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Review: Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action (2010)

Renee Hobbs’ white paper—Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action—presents a clear and practical map for coalescing and building on the many digital and media literacy programs around the country which have been developed in schools, libraries, community and non-profit organizations, and businesses. Hobbs, a media literacy pioneer, professor and founder of the Media Education Lab at Temple University, brings rich experience to this project, enabling her to put forward recommendations which could bring together people in a wide variety of roles to support an inclusive community-education movement. Backed by The Aspen Institute1 and the Knight Foundation, this report not only offers a significant opportunity to bring together existing digital and media literacy groups, but also aligns state and federal officials, policy makers, and grant-making organizations. In this 64-page paper, Hobbs defines the essential competencies of digital and media literacy as including not only the foundations of finding and assessing appropriate information but also as creating and sharing messages as well as taking action (contributing ideas locally and nationally, making good health decisions, volunteering to teach others, finding jobs and mates online, and voting, as examples). She introduces ten recommendations for action in four broad categories: • Support community-level digital and media literacy • Develop partnerships for teacher education • Research and assessment • Parent outreach, national visibility, and stakeholder engagement Professor Hobbs also provides examples of successful programs and shares proven instructional practices. Forewarned is forearmed, and Dr. Hobbs highlights some of the major challenges which are likely to get in the way of program implementation. For example, when thinking about digital and media literacy, it is often easier for Americans to focus on technology than on the more complex challenges associated with teaching the skills to utilize technology in a way that enriches individual lives and society as a whole. Writes Hobbs (2010), “Existing paradigms in technology education must be shifted towards a focus on critical thinking and communication skills and away from ‘geewhiz’ gaping over new technology tools” (xii). And, as is absolutely critical, she works to unite the sometimes divisive split between those who prefer protection, which includes restricting access and content, and those who favor freedom of speech in all circumstances: “We Department of Journalism, Media Studies, and Public Relations, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA