The "Media Lit Seminar: Kindling the Media Literacy Flame in Secondary School Educators" aims to raise awareness on the role of thinking about the media critically, as well as to provide educators with tools that enable critical thinking about the online media we use. The event is organized by Annelene Timmermans, EFL / Dutch secondary school teacher and teacher trainer at the Educational Master program at KU Leuven, and Christiana Varda, founder of the non-profit organization Media What which operates in Cyprus. This Media Lit Seminar is funded through an Alumni TIES small grant from the U.S. Department of State. 

 

The seminar will feature keynotes from distinguished speakers, training workshops for teachers, as well as the opportunity to meet and network with key local and international media literacy organizations that are focused on developing educational tools that help integrate critical thinking in the classroom. 

 

Purpose

 

The ubiquity of technology in our lives means that on a daily basis we all process extensive amounts of information that take many forms: text, visual images and videos, aural communication. To be literate online today, requires developing a fluency in the many ways that the media messages we consume, influence how we view the world and how we see ourselves. Integrating media literacy skills in the classroom and teaching about nurturing critical thinking while navigating online spaces, is a challenging task for educators, not least because the media landscape is constantly evolving. However, there is a lot of important work relating to media literacy being done in Belgium and across Europe and bridging the knowledge gap between educators and media literacy organizations is as important as ever. 

 

Day 1: Thursday, 20 February 2020

The first day of the conference will focus on understanding the multifaceted aspects of media literacy. International experts will enhance participants’ knowledge of media literacy and develop various skills. Teachers will walk away with a toolkit of diverse classroom activities and techniques that can be used in (m)any lesson(s).  

 

Day 2: Friday, 21 February 2020

“Fake news” and disinformation have come to the forefront as one of the biggest challenges to democracy facing societies today. In its Action Plan Against Disinformation, the European Commission states that raising awareness through media literacy is a priority, and the aim of Day 2 is to provide educators with relevant teaching tools and activities that can be used to address this complex issue.

 

Practical information

The Media Lit Seminar will take place at the U.S. Embassy’s Hoover-Francqui conference room, located Boulevard du Regent/Regentlaan 40, 1000 Brussels at -1 level, on Thursday and Friday, 20-21 February 2020. Participation is free of charge but registration is required and will be open until 31 October 2019. 

 

Interested teachers can attend one or both days, but please note that spaces are offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and therefore pre-registration is required. All workshops will be conducted in English. 

 

Confirmed organizations include: 

 EAVI (https://eavi.eu/);

 Lie Detectors (https://lie-detectors.org/);

 IREX  (https://www.irex.org/project/learn-discern-l2d-media-literacy-training);

 Mediawijs (https://en.mediawijs.be/). 

 

For the full agenda, please visit the Media Lit Seminar website.