Social Media Literacy for Change MOOC #infolit #EUmedialiteracyweek

Many events are being recorded on the European Media Literacy Week listing database which is here https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/european-media-literacy-events
One that caught my eye is the Social Media Literacy for Change MOOC "co-created by European Schoolnet in collaboration with a group of teachers for teachers" which runs 29 April 2019- 12 June 2019. It is in English, with translation of content and transcripts of videos in Greek, Spanish, Italian, Latvian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Dutch and German. The 5 modules are: What is social media literacy? What is a social media literacy strategy? How to develop a meaningful social media literacy strategy at your school? Implementing your strategy. Assessing the effectiveness of your strategy. The project is part of the Future Classroom Lab initiative. To register go to http://fcl.eun.org/sml4change/mooc
Photo by Sheila Webber: pitch for the ScienceTruck project at the EU Media Literacy Week conference

Webinar: Media and Information Literacy for Informed Citizens in the Digital Age #infolit #EUmedialiteracyweek

To celebrate European Media Literacy Week, on Friday March 22nd 2019, 10.00-10.30 UK time (see https://tinyurl.com/y4s6gbwg for times elsewhere in the world) we (the Information School, University of Sheffield, UK) are presenting a webinar: Media and Information Literacy for Informed Citizens in the Digital Age.

In this webinar, experts from the University of Sheffield’s Information School will highlight the value of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) for citizens’ lives, and the contribution that information and library professionals can make to developing MIL. I (Sheila Webber, Interim Co_chair of the European Chapter of the Global Alliance for Partnerships in Media and Information Literacy) will chair the webinar, give my perspective on the European Media Literacy conference held earlier in the week, and introduce UNESCO’s MIL CLICKS campaign (Media and Information Literacy: Critical-thinking, Creativity, Literacy, Intercultural, Citizenship, Knowledge and Sustainability https://en.unesco.org/MILCLICKS).

My colleagues Dr Laura Sbaffi, Dr Pamela McKinney and Dr Sophie Rutter will provide insights into the value of MIL in areas such as evaluating health information and monitoring wellbeing, as well contributing perspectives gained through educating information and library professionals to support citizens’ MIL.

It is free and open to all (you will need to download the free Adobe Connect app, if you do not already have it installed). At the seminar start time go to https://sheffield.adobeconnect.com/european_media_literacy_week and you will get accepted into the seminar as a guest. Email s.webber@sheffield.ac.uk if you are having problems. There is information on using Adobe Connect here: https://helpx.adobe.com/adobe-connect/using/connection-test-connect-meeting.html

There is no requirement to register, but if you want to get reminders and easily insert the event in your calendar, register here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/media-and-information-literacy-for-informed-citizens-in-the-digital-age-tickets-59128979369

Media Literacy projects #EUmedialiteracyweek #infolit

The next session at the European Media Literacy Week conference is Testimonials from inspiring media literacy projects and initiatives.
Cecilia Roos (Head of Strategy) and Gabriella Thinsz, Head of Content, Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company (UR) https://www.ur.se/about-ur talked about their educational mission (creating educational media for those at primary to university level). They felt they could be "a counterwight to false information". They also talked about the importance of transparency (a word that has come up a lot today). An example was a weekly (Friday) news programme aimed at 8-12 year olds, where they extended the programme for a few minutes to give the young audience a chance to ask questions about the process of interviewing and news production at the end.
Žarko Čižmar (Director, Telecentar) emphasised the need for media literacy education and talked about the "media lab" concept which was project based education, needing teachers who are able to facilitate. They also have a project "In search of Truth", which uses digital storytelling, focusing on difficult questions - this is the Telecentar website http://telecentar.com.hr/
Christian Radler (Head of Research and Development, ARD) had to improvise, since they couldn't find the powerpoint he'd provided. He talked about a data journalism project, creating engaging data visualisations about climate change (with a focus on the question - if it isn't stopped, how hot will it be in 2080?).
"How in the world can we make the European Union more relatable" is the question they are focussing on now - it is a multilanguage project that should be online before the European elections in May (a pity this wasn't achieved 3 years ago....)
Pavel Pavlov of Hyperaspect was next up. They are developing a system for media monitoring and gave some examples of what they can map.
Finally a Masters student and a new journalist (I won't try and guess their names from having heard them briefly) talked about testing out some tools. They were part of a group of about 30 young people, some of whom were reporting on the conference, some of whom were using a particular tool to create content etc. A group was working with Truly Media (pictured above), a tool made for collaborative work, to examine content to see whether it could be verified.

