Celebrating the 10th Annual US Media Literacy Week

October 21-25, 2024 is the 10th annual US Media Literacy Week. This week celebrates the importance of media literacy education and the power of media in education across the country. In honor of this week, we’ve highlighted some important media of our own - educational videos that explain what media literacy is and the influence of media on societies. We take a look at the historical development of the press and perception and how to critically evaluate media messages, including advertisements and music videos.

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Introduction to Media Literacy: Crash Course Media Literacy 

What is media literacy? In “Introduction to Media Literacy: Crash Course Media Literacy,” Jay Smooth breaks this question down and explains how we consume media and the impact it has on everyday life. He discusses its importance in today's society and how to recognize the different forms of media, how they are consumed, and the concept of encoding and decoding in media messages. Jay also shares how, in a media saturated world, it is imperative to gain the skills to analyze, evaluate, and create media in a responsible and critical manner.

History of Media Literacy, Part 1: Crash Course Media Literacy

In order to understand the history of media literacy, we have to go all the way back to understanding the importance of basic literacy. In the first half of our look at the history of media literacy, Jay Smooth takes us all the way back to Ancient Greece and forward through the printing press, newspapers, and Yellow Journalism. 

“The History of Media Literacy, Part 1: Crash Course Media Literacy” delves into the historical development of media literacy and its importance in today's society.

Jay teaches viewers to recognize the impact of new media technologies on media literacy and how to analyze the concerns and arguments surrounding media and its effects. And, importantly, he shares his appreciation for the evolving nature of media literacy and the skills needed to navigate various media platforms.

Marcus Stallworth - Media Literacy

Marcus Stallworth, LMSW, has been employed in the field of Child Welfare for the past 17 years. He worked for Child Protective Services for approximately 13 years. He is recognized in the State of Connecticut as an expert witness in his professional capacity for testimony regarding severe abuse and neglect cases. The last eight years of his employment at the Department of Children and Families was dedicated to training and licensing resource parents using the PRIDE 14-step Model of Practice. Marcus joined the CWLA team in late 2012, providing training, consultation services, and curriculum development. Marcus has been teaching at the collegiate level for the past ten years. He has taught Human Services courses at the graduate and undergraduate level at multiple Universities in CT. He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Bridgeport, where he teaches many courses, including a self-created elective entitled: Social Media: The Good, Bad, and the Ugly. 

Marcus Stallworth, LMSW, is co-owner of Welcome 2 Reality, LLC, where he is the Director of Learning and Organizational Development. In his nearly two decades of work with child welfare, he shares that kids today are learning at an alarming rate, especially in technology and media. Moreover, for the first time in history, children are learning more from the media than from their parents and schools.

In “Marcus Stallworth - Media Literacy,” Marcus discusses how media is impacting day-to-day life for both children and adults and how crucial it is to be mindful of literacy in media. He shares how to analyze and critically evaluate media messages, how to interpret advertisements and social output, and how to clearly identify media communications. Learn more about how Marcus and his company are advocates for the incorporation of media literacy education into the school system.