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The Mean World Syndrome: Media Violence and the Cultivation of Fear

Reflection

  1. https://newslit.org/

    • What do you like about this resource and why?

      I like that they have a mission statement page. However, it is oddly organized and in my opinion, not user-friendly.

    • What could be improved?

      The website looks nice, but after clicking on a few links and being redirected to external URLs, I gave up. I like information to be available and identified. If I spent more time registering and downloading, maybe it gets better.

    • Is the audience applicable to the audience you are focusing on in your final project?

      Not on the surface, so point above.

    • Is the resource easy to navigate? Explain.

      No, the delay in text appearing is distracting. When scanning for information, there is non there until it reveals itself. I clicked through a few lessons and received little information, a video failed to load and a reference to an external app.

  2. http://commonsense.org/

    • What do you like about this resource and why?

      Cool, a site sponsored by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Neat, It has Movie, TV, and Book recommendations - with age recommendations.

    • What could be improved?

      As mentioned below, I missed that tabbed sectioned content and without creating an account it is hard to tell if the content is worthwhile for Adults with lower literacy levels.

    • Is the audience applicable to the audience you are focusing on in your final project?

      I've been on this site before and don't recall finding anything particularly relevant for me at the time as an educator. This resource is targetting parents, so maybe not my target audience of Adult Basic Educators & Programs.

    • Is the resource easy to navigate?

      Explain. For the most part yes, however, I am not a fan of mega-menus and that drives this site. I would have to click through every link to have a better idea of what is on this site. And to prove the point, I just realized that there are three tabs at the top breaking up the information.

  3. http://Mediasmarts.ca

    • What do you like about this resource and why?

      It includes a research section with in-depth PDFs. This might be relevant for conducting research or as public service announcements.

    • What could be improved?

      Overall, I found this site very user-friendly. Searching the lesson plans seems to be hit or miss as far as the target age group and would take a while to find relevant materials.

    • Is the audience applicable to the audience you are focusing on in your final project?

      Possibly. Without diving into a full lesson review it is hard to say.

    • Is the resource easy to navigate? Explain.

      I appreciate the lack of mega-menu layout that common sense utilized and that I can access the lessons without creating an account.

  4. https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nmlit17-ela-idfakenews/identifying-fake-news/

    • What do you like about this resource and why?

      I have explored PBS Learning Media in the past. It is hit or miss and an educator need to consider the students they are assigning materials to make it successful.

    • What could be improved?

      It took me a while to find the lesson plan associated with the images on the link and I'm still not sure if I found it without. consenting to the terms and conditions associated with the download. After downloading the resource the media the students work through is from 2016. I suppose an educator could modify the lesson for 2021.

    • Is the audience applicable to the audience you are focusing on in your final project?

      I know educators have been pulling from PBS Learning for some time, so yes this would be a relevant resource but more broadly, as in PBS Learn Media.

    • Is the resource easy to navigate? Explain.

      Not really. Under the question of the improvement, I mentioned that the site is difficult to navigate. I suppose if I was looking for something on this site I would adjust to the layout, but for just coming in for a quick review, I found it unclear.

  5. https://newseumed.org/medialiteracy

    • What do you like about this resource and why?

      I've been using this resource for a while, and used a couple of lessons from the listed library, "Is this story worth sharing" and "ESCAPE Junk News." They both have very challenging content. If I remember correctly, one of the lessons puts students on the sleuth of whether or not a clown is real or imaginary.

    • What could be improved?

      I generally find the site well organized and easy to navigate.

    • Is the audience applicable to the audience you are focusing on in your final project?

      Since I have used this resource in the past, I would be relevant for my target audience.

    • Is the resource easy to navigate? Explain.

      I generally find the site well organized and easy to navigate. Clicking a link pulls up pages with focused information and isn't congested with many columns. Lessons are grouped by "grade" level, so helpful.

    • What are your favorite and least favorite aspects of these resources?

      Each resource is completely different, targetting different groups of people, parents, educators, or the public. It's better to have choices of information that lack information.

  6. Is there another resource that focuses on News Literacy that you can share with us?

    Off the top of my head, I can think of http://www.perspecsnews.com. it is a UK site that pulls up three sides of a story to compare the facts. No lessons are supplied, so educators need to be creative.

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