Quality media and #medialiteracy tools and issues #EUmedialiteracyweek #infolit

I'm liveblogging the 2nd (post-pleasant-lunch) panel session Quality media and media literacy tools: which roles and perspectives for stakeholders and civil society in the digital environment? at the European Media Literacy Week conference in Brussels. In fact the session didn't really focus on "tools", but it brought out various key issues in this area. James Ball opened the session to introduce the idea of using tools to counter the forces of clickbait, hackers etc., as well as talking about principles that platforms, journalists and regulators need to follow.
The session chair is Maja Cappello (Head of Department for Legal Information, European Audiovisual Observatory). Panellists were: Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck (CEO and Founder, Lie Detectors); Tessa Lyons Laing (NewsFeed product Manager, Facebook); Gianni Riotta (Journalist and Professor, LUISS, School of Journalism); Matt Rogerson (Head of Public Policy, The Guardian); Claus Grewenig (Vice President Governmental Affairs, Mediengruppe RTL).
von Reppert-Bismarck introduced her project/organisation, an independent non-profit, http://www.lie-detectors.org which has journalists visiting schools to raise awareness about the issues of false news. This is seen as having a dual purpose of educating students and encouraging journalists to step away from their everyday job and engage with young people to talk about what journalists do (and also what can go wrong). I will just throw in here that it is disappointing that they don't seem to be working with school librarians, who surely are obvious partners.
Riotta cited research about the correlation between loss of journalism (e.g. (I think) a local newspaper disappearing) and the rise in polarised ideas, the loss of trust etc. Therefore the importance of responsible journalism had become even more evident. They are working on a prototype for a tool which links  the item of news you are looking at with that item's rating by others.
Laing talked about some of things Facebook has done, for example, to reduce the amount of false information (including disrupting the ways in which it could gain attention) or to link items with fact-checkers' information about the item. They are funding various research and awareness initiatives.
Grewenig talked about the importance of "traditional" media, and how media broadcasting from organisations like his, and quality journalism, should not be taken for granted. Ball (as a Guardian journalist) picked up on the word "traditional" and how it often got used pejoratively. He emphasised "traditional" media's accountability for their content, with clear channels for complaint and comment, and also (referring to the Guardian) their responsibility for what advertising appears with their content. This includes a philosophy of open information on the web, considering the diversity of the journalists themselves, and having an education centre that brings in younger people to see what happens in the newspaper.
Cappello asked about challenges. von Reppert-Bismarck felt that the fast moving scene was a challenge, including teachers keeping up with developments and encouraging younger people not to get blase and bored about the issue. Grewenig was asked to talk about whether anything was being done specifically looking to the elections in May 2019, and combatting a fake news effect there. He agreed with a previous speaker that media literacy had to be developed through people's everyday lives, or they would not pay attention to it (or would resent it being pushed in their faces). Part of it was explaining the complex processes, finding a balance between quick news and reliable news, and explaining and admitting when things go wrong.
Ball talked about the need for banning social media being used for microtargetted political campaigns. It worried him that things were still going on as they had been before recent scandals (about using social media politically).
Laing said that research had shown that changes Facebook made had had an impact on false news etc. She said that political advertisers now have to show who paid for the advert and some other key information, so there is "greater transparency and awareness". von Reppert-Bismarck asked why some apps which could be used to check facts had been disabled by Facebook (Laing talked about the tension between protecting information and enabling sharing). von Reppert-Bismarck also asked a question about Whatsapp (but I'm afraid I didn't grasp the Q & A coherently enough).
Riotta brought in the issue of how reality is warped and constructed by those who want to manipulate people's ideas and behaviour by using social media etc.
Someone from the audience asked about the role of the tech platforms. Ball mentioned concerns raised when feeds from sources like the Guardian were given less priority on Facebook, and that making news "flat" (so the branding wasn't evident) could also be an issue when people are trying to judge quality. Grewenig talked about findability and access being imprtant, to identify quality news.
One of the points raised in the wrap up was the tension between freedom of choice and free speech, and regulation (definitely a problem that can't easily been solved).

