Brief summary of activity
The following activity will make the group aware of the different kind of media available outside the ‘traditional’ media (TV, Radio, Cinema, etc), and how they access and use media, where they get their information from, etc. The media journal exercise is a basic approach to media literacy.
Aim of the activity
To identify different kind of media available outside the ‘traditional’ media (TV, Radio, Cinema, etc)
Expected Outcomes
Awareness of the different kind of media available outside the ‘traditional’ media (TV, Radio, Cinema, etc), and how they access and use media, where they get their information from.
Experience and skills required
Broad knowledge of all kinds of media, facilitation skills, as this activity is mostly an open discussion.
Infrastructure, setting, resources
No specific requirements
Length
60 minutes
Material
Flipchart and markers, writing Materials for Learners (not for vision impaired/blind participants)
How the activity should take place
Tutor asks learners to identify
- What media did learners consume the previous day? For how long? Who owns that media? Who can participate?
- Is the media they use accessible to all? (older people, children, people with literacy issues, broadband, language and jargon, etc)
- What happens to those that cannot access that media?
- How does commercial and public media differs from community media.
- Who makes it and how do they make it (teamwork vs. individual with computer/phone/tablet)
- Ask them to imagine what they would do with it? What message would they like to communicate? How would they fill that hour? What would it look like/sound like?
The participants can discuss this in pairs and the share it with the group, or depending on the number of participants, it can be done as an open group discussion.
Recommended max. number of participants and trainees to trainers ratio
10 (for participants visually impaired or with learning difficulties, 4 per trainer)
Tips for Trainers
It is also worth briefly defining Community Media here – pointing out that community radio is made by volunteers from the community and that it is owned by the community and operated on a not-for-profit basis, drawing the distinction between a community station and a local commercial station. The handout Community Development can be used to explain what community radio is.
Requirements for participants
No specific requirements. This activity can be used with any group, and by eliminating any visual elements, with blind/vision impaired people.
Analysis and evaluation
Have participants identified all media, including social media, advertisement, etc? Are they aware of the way this media content can impact on their ‘world vision’ and the reasons why they choose specific media?
Scheduling
This could be one of the first activities of the training, as it offers the possibility to the trainer to know a bit more of the interest and world vision of the trainees by becoming aware of the media they use and the content that interest them.