MED Media Education Association (Italy)

Media & Learning 2012

Alberto ParolaFaculty of Education - University of Turin (Italy)

MED Vice-President

• The ME Italian Association was born in 1996 in Italy.• It has more than 300 members in Italy;• It includes school teachers, university researchers

and professors, media experts, media producers, media territory operators, that reflect on Media education contents, on good practices and good productions;

• It’s a group that carries out studies and ME research ;• … and promotes ME learning …

Med challenges:• ME concepts’ definition (web democracy, e-citizenship, media competences,

media educator, etc.)• Promote ME events on the local, national and international level• Eu project (es. On Air - www.onair.medmediaeducation.it)• Teaching innovation• Teachers training• Tools for teachers• Focus on languages (digital and expression)• Collaboration with media professionals (Tv producers, journalists, web content

developers etc…)• Collaboration with schools• Design ME curriculum• Experimental (and action) research• Developing connections between different scientific fields…

MED mission (last 6 years)• Documentation of “Media education activities” in school;• Study on paths’ efficacy (On Air project, 2008-2010)• Second curriculum step ... (11-14 years, under construction, 2013)

after the “First steps in media education (2006) ... (5-10 years)• Other European projects (2010-2012)• Action research in local contexts (always)• Our Magazine: “Media education: studi, ricerche, buone pratiche

(from 2010 ...)• Collaboration with ministry of education• Collaboration with other associations• International collaboration (USA, Europe, China etc.)

Our Research Models

Parola e Ranieri, 2010

• 13 media education paths for primary school

• The schools, in Italy, have are being implemented some paths and evaluted their efficacy

Other current MED Eu project

On Air - European Media Education Project (www.onair.medmediaeducation.it)

and …

• News and You• Energy BITS (www.energybits.eu/it)

• Game paddle

Three most important issues to be tackled in the future …

1. Create a “teachers continuous formal training”

2. Introduce into the school the – “network culture”, – the “media competences culture” (not just “technology

culture”), – the “observation and documentation culture” and … – the “media competences evaluation culture”

3. Promote and funding the “ME action research”

MED perspectives …

• We can work together on the individual points that I have shown before;

• We have already done something together, such as sharing ideas, visiting our Summer Schools, exchanging perspectives about our magazines;

• In the future we can do many things together such as:– Reflecting on the “media education needs” in some “changing way“ countries;– Doing comparative research;– Finding new research ways on media education (quantitative and qualitative);– To participate in new European research projects;– Any other ideas?

Thank you for your attention!alberto.parola@unito.it

MED model

Media competencesCompetencesmodel

Reading skills area Writing skills area Critical thinking skills area User skills area

Resources

Interpretative strategies

Action structures

Self-regulation structures

Where’s focus …

Didactics innovation Media education

Paths with multiple languages writing

Role of teachersThe teacher-researcher

• We would like think about teacher who applies the techniques and strategies of educational research in classroom (Parola, Regia educativa, Aracne, Roma, 2012)

• Is it a sustainable role?

• If we want to change the School, we need to achieve this goal

Med method (in research and training)

• In twenty years, we were able to carry out experiments and research in many schools of our country, thanks to the introduction of the media in school as "objects of study and analysis“.

• With the media education the class turns into a “ideas and creativity laboratory “ as well as in an environment where learning becomes more effective and the kids express themselves with so much motivation.

The basics of Action-Research:

1. cooperation between the researcher and the group

2. prompting awareness

3. contributing to the solution of difficult situations

4. enhancing social awareness

Action-research: spiral chart

Initial idea

ResearchAction hypothesis

General plan

Carrying out the action

Monitoring

Sharing and Reflecting

New action hypothesis

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Explaining the A-R chart• As can be seen, action-research follows a “spiral” method and a

series of phases that tend to effectively influence a particular context from the initial idea to the new action.

• The other phases include research, i.e. analysing the context and its actors, outlining a general plan and carrying out the action.

• Moreover, once the active phase is completed, it has to be monitored. A moment of sharing and reflection together with the group has to follow, in order to go on with new action-hypotheses.

• Med, for example, works in this way.

The school opens up to the territory

• Heads of schools and teachers take on a more active role in starting relationships with various bodies in order to design special educational programmes together;

• Pupils are involved in projects with different roles: classes become editing groups and the school an editor and a complex and vital structure that informs the territory and the families about the educational plan.

MEDItalian Association for Media Education

University

A chart that relates a network of partners engaged in Action-Research to promote education research

Media educators

TraineesLocal

bodies

Production

School networksWeb Tv

Web RadioUSP e USR

Out-of-school

TvRadioPress

Bibliography

• Ceretti F., Felini D., Giannatelli R., Primi passi nella media education, Trento, Erickson, 2006.

• Ferri P., Nativi digitali, Milano, Mondadori, 2011.• Jenkins H., Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring

Participatory Culture, New York: New York University Press, 2006.

• Parola A., Ranieri M., Media education in action, Firenze, FUP, 2010.

• Parola A., Territori mediaeducativi, Trento, Erickson, 2008.• Trinchero R., Manuale di ricerca educativa, Milano, Franco

Angeli, 2002.

Teachers training

• Teacher training has now become very urgent: – for future teachers– for newly recruited teachers– for old teachers who “need to update” their skills– …

• The recent Italian school reform is based primarily on cuts and no on innovation;

• We must proceed with local training and intercepting national educational planes oriented to languages training.

The role of the teacher

• We are working on teachers training to make them able to not just transmit knowledge and skills but also competences (in line with the requests of the European Union).

• To promote competences theachers have to plan specific activities (modules/programmes that are closely linked to traditional teaching), they should be able to document and evaluate them according to the planned goals.

• Can the teacher design his/her activities, makes hypothesis about students' learning, experimenting new teaching methods and monitoring their efficacy?

• In essence, we need a “researcher teacher” who is not satisfied to assign ratings, but who observes the learning dynamics and the learning processes, with the same school colleagues and other schools colleagues who can repeat and observe the same paths in other contexts.

The teacher needs to design project and elaborate hypotheses!