Public Authority roles #EUmedialiteracyweek #infolit

Next for my liveblogging at the European Media Literacy Week conference is a panel discussion: Which role for public authorities in supporting quality journalism and fostering media literacy skills among citizens?. The panellists are: Helga Trüpel (Member of the European Parliament); Jean-Paul Philippot (Director-General, RTBF); Celene Craig (Chair, European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA); Luboš Kukliš (Chair, European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA); Mirta Lourenço (Chief, Media Development, UNESCO);  Wout van Wijk (Executive Director, News Media Europe); chaired by Madeleine De Cock Buning (Professor of Digital Politics, Economy and Society at European University Institute, Florence).
Kuklis introduced the work of the 4-year-old European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA), and he emphasised the role and value of regulators. This theme was taken up by Graig, who advocated their value, particularly in working collaboratively. Graig also mentioned the Irish regulations and the work of Media Literacy Ireland: there seems to be information about that here: https://www.bai.ie/en/viewers-listeners/understanding-media/
Trüpel stressed once more the responsibility of journalists, tech companies and the media, and touched on the tension between free speech and free internet (on the one hand) and the need to regulate and control misinfomation and anti-democratic action in the media (on the other). She felt that "good regulation" was needed to tackle the problems, but most of all responsible action from the socialmedia platforms and search engines.
Philippot outlined his organisation's media literacy policy, which had the ambition "From media targets to media actors: develop people's ability to be media productive", which involves developing critical thinking skills. The action plan includes elements such as "highlight and explain our editorial choices", for example telling the audience why a sensational murder is not featured as the headlined choice. It also included involving all staff, and engaging the audience/creators actively with workshops, tours and dialogue (e.g. there is an "Inside - behind the scenes" initiative). Philippot also mentioned the European (and regional and federal) elections, and specific campaigns to encourage citizens to think critically about information and to make informed decisions.
Mirta Lourenço made the first reference to Media and Information Literacy (MIL) (at last!). She talked about the MIL Curriculum for teachers and how it has been implemented in some countries, the MIL assessment framework, the Global MIL conference, journalism handbook etc. (all of which I have blogged previously) She also identified that there is a need to focus on MIL of older people as well as younger people. One of the other things she mentioned is types of education for journalism. De Cock Buning asked about how UNESCO's initiatives could support vulnerable countries, and Lourenco emphasised that its initiatives were indeed aimed at these vulnerable countries. She added that because of a lack of literacy in many of these countries, and because of the many languages spoken in some of them, they needed to use a variety of media. Because of lack of electricity, unreliable bandwidth and because the mobile phones are not advanced models, basic media such as radio are still important. Lourenco also called for a harmonisation between the European Media Literacy week and Global Media and Information Literacy week.
Finally, I'm pleased that the need to look at the media of literacy of older people is being recognised, but I'm completely fed up with the lazy ageist anecdotes about people's fathers', aunts' etc. stupidity when engaging with media.

