet. A CML best-seller.
• A Student's Guide to the Internet – Excellent guide on the basics of Internet use.
• Growing Up Digital – Exploration of young people's relationship to digital technology-fascinating for parents, teachers and policy-makers.

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AAP Provides Guidelines for Family Internet Use
Parents looking for guidelines on how to use the Internet at home will find the American Academy of Pediatrics' online article, "The Internet and Your Family" very helpful. Topics include: what children can find on the Internet, how to "surf" the net, different Internet uses, and monitoring content.

CPB Report Finds Less Internet Access for Disadvantaged Children
With the Internet becoming an increasingly common tool for communication, research and information (both at home and in the classroom), it's easy to overlook the fact that many disadvantaged children still do not have easy access to the technology. A recent study by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting reveals a continued disparity between young people who have access to the web – and those who do not.

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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. We rely on tax-deductible grants and individual donations to sustain and expand our work. Thank you for your support.