RIYADH, 7 March 2007 - Discussions in the Media Education Conference yesterday centered on the need for promoting media literacy in the classroom and developing critical faculties for the evaluation of data.
While academics in the Kingdom spelled out plans for teacher training and a creative approach to the learning process, their counterparts from Europe and America dwelt on media literacy projects in their countries.
The thrust of the debate was clear. There has to be a u-turn in the stereotyped approach that compels students to memorize and reproduce. The buzzword now should be to understand and analyze data and interpret it in your own words.
Dr. Rashed Al-Abdulkarim, professor of English at King Saud University, set the tone for discussions when he disclosed that the Ministry of Education was formulating a plan that seeks to upgrade the skills of teachers, so that they could encourage the students to think for themselves instead of depending on outdated notes as crutches.
He said that in today's digital world, with an endless stream of data pouring across the satellite channels and the Internet, teachers could play a pivotal role by drawing the line between what is useful and harmful. "Ultimately, the students should be able to analyze data, interpret it, and read between the lines."
Speaking in a similar vein, Wafa Al-Tajel, a children's specialist, highlighted a creative program that she has designed. It lets children in the 8-12 age group develop problem-solving skills by firing their imaginations.
She said the children's intellectual growth has been arrested because they read so little. Moreover, they are glued to the TV most of the time. A survey she conducted showed that 11 percent of the respondents did not watch any program, 33 percent knew the names of singers, while 77 percent watched TV programs of one type or another. The children were interested only in entertainment and scarcely ever watched edutainment programs.
Howard D. Shultz, director of the Modern American School of Egypt, explained that IT education starts at an early age in his Cairo-based school, where children in kindergarten are put through their paces in word processing. When they reach the 11th and 12th grades, they are capable of web designing and handling other complex programs. "We also make sure that they do not download data from the Internet and pass it off as their own work."
In terms of media education, the school does video recording of informative programs from National Geographic and plays them for the benefit of students. "There is a regular class during which they watch documentaries, historical movies, or read novels. Then they have to write from memory their own observations," Shultz said.
Media educationist Matteo Zacchetti from Italy referred to the European media literacy program, under which 29 media literacy projects have been funded by the European Commission. The thrust of the whole exercise is to sharpen the problem-solving skills of children and develop their critical faculties. The final recommendations of the Commission are expected to be released before the end of this year.
Professor Divina Frau Meigs, a Fulbright scholar, spoke on the 3Ps of children's rights (Protection, Prevention and Participation) and the 3Cs of media education (Culture, Criticism, Creativity). She underlined the misplaced perceptions of risk and the solutions built around them. The conference will conclude tomorrow.