Opening of Media Literacy Week Conference #EUmedialiteracyweek #infolit

Today I will be doing some liveblogging from the European Media Literacy Week conference in Brussels. As usual with liveblogging, these are just my on-the-spot impressions, and I will be using my iPad to do some of the blogging, and that often has a mind of its own (bah, autocorrect). The conference is livestreaming, go to the conference web page and scroll down for the link. Kate Russell, a tech journalist, is acting as MC for the day and she talked about the growth of news and information.
The opening talk was from Mariya Gabriel (Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society). She emphasised education in media literacy, the relevant regulations of the Regulations introduced in the European Union, and the specific objectives of this week. She talked about the importance of critical engagement with information and news, and the need for education in this area, and the requirement for education outlined in the regulations, requiring action from all stakeholders. In particular educators were singled out for their particular role, including developing media literacy resources (sadly I don't think she mentioned librarians at all.....) and the obligations of media platforms to do more to fight disinformation and promote transparency. European Media Literacy week is seen as an opportunity of promoting the ideas, vision and experience of those engaged in media literacy. providing access to media and information and developing media literacy was seen as vital for the democratic vision of Europe.
Valer-Daniel Breaz (Minister of Culture and Audiovisual, Romania) Also emphasised the importance of a coordinated approach to tackling misinformation, since media had become a more important force than any state. Therefore citizens need media literacy competences, whilst media producers need to use technology and ethical approaches in publishing information. Breaz mentioned the proposals in the area of media literacy and the combat of misinformation e.g. in the report produced at the end of 2018 (which I have blogged previously) and in the EU's audiovisual regulations. He also emphasised the need for free and transparent information in the lead up to the European elections, which take place throughout the EU in May. Again he noted the need for education of young people, so that they were media literate both in consuming and creating media and information. Braez said it would be valuable both to share resources across the EU, to have a means to evaluate information for the benefit of EU citizens, and to have a means to compare Media Literacy initiatives across the EU.
Finally in this opening session, Ronald van Roeden gave a talk on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, The Netherlands). He also identified the need for a responsible press and media and media literate citizens in the run up to the elections for the European Parliament, and he also mentioned the forthcoming elections in the Netherlands. Journalists and media platforms were identified as having a particular responsibility in combatting fake news, and thus supporting openness and freedom. He advocated starting with the fundamental values of the European Union and saw effective use of technology to combat fake news (and understanding how technology is used to promote fake news). In the Netherlands they started a campaign earlier this month (linked to the elections), urging people to be curious and critical about news. Van Roeden talked about the differences between older people and younger people in their beliefs and reactions to media, and he said that there is more focus now in raising the awareness of older people about the dangers of fake news. He finished by showing a special edition of a Donald Duck comic focusing on diving into the digital.

European Media Literacy Week #EUmedialiteracyweek #infolit

The first European Media Literacy Week takes place this week (18 March to 22 March 2019) https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/european-media-literacy-week "The goal of the European Media Literacy Week is to raise awareness of the importance of media literacy across the EU and to highlight different existing initiatives, in particular those at regional and national level". Events include a conference taking place tomorrow in Brussels: I am attending this and aim to liveblog some of the sessions.
There is a list of events here https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/european-media-literacy-events. We (Information School, University of sheffield) have organised a webinar at the end of this week to celebrate European Media Literacy Week and I will publicise this shortly.
Hopefully next year this might be amended to European Media and Information Literacy week ;-)

Panel discussion post from ACRL Instruction Section: Whiteness, inclusion, and #infolit

The (US) ACRL Instruction Section Research & Scholarship Committee has a blog-post panel discussion for its 2019 Research Agenda Conversation. The panellists are: Shaundra Walker (Interim Library Director at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Georgia, USA); Ian Beilin (Humanities Research Services Librarian at Columbia University, USA); Rafia Mirza (Humanities Research Librarian at Southern Methodist University, USA). They were invited as they were contributors to the book Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Science.
The questions they address are: (1) What can the library and information science researchers and/or information literacy instructors gain from exploring theories and methods from outside traditional library science? (2) From your personal experiences, what approaches have been most effective in improving the inclusivity of your information literacy instruction? (3) Why is it important for information literacy instructors to understand their own racial identities? (4) How do you see Whiteness impacting discussions of information literacy? Do you see understandings changing? (5) What for you are the most interesting current developments in library information literacy instruction research? (6) What advice would you give to librarians who are trying to formulate their own research agenda?
Go to https://acrl.ala.org/IS/instruction-tools-resources-2/professional-development/research-agenda-for-library-instruction-and-information-literacy/2019-research-agenda-conversations/
Photo by Sheila Webber: late winter sky, Sheffield, February 2019

Call for proposals: Add to Your Methodology Toolkit: From Reflective to Participative Action #infolit

