Articles Archive - 2007

MyMedia: Tapping into the YouTube Generation

Written by Warren Nightingale, Media and Internet Education Specialist with Media Awareness Network

Canadian students are among the most wired in the world. In a survey of more than 5,200 students, Media Awareness Network (MNet), a non-profit media education organization, found that 94 per cent of Canadian students have Internet access at home and the majority have high speed connections.1

In this age of connectivity and with user-created-content Web sites—such as YouTube, Podcast Alley and Blogger—ordinary citizens can now be filmmakers, musicians, activists and publishers. According to Pew Internet and American Life research, fifty-seven per cent of online teens have created content for the Internet and 33 per cent use the Net to share artwork, photos, or videos.2

The Internet offers great opportunities for young people to communicate and express themselves. It is empowering to hear their own voices, project their own viewpoints and find an audience for their productions. As educators, the Internet is rich in possibility for supplementing classroom learning.

Tapping into the enthusiasm students bring to media creation is a great opportunity to get students thinking critically about media they consume. Young people live in a media-saturated world and the messages kids absorb shape their perceptions of what is normal and important. Engaging kids in media creation, not only helps demystify the media making process, but also empowers them to be active participants in their media world.

As students negotiate the relationship between the text, producer and audience, they gain an understanding of how media are constructions, and convey powerful messages that can influence and educate. By experiencing the decisions that go into creating media, students will be more likely to turn a critical eye to other media productions and ask probing questions, such as: How do the technical elements and conventions used assist in meaning? Who is the intended audience and why? What are the business implications of this media product? Whose perspectives, values and experiences are being expressed? How does this relate to my experiences?

To assist the development of critical thinking skills in young people through media creation, MNet has established MyMedia, a nationwide video podcast contest for youth. MyMedia challenges young Canadians in Grades 7 to 12 to create two minute videos on their views of media representation—how certain members of society are represented, misrepresented, or absent from the media. The contest encourages students to use creativity and innovation to speak out and have fun, while developing an understanding of how media works and its potential for self-expression.

By focusing on the topic of media representation students think about and address the ways in which people are portrayed in the media and how audiences perceive and respond to these representations. Once students have a better understanding of these media messages they are then empowered to bring about positive change by using the recording devices available to them, whether it is video cameras, Web cams or cell phones, to create and communicate their own viewpoints. 

The contest also offers teachers a fun means of integrating media education in the classroom while meeting learning expectations in Language Arts, Social Studies, Health and Information Technology courses. A teachers’ toolkit on the MyMedia Web site includes teaching lessons, background information, learning expectations and discussion points. To inspire originality and to avoid having students replicate what they already see in media, the resources in the toolkit on media representation offer teachers a context to help students formulate concepts and establish their own opinions on the topic.  

“As a media teacher, I jumped at the opportunity to use MyMedia in the classroom with my students," said Maria Dupont, a media education teacher from St. Joseph Catholic High School. "MyMedia created an excellent opportunity for my students to apply their theoretical knowledge in a creative, and most importantly, in a meaningful manner."

St. Joseph Catholic High School submitted the winning submission for the 2006-2007 MyMedia contest. The winning entry, entitled "Media Labels" by three Grade 11 students, looked at how young people are labelled and stereotyped in the media. In the video, students' identities are defined by labels, which they are forced to wear. Ultimately, one student breaks free from stereotyping by changing his label.

The 2007-2008 MyMedia contest will open for submissions during Canada's National Media Education Week, November 5-9, 2007. The winning entry will be announced February 2008. For more information on submission guidelines, and to access the resources associated with the contest, visit the MyMedia Web site at www.mediaeducationweek.ca/mymedia/.

Warren Nightingale is a media education specialist with Media Awareness Network. Media Awareness Network (MNet) is a Canadian not-for-profit centre of expertise and excellence in media education and Web literacy. MNet's vision is to ensure children and youth possess the necessary critical thinking skills and tools to understand and actively engage with media. 

1. Media Awareness Network, Young Canadians in a Wired World – Phase II, Student Survey, 2005.
2. Mary Madden,Social Media and Libraries: New applications for a new generation of users Pew Internet and American Life, March 16, 2007.

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