@TwitterForGood: Twitter’s Contribution to Media Literacy Week

Media Literacy Week is an annual event that takes place every November in the United States and Canada. The week puts a spotlight on the importance of digital and media literacy as a key component in the education of children and young people.

This year, Media Literacy Week takes place next week from November 6-10. Working with schools, libraries, and educational associations and organizations, Media Literacy Week participants seek to inspire a leap in Canadian and U.S. citizens’ thinking towards media education as an important – and innovative – approach towards creating thoughtful, engaged and informed young people. This initiative provides online citizens with a focal point for media-related activities and, at the same time, showcases the creative ways that digital and media literacy are being integrated into classrooms and communities across the world.

WHAT TWITTER IS DOING FOR MEDIA LITERACY WEEK

To celebrate this year’s Media Literacy Week in the U.S., Twitter will join a number of initiatives with our partners @MediaSmarts and @MediaLiteracyEd for the third consecutive year. Last year, we held a Digital Citizenship Summit hosted by CNN’s Kelly Wallace that brought together educators from around the world. Click on the links below to see some of our involvement:

TWITTER: "HONORED HOSTS":

bit.ly/TwitterForGoodHonoredHost

TWITTER: "DIGICITSUMMIT"

bit.ly/TwitterForGoodDigCitReady

TWITTER: "NAMLE TWEET"

bit.ly/Twitter4GoodFunBeginsNow

On October 27th, we unveiled this dedicated Twitter Emoji with the hashtags #MediaLitWk, #MLW17 and #getsmartonline that will be activated through November 17th. All anyone has to do is type in any or all of the hashtags and the emoji will show up in the tweet automatically!

On November 10th, the last day of #MLW17and in collaboration with National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), Twitter will host the closing U.S. Media Literacy Week wrap-up event to celebrate the positive ways that U.S. youth are using social media and to share best practices and recommendations between educators and civil society experts. Anyone interested in sharing their own stories about how they use Twitter in the classroom should email them to NAMLE’s Executive Director, Michelle Ciulla Lipkin at medialiteracyweek@namle.net for possible inclusion this #MLW17 wrap-up event at Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco.

In Canada, Twitter has partnered with Canada's leading digital and media literacy organization, @MediaSmarts, for their annual opening event at Lisgar Collegiate Institute in Ottawa, where over 100 high school students will hear from the Honorable Maryam Monsef, Minister of Status of Women, and participate in a number of hands-on workshops including one about Twitter and online empowerment.

BEYOND MEDIA LITERACY WEEK

Beyond our contribution to this week, at Twitter we have the immense privilege of working with safety organizations who are experts on Media Literacy like Common Sense Education, Connectsafely, or Childnet. With their input, we have been able to develop a guide for educators. As people turn to Twitter to find and share ideas about teaching and learning, we wanted to create a resource geared to help educators make the most of Twitter in the classroom by connecting them to lessons, ideas, and experiences that can support their vital work. We unveiled the resource at NAMLE’s annual conference in Chicago earlier this year and it is available for download here.

If you are interested in learning more about Twitter’s media literacy efforts, check our NeighborNest where we provide digital literacy workshops to address the needs of low-income users who lack crucial computer skills. While the digital literacy classes cover basic computer and Internet search skills we recognize this is a critical first step to understand how we consume information. No matter the level of digital literacy, we recognize that everyone can benefit from guidelines about virtuous online behavior and also provide a digital citizenship workshop to address these needs. In this workshop, Neighbor Nest staff and Twitter volunteers cover topics such as online abuse, media literacy, account security, and reputation management.

We will compile the best content and, "Tweets in the Moment: Celebrating Media Literacy Week," and share them with the #MediaLitWk community on Twitter.

While the complexities and nuances associated with online engagement are only increasing, we hope to contribute to the media literacy effort by empowering users by building critical thinking abilities and connecting them to resources. Our ultimate goal is for any user – young or old, socially or politically vulnerable, minorities and protected categories, within Twitter or anywhere online– to have control over their online experience within the ever-changing digital landscape.