There is a call for presentations or workshops for an event on June 7 2019, at the City University of New York, USA, organised by their Library Information Literacy Advisory Committee: Add to Your Methodology Toolkit: From Reflective to Participative Action. Possible topics are: open pedagogy (project-based learning, etc. in an “open” environment); active learning (gaming, concept mapping, group work, etc.); reflective practices (journaling, etc.); interdisciplinary (close collaboration with faculty instructors in other disciplines); multi-shots; low tech/no tech orientations; mobile device-driven lessons. The deadline for submissions is April 5 2019, and the form is here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19C4bVKB77jH137XFdiDikEBLusCR7kLcatrHR2sZkc0/viewform?edit_requested=true Registration is here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1NePujvnOm-b5ziFQTz-XTYBKZe8Chyxb0UMkjcRK5T8/viewform?edit_requested=true and slightly more info is at https://infolit.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2019/03/05/2019-lilac-spring-training-call-for-proposals/
Photo by Sheila Webber: spring blossom, March 2019

Public library digital participation programmes – the impact on #employability #infolit

There is a blog post summarising results from a project funded by the CILIP Information Literacy Group (with additional financial support from the Scottish Government): Public library digital participation programmes – the impact on employability. The post is by Lindsay McKrell, Team Leader for Libraries and Archives, Stirling Council, and Angela Short, Digital Inclusion Officer. "Work IT is a flexible programme of digital support for employability offered by libraries in libraries, established in response to increased demand for job-related IT assistance ... It was felt a dedicated Digital Inclusion Officer could offer effective digital support to jobseekers, enhance skills and build confidence in a local library setting. We applied for funding for an action research programme to investigate this and were awarded a bursary from the Information Literacy Group of CILIP funding a Digital Inclusion Officer for 4 months. Scottish Government Digital Participation Unit funding allowed us to extend the research period by a further 10 months and the research programme ran from September 2017 – November 2018. Through partnership working and 1-2-1 support the Officer engaged with a large number of jobseekers, 32 of whom attended four or more times and agreed to participate in the research. Findings showed participants gained new skills and confidence and after attending the percentage using the internet to find information rose from 22% to 54%."
Go to https://infolit.org.uk/ilg-funded-project-public-library-digital-participation-programmes-the-impact-on-employability/ for the blog post and the report is at https://infolit.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Work-IT-FINAL-Report-201218.pdf
Photo by Sheila Webber: West Port Gardens, Edinburgh, March 2019

Teachmeet: #UX methodologies #infolit #Libteachmeet

CILIPinKENT, together with Canterbury Christ Church University and University of Kent, have organised a TeachMeet on Tuesday, July 2, 2019 in Canterbury, UK on: Use of UX methodologies to review, develop, and create services in our libraries. They are seeking presenters, deadline May 1 2019: "Typically, presentations can be between 5 and 30 minutes, and would be followed by questions from the audience or a discussion. We're looking for case studies, successful or unsuccessful stories, personal experiences and lessons learned from ideas, strategies and practical implementations you've put in place." The online proposal form is at https://goo.gl/forms/my9gETZma3V7zJxE2 and full info on the event is at https://www.cilip.org.uk/blogpost/1637183/South-East
Photo by Sheila Webber: Observatory Hill, Edinburgh, March 2019

Teachmeet: #Reading for pleasure and reading for academic study #infolit #libteachmeet

There will be a free Library & Academic Study Skills TeachMeet at Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK, on Tuesday 7 May 2019. The theme is Reading for pleasure and reading for academic study. Deadline for proposals for presenting is 29 March 2019 (2 tickets only remaining at the moment). They are looking at reading from 2 perspectives: "(1) Reading for pleasure - how we encourage the reading of non-academic texts to promote confidence, improve wellbeing, and develop empathy and inclusivity, as well as increasing academic attainment. (2) Academic reading - how we develop the reading of academic texts, looking at the strategies, tools and techniques that we can use to facilitate academic success" "At this free event we will share our ideas, experience and innovative practice. This TeachMeet is aimed at higher education library staff and academic study skills practitioners working in this region. To register (as presenter or audience) go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/sheffield-hallam-university-library-amp-skills-centre-teachmeet-18717922656
Photo by Sheila Webber: crocus, Sheffield, February 2019

