Meeting the Needs of All
Meeting the Needs of All
In a country with over 300 million residents, there is no “one-size-fits-all” program. Many different types of programs will be necessary to help build a community education movement for digital and media literacy. Both formal and informal learning environments can support the development of people’s digital and media literacy competencies. These skills can be developed in the home and through programs in K–12 schools, libraries, museums, summer and afterschool programs, local cable access centers, college and universities, and non-profit organizations.
It is important to maximize effectiveness by developing community-based informal or formal learning programs that reach specific sub-groups or targeted populations. For example, K–12 programs reach children and teens, university programs reach young adults, and libraries and cable access programs reach working and non-working adults. But many groups of American citizens go without access to resources or programs that support digital and media literacy education. There are some underserved audiences that will benefit from special opportunities to develop digital and media literacy competencies.
Minority Children, Youth and Families – A recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that African-American and Hispanic children ages 8–18 spent more than 12 hours daily in some form of mediated experience, which is nearly two hours more than white children (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010). Meanwhile, all parents are faced with many decisions about parenting in a technology-saturated society, as children may watch videos in the car, play videogames on cell phones as early as age three, have their own cell phones by age seven or eight, and create their own Facebook pages before reaching their teen years.
Special Education Students – Students enrolled in special education programs may be more vulnerable to media influence because of limitations in skills, including comprehension, inference-making and using social or environmental cues. They may not recognize the difference between informative and persuasive messages, for example, or may be quick to click on a link based on purely visual cues. Yet these young people also need the ability to use the media in all its forms, including new and emerging forms of technology that may be helpful in supporting their learning.
Juvenile Offenders – Young people who experience the juvenile justice system may be among the most vulnerable to negative messages in the media because of the lack of supportive adults and other resiliency factors. But when exposed to digital and media literacy education, they can receive valuable benefits from using the power of media and technology for reflection and expression, building self-esteem, advocacy and critical thinking skills.
New Immigrants – These individuals are highly motivated to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in their new homeland. Many use communication devices and media to stay connected with family and their countries of origin. But they also may use media and technology as a “window on the world” to develop language skills and to understand American culture and values without appreciating the unique characteristics of the American commercial media system, which differs in fundamental ways from those of many other countries.
Senior Citizens – Older people are heavy consumers of television and may be particularly vulnerable to certain persuasive messages, (e.g., advertisements for prescription medicine, over-the-counter drugs, and nutritional supplements). Improving their digital and media literacy would not only help them better evaluate this information, it would also offer them the benefits of information sharing and the social connectedness available through social media. In the United Kingdom, the Silver Surfers Program provides one-on-one assistance for seniors who need support as they master basic computer skills, including using the mouse, keyboarding, and file management. SeniorNet has been doing the same in the United States since 1986.
Sadly, there are too few programs in the United States that help bring digital and media literacy to special education students, parents of young children, those in juvenile justice programs, new immigrants, people with disabilities, and senior citizens. To meet the needs of all the members of our communities, it will be important to support the development of customized, replicable and scalable digital and media literacy programs to reach these underserved groups. It is necessary to do so in the environments where learning already occurs.
