Introduction.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the formal introduction of our Graduate Program in Media Literacy which was officially approved by the university administration on May 5th, 1999 . 4 years earlier , teaming with The National Telemedia Council [ publishers of The Journal of Media Literacy ] from Madison, Wisconsin , we convened the first National Media Literacy Conference in the U.S.A. – held on our North Carolina campus in September 1995 .

Among the distinguished speakers at that conference were David Buckingham from the United Kingdom , Barry Duncan and John Pungente from Canada’s , Association for Media Literacy , David Bianculli [ best known today to NPR listeners ] , Fred Garcia and Alan Levitt from the Office of National Drug Control Policy at the White , Renee Hobbs , Elizabeth Thoman and many others.

The graduate program which offers both a 36 hour degree and an 18 hour certificate in media literacy , grew out of that conference. Our approach recognizes and respects the distinctly American context for media literacy , sometimes called media education or media studies outside of this nation. At the same time , it utilizes international research and international experience in articulating key principles and best practices for media literacy.

Media Literacy has been identified as an essential skill by The Partnership for 21st Century Skills . Our home state of North Carolina has recognized the need for those skills and faculty in this program area are uniquely qualified , and uniquely experienced - in our ability to continue to lead the way toward nurturing media literate students and citizens.

Whether working on the Boone campus , delivering courses online , teaching at our apartment in New York City or providing intensive week-long summer classes , the program offers challenging and creative courses that stress media design, production , theory and analysis. Featured guest faculty during our week long summer courses have included national and internationally recognized media educators including David Buckingham , Barry Duncan , Kathleen Tyner , Jean Kilbourne , Carole Gerster Chris Sperry , Frank Baker, Nicki Soice and others . These short sessions give students the opportunity to work closely with outstanding faculty and interact with students from across the state and throughout the country.

Tools & Schools

While our program focus is on the role of media in classroom and society – we also concentrate on the way schools have traditionally acquired and applied media/ technology . Instructional Technology [ CI 5630 ] is a required course in the program. It models a more effective and efficient approach to technology in the teaching/learning process ; challenging teachers and administrators to save time and money by aligning tools, tasks, learners & educational environments.

With 2010 rapidly approaching it is worth observing that it was a century ago that the first silent motion picture projectors entered American classrooms. It was more than a decade later before teachers were trained in how to utilize those tools. The paradigm remains with us as schools acquire equipment with little in the way of sustained or differentiated staff development.

If these technologies are ever to truly transform education we have to realize that it’s not the hardware or the software but the underwear that makes the difference between success and failure. Or to state the obvious , a SmartBoard is only as smart as the teacher using it and teachers need and deserve time and numerous opportunities to interact with emerging technologies if we ever expect them to embrace them and use them effectively.