June 2010

THINK Before you Buy: Media Literacy


Joann’s post about advertising was especially funny to me, the proud owner of both the Miracle Blade III knives and the complete set of ShamWOW towels. I really like as seen on TV stuff! Students and parents alike are barraged with advertisements in all forms of media throughout the day. An important part of media literacy we need to stress with our children is the ability to critically analyze the advertisements around them so they can make good purchasing decisions throughout their lives, instead of just buying the things with the flashiest ads.

Joann's companion column: 

Twitterpated: Using Social Networks as Educational Tools


There are many excellent free online resources available to help teachers enhance lessons and appeal to the tech-savvy audience that makes up many of today’s classes. Today I am discussing one category of these resources: social networking tools. Educators are forming connections with one another through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter (and MySpace, Google+, Pinterest…the list goes on). Some teachers are choosing to bring these tools and connections to their students as well.