There are many
examples of successful programs relating to media, technology, and information literacy. States and local school districts have developed these tools to help teachers and students become more fluent with the ever changing landscape of access to information in our schools and tap into the vast efforts being taken to keep our students safe and secure online at school and in the home.
There is no silver bullet to solve the many challenges states face when developing a comprehensive approach to building media and information fluency skills. The Center for Media Literacy has a "
Lit Kit" that may help get you started. We know, however that it is crucial to share the success stories and your vision for media fluency with community leaders; parents: and federal, state, and local legislators – providing them with the information they need to make the case for more focus on this issue within their sphere of influence.
Remember, parents have a lot of power to shape policy and funding decisions in many school districts! Listed below are some of the mechanisms states are using to share information about their programs. A communication strategy should include some or all of the following ideas:
Building Support for Your Media Fluency Plan: State Level
Include an article describing your proposed plan in your state’s monthly newsletter that is distributed to multiple stakeholders
- Send a letter to state colleagues setting up a task force or other meetings to encourage consistency and systemic reform to media fluency across curricular areas
Publish an article in an education journal (see attached list of prospective magazines) that describes the need, how your state is addressing the need, and what you propose for the future (your proposed plan!)
Building Support for Your Media Fluency Plan: Local Level
- Use your network of educational technology professionals to broaden the technology literacy discussion to a more comprehensive Media Fluency approach – Use the rationale and research provided in this toolkit to craft a message that works for your state
- Encourage your district champions (ed-tech, librarians, media specialists, etc.) to meet with local newspapers to discuss how media can be utilized in the classroom more effectively - plan and become a consistent resource on this topic by sending them examples, background, and relevant news as it becomes available
- Create workshops to demonstrate how this approach to Media Fluency will benefit administrators, teachers, and students
- Send emails to district ed-tech and media literacy champions suggesting they implement Technology & Media nights (see attached flyer)
- Collect the feedback from those Technology & Media nights to refine your Media Fluency Plan
- Invite federal, state, local legislators, community leaders, and parents to visit schools where there are existing programs in place that highlight the potential of your proposed plan
Building Support for Your Media Fluency Plan: Legislators
- Send a letter with a two page overview of your plan to members of the local school boards
- Craft regular communications to school superintendents, principals, other local officials to promote your proposed program – update them on progress, share what other states have done, and provide them with facts to support the need for a systemic media fluency effort
- Meet with (or arrange for your strongest champions to meet with) federal, state, or local legislators to go over the details of your plan
- Offer real data, facts and your vision to legislators to be included in testimony, policy justification documents, or draft legislation
State Educational Technology Directors Association