Assess the Value Content of a Visual Media |Chalk Talk PH

Visual Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in a variety of form. With high volume of information now at our fingertips thanks to smartphones and search engines, today’s learners will need to become more efficient at filtering what they see and hear. In other words, it’s more important now than ever before to learn visual media literacy. So where do we start?

1. Recognizing Fake News

A study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that false news spreads faster, farther, and deeper than real news on Twitter. Learn to read past the headline, check the date and author credentials, gauge the tone and language, and identify biases. It will take more time, but ultimately it will save your time as you won’t have to double-check their sources or correct their views later on.

Always do a quick search for at least one other source that states the same thing. Most news- especially if it is momentous-gets coverage by more than one organization, so this should be a fairly clear indication.

At least in theory, Twitter is a great resource since you can follow multiple news channels and see how many sources are reporting the same information, compare differently phrased headlines for the same story, and easily navigate back and forth between full article and feed. Just be sure that you are not buying into a false story that has gone viral.

2. Using Multiple Sources

When trying to spot fake news the first thing you should do is check other sources for the same story. But this is about more than truth in numbers: since different sources report different details in varying levels of depth, students will gain a fuller, more accurate perspective on an issue when they read, listen, or view more widely.

You may create a poster or a mind map listing different kinds of sources, including which ones are reliable and which ones aren’t.

3. Gauging Tone and Language

There is a difference between credible and non-credible language, whether it’s written or spoken. You must develop an “ear” for it. People are especially likely to believe what they read or hear when it’s couched in language that sounds flowery or academic.

This means you need to be good writers and speakers, and to learn as soon as possible that clear communication- not fancy or abstract language- should be your number one goal. That way, when a politician is blowing a bunch of hot air into a camera, you will be able to tell.

4. Questioning Numbers and Figures

Evaluating words often requires evaluating numbers too. Say you come across an article that claims “Students perform better in school when they get at least eight hours of sleep” and share it on Facebook, but when you take a closer look at the cited study, you find that it was only performed at one school, in one class, on six students. It’s crucial that we learn to judge the math behind the message.

You may use infographics to illustrate how numbers can trick the mind into buying the whole message, even if those numbers are skewed. You may create infographics and catch misleading facts and figures. Then hold a discussion on how false figures influence your perception and lead you to believe some messages over others.

5. Developing Multimedia Skills

One important part of being media-savvy in the 21st century is knowing how to use different types of tools, both separately and together. We now have text, audio, video, augmented reality, and 3D printing. We have social media and interactive media. We have books, newspapers, film, and TV. We have blogs and vlogs. Today’s learners need to be well versed in all of these in order to navigate the world ahead.

Considering the rapid pace of 21st century technology, you need to prepare for types of media that don’t exist yet. This means becoming as comfortable as possible with the kinds of media that currently exist, since future technologies will be built off of them.

6. Recognizing Bias

It is imperative that you recognize which channels might highlight which kinds of facts, emphasize certain kinds of contexts or angles, and use different tones. At the same time, learn to recognize your own biases, which can influence perceptions of the media as well. It goes both ways.

Biases can be political as well as personal. In an episode of National Public Radio’s Fresh Air, journalist, fake news expert, and Buzzfeed media editor Chris Silverman reveals that the kind of news which performed best on Facebook during the Clinton-Trump election was fake news that confirmed biases viewers already had. In other words, if someone posted a false news story smearing Hillary, it would be believed and shared most by viewers who already held negative perceptions of her.

You may evaluate a few sources that exemplify these types of bias, then you may write a report on how to recognize bias in the media. Possible sources might include articles, blog posts, excerpts from books, speeches, podcasts, radio or TV programs, posters, ads and commercials, academic papers, Youtube videos, or short films.

7. Curating Information

By some measures, if you began reading the Internet today and continued for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it would take you 57,000 years to reach the end. That’s a lot of information. Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately), most of us don’t have quite that much time on our hands.

With so much data to weigh through, how do we proceed as efficient consumers of media? Where do we start and stop looking, and what do we do with the information we receive? Is there a way to collect, organize, and use this data in a way that doesn’t leave us feeling like burnt toast, or wondering if we missed out on some better piece of information we didn’t manage to find?

It’s a challenge, but it’s an important one: learn how to effectively filter, select, organize, save, and use information gathered from media sources. You can turn it into a research project where you discover solutions on your own and share findings with the rest of the class.

8. Becoming Responsible Creators

It’s never been easier to create and spread a message, and to such a wide audience. You must be responsible creators of media as you will design and distribute information, on a daily basis for the rest of your lives.

Who are we affecting when we post updates on Facebook, or photos on Instagram? Is what we post an accurate reflection of we are and what our lives is really like? What’s the difference between visual material of value and visual junk? Learn how to be discerning creators of media, and explain why it matters. The world doesn’t need another selfie unless it means something.

Sources: Retrieved at https://www.canva.com/learn/10-creative-methods-to-teach-media-literacy/