Media Literacyand Digital Citizenship

Using Research Projects to Teach

A study by Common Sense Media found that children ages eight and under spend more than two hours a day on screen media, with TV taking up 58 minutes, followed by mobile time with 48 minutes a day.

The increasing availability of information and access to devices for young learners means it’s more important than ever that educators emphasize the importance of media literacy and digital citizenship in their classrooms. This includes encouraging students to think critically about the messages and credibility of the media they are consuming, as well as the media they are creating online.

Children today have more access to media than ever before.

• 95% of these children live in a household with at least one mobile device• 78% have a tablet in their home• 42% own their own tablet

Research projects can be an excellent opportunity to introduce media literacy skills to students, even those in preschool or kindergarten. Research projects teach students to engage in safe online practices, evaluate sources, and contribute to the conversation about a given topic.

1) Setting the Stage What is the purpose of your research project? This may depend on the age of your students. Preschoolers or kindergarteners may need to start with a simple project such as researching a favorite animal online. This allows them to practice collecting and synthesizing information on a topic they already find interesting. Older students may be able to apply their research towards answering a deeper question or creating a persuasive argument. Be sure to ask students to answer a question that isn’t Google-able, and encourage them to give explanations based on evidence.

Implementing Media Literacy in Your Research Project

The best research projects are multi-faceted. Objectives can include:• Teaching students technical skills such as using online databases, Google docs, and

search engines• Encouraging critical thinking skills like evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing sources• Promoting social-emotional skills• Giving students the opportunity to share their findings with an audience

This eSchool News article details how librarian Andy Plemmons used a grade-wide research project to teach students to consider positive character traits and extend their voices to a global audience.

2) Finding Credible Sources In a world where the words “fake news” are thrown around with wild abandon, it is crucial thatstudents are trained to evaluate their research sources at an early age. Invite students to de-fine as a class what reliability means to them, and to explain why they would trust one source over another.

Implementing Media Literacy in Your Research Project

One of the first things young researchers need to be taught is the difference between fact and opinion, both others’ and their own. Many younger researchers may have prior “knowledge” about a subject that is, in fact, incorrect. Educators can gently guide these students towards finding credible sources to back up their beliefs about a topic.

Younger researchers may not yet be able to identify credible sources themselves, so for their research projects, it is helpful to have a collection of reliable, child-friendly databases and print materials for them to reference. In the meantime, you can begin having conversations about who is creating the media they consume. Additionally, allowing students to experiment with photoediting software can help them understand that even the images they see can be manipulated.

3) Discussing Copyright and Plagiarism Being a responsible digital citizen involves giving proper credit for the information students find. Talk with your students about how they think it would feel to work hard to produce something and then not get recognized or paid for doing it. The youngest researchers may not be ready for MLA or APA format, but they can still assemble a list of URLs or book titles showing where they got their information.

Implementing Media Literacy in Your Research Project

Here’s an article with some great ideas for helping students of different ages cite their sources.

Students aren’t the only ones who are sharing results of their research! The Capstone Community is an online forum for educators to find resources and communicate with each other.

4) Sharing Results A key part of digital citizenship is teaching students to be participants in media, rather than just mindless consumers. Having children create their own media not only teaches them how media is created, but also shows them that they have the ability (and responsibility) to contribute accurate and valuable information to the digital landscape. At the end of a research project, try having students assemble their findings into a blog post, or record a video essay or podcast.

Implementing Media Literacy in Your Research Project

PebbleGo offers more than 1,000 vetted, expertly curated articles that build on children’s interests. The simple navigation, read-along audio, one-click citation option, and word-by-word highlighting features allow for even the youngest researchers to find the information they’re looking for. Try your free trial today!

PebbleGo is a product of Capstone.

When students are given the tools to understand how their media is created, and to create media themselves, they not only become good digital citizens, but also digital leaders who will grow up believing they have the power to influence both the media they consume and the world around them.