Librarians Active Learning Institute

Applications are open for the annual Librarians Active Learning Institute (LALI) and the Archives and Special Collections track (LALI-ASC), which take place at Dartmouth College, Hanover, USA. LALI runs July 8-10 and August 5-7. LALI-ASC runs July 17-20 and August 14-17."By exploring evidence-based practices that advance student learning, you will come away with new approaches and ideas to incorporate into your teaching. Your students will have more fun, learn more, and maybe even change their minds—and yours—about what library instruction can accomplish." It costs US $500 for LALI and $575 for LALI-ASC (this includes accommodation and meals) and there are some scholarships available. More info at https://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/home/about/lali/
Photo by Sheila Webber: lily of the valley, Faroe Islands, May 2007

#WorldBookDay

Today is what the UK and Ireland call World Book and Copyright Day - there are news items and information on events at https://www.worldbookday.com/
Meanwhile the rest of the world normally celebrates World Book and Copyright Day on April 23, since it "is on this date in 1616 that Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors, such as Maurice Druon, Haldor K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo" (http://www.un.org/en/events/bookday/) https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/worldbookday

#MILCLICKS webinar on Facebook

Today at 3pm UK time, 4pm Paris time, 9am Mexico time there will be a live Facebook event on the MILCLICKS Facebook page: How to define search words and how to use different types of resources in your research? Dr. María Luisa Zorrilla Abascal (Autonomous University of the State of Morelos, Mexico) will talk on the topic and answer questions.
Go to https://www.facebook.com/MILCLICKS/
MILCLICKS, Media and Information Literacy: Critical-thinking, Creativity, Literacy, Intercultural, Citizenship, Knowledge and Sustainability, is a UNESCO initiative and the website is here: https://en.unesco.org/MILCLICKS

Children and parents: media use and attitudes #infolit #medialiteracy

Ofcom (the UK media and communications watchdog) have published (at end of January 2019) the Children and parents: media use and attitudes report 2018. As usual, it is based on robust research: 1,430 in-home interviews with parents of 5-15s and children aged 8-15 were conducted, along with 630 interviews with parents of children aged 3-4: undertaken in April-June 2018. It includes parents views about their children's use of media and devices.
Selected statistics are: "TV sets and tablets dominate device use [by the 5-15 year olds], but time spent watching TV on a TV set (broadcast or on demand) is decreasing"; Netflix is popular; "YouTube is becoming the viewing platform of choice, with rising popularity particularly among 8-11s. Within this, vloggers are an increasingly important source of content and creativity" "Online gaming is increasingly popular; three-quarters of 5-15s who play games do so online"

In terms of news, they had undertaken a news consumption survey of 12-15 year olds.  "TV and social media are important sources of news, but many have concerns over the accuracy and trustworthiness of news on social media" "A majority of online 12-15s think critically about websites they visit, but only a third correctly understand search engine advertising" 80% had heard about the concept of fake news and 43% of those who went online said they's seen fake news.

Go to https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/media-literacy-research/childrens/children-and-parents-media-use-and-attitudes-report-2018
There is also a report: Life on the small screen: What children are watching and why (also published in January 2019). This was an indepth study, with a purposively varied sample of 40 young people in the UK (aged 4-16), with the young people keeping diaries, with usage on devices being logged automatically, and this being followed up with interviews and observation. There are very interesting insights into the children's lives, and how their engagement with media fits into this. Video is very important, especially Youtube, and going out and meeting up with friends etc. was seen by some as too much effort. "Overall, children seem most attracted to content that they can view on their own device, over which they can exercise maximum choice, and which directly feeds the things that interest them."
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/media-literacy-research/what-children-are-watching-and-why The page that collates these reports and ones from previous years:  https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/media-literacy-research/childrens

There is also a report by Stéphane Goldstein reporting on the launch of these reports https://infolit.org.uk/ofcom-event-making-sense-of-the-media/
Photo by Sheila Webber: at Livecrumbs, Edinburgh, March 2019