Concerted Action: New Media Literacy Report Outlines Research & Policy Agenda

The Oxford Internet Institute’s Monica Bulger shares the findings from a new report on media literacy policy and research in Europe and explains that the increasing importance of media literacy in today’s world is an opportunity as well as an obstacle

Is using technology for learning a good idea?

Monica Bulger takes a critical look at a recent OECD report about the benefits and drawbacks of using computers and technology to aid children’s learning. She concludes that talking to children about what they like to learn and how is the best way forward to support them. Monica leads the Enabling Connected Learning initiative at the Data & Society Research Institute specialising in children’s rights in digital and learning spaces

Mjerenje medijske pismenosti u nacionalnom kontekstu: Izazovi definiranja, metoda i primjene

General consensus among policymakers and academics is that media literacy is the ability to access, analyse, and evaluate media in multiple forms and communicate competently within these forms. Yet this seemingly straightforward definition presents methodological challenges in measurement, especially within a national context. Conceptually, approaches to measuring media literacy are often broadly inclusive, without necessarily considering how media literacy is enacted or identifying specific examples of media literate actors within daily contexts. Logistically, indicators are often defined in terms of existing data or data that can be easily collected, rather than choosing stronger measures identified through empirical research. This article examines the methodological challenges associated with measuring national levels of media literacy using the recent Testing and Refining Criteria to Assess Media Literacy Levels in All EU Member States as a case study. The article concludes by recommending more focused measures that account for practices, contexts, and shifting policy priorities.Političari i znanstvenici dijele mišljenje da je medijska pismenost sposobnost pristupanja, analize i vrednovanja medija u različitim formama te kompetentna komunikacija unutar tih formi. Ipak, ta definicija koja se čini preciznom predstavlja metodološke izazove u mjerenju, posebno unutar nacionalnog konteksta. Na razini teorije pristupi mjerenju medijske pismenosti često uključuju mnoge aspekte i elemente, bez nužnog razmatranja kako je medijska pismenost usvojena ili identificiranja konkretnih primjera medijski pismenih aktera u svakodnevnim kontekstima. U praksi su pokazatelji često definirani postojećim podacima ili podacima koji se mogu lako prikupiti, a ne odabirom jačih mjera koje su identificirane kroz empirijsko istraživanje. Ovaj članak istražuje metodološke izazove povezane s mjerenjem medijske pismenosti na nacionalnoj razini koristeći kao studiju slučaja nedavno objavljeno “Ispitivanje i ponovno definiranje kriterija za procjenu razine medijske pismenosti u svim zemljama članicama EU”. Na kraju se predlažu preciznije mjere koje se odnose na praksu, kontekste i promjenu političkih prioriteta

A global research agenda for children's rights in the digital age

Taking the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as a starting point for evidence-based policy regarding children’s rights in the digital age, we offer a global research agenda designed to produce evidence of value for policy makers working to promote children’s rights. Informed by research reviews and interviews with international stakeholders, four priorities for theory and evidence are identified: (i) the provision of opportunities that confer benefit, recognising that this may be defined diversely according to the cultural context, (ii) the protection of children from risk of harm, including understanding the relation between vulnerability and resilience, (iii) the balance between risk and opportunities, especially to allow for children’s participation even in risky opportunities, (iv) the framing of the research agenda (in terms of concepts, design, measures, and priorities) and the evaluation of policies and initiatives in collaboration with researchers and practitioners from the global South

They know everything: understandings of data privacy among teens in East Asia

In this blog, we report on interviews with teens in East Asia, many of whom are urban poor. We asked what social media apps might know about them, exposing a broad spectrum of understandings of data privacy. This is the third in a series of field dispatch reports conducted by Monica Bulger and Patrick Burton in East Asia for UNICEF’s East Asia and Pacific Regional Office in spring of 2019 [1]

The dark side of social media: child trafficking in East Asia

The internet offers many opportunities to children but in some cases, it can be associated with serious risks of harm for the most vulnerable. Monica Bulger and Patrick Burton talk about their research at a juvenile shelter in Jakarta, child trafficking and who is responsible for vulnerable teens’ well-being online. This is the fourth in a series of field dispatch reports conducted by in East Asia for UNICEF’s East Asia and Pacific Regional Office in spring of 2019

The dark side of social media: interviews with exploited teens in East Asia

When considering online risks and harms, it is important to account for the experiences and requirements of excluded populations of kids, rather than make assumptions around lack of access that could exclude them from targeted policies and systemic interventions to keep children safe online. Monica Bulger and Patrick Burton talk about their research at an assistance centre in Bangkok, online child sexual exploitation and what can be done to protect vulnerable children online. This is the final in a series of field dispatch reports conducted by in East Asia for UNICEF’s East Asia and Pacific Regional Office in spring of 2019. [1] Warning: this blog describes first-person accounts of sexual exploitation

Is Learning Really a Phone Call Away? Knowledge Transfer in Mobile Learning

Mobile learning can positively contribute to the development of learning communities by providing communication options that span contexts and locations, are available whenever, and are used virtually everywhere (Alexander, 2004; Sharples, Taylor & Vavoula, 2005). At UC Santa Barbara, we are currently conducting a campus-wide study that examines whether students’ use of technology, both within and beyond the classroom, correlates with academic performance. While we primarily concentrate on the use of course websites accessed with non-mobile devices, we have begun to use a Performance-Based Feedback System (PBFS) to explore (1) how to extend the instructor-student feedback loop beyond the traditional classroom setting, (2) how knowledge transfer can be accomplished using mobile devices, and (3) what technical challenges must be overcome. In this paper, we examine ways that mobile networking technologies can foster the creation of learning communities and provide new methods for studying knowledge transfer.University of California, Santa Barbar

The promise of media literacy education when “everything is at stake” and “everything is expected”

In the midst of a tumultuous time in American and global history, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Conference 2021 hosted a panel to explore the promise and limits of media literacy. Panelists discussed the vital role of media literacy education in responding to challenges to democracy, social justice, and public health. With “everything at stake,” the panelists moved through responses to current crises while grounding in a historical context and offering recommendations for the future. Curated transcripts share a pivotal moment when much was expected of media literacy and media literacy experts explored promise and possibility with an engaged audience of journalists and journalism educators