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Media education is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to the study of media. Media education deals with key media concepts and focusses on broad issues such as the history and role of media in different societies and the social, political, economic, and cultural issues related to the media. Instead of addressing the concepts in depth, as one would in media studies, media education deals with most of the central media concepts as they relate to a variety of subjects.
Value of Integrating Media Education
Popular music, TV, film, radio, magazines, computer games, and information services all supplying media messages are pervasive in the lives of students today. Media education develops students' abilities to think critically and independently about issues that affect them. Media education encourages students to identify and examine the values contained in media messages. It also cultivates the understanding that these messages are produced by others to inform, persuade, and entertain for a variety of purposes. Media education helps students understand the distortions that may result from the use of particular media practices and techniques.
All curriculum areas provide learning opportunities for media education. It is not taught as a separate curriculum.
The key themes of media education are:
English Language Arts critiquing advertising and examining viewpoints
Visual Arts analysing the appeal of an image by age, gender, status, and other characteristics of the target audience
Personal Planning examining the influence of the media on body concepts and healthy lifestyle choices
Drama critically viewing professional and amateur theatre productions, dramatic films, and television programs to identify purpose
Social Studies comparing the depiction of First Nations in the media over time
This summary is derived from A Cross-Curricular Planning Guide for Media Education, prepared by the Canadian Association for Media Education for the Curriculum Branch in 1994.
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Revised: January 25, 1999
