Consider the following in your response to the questions below:

– What is media literacy?

Media literacy is the ability to identify different types and forms of media. Understanding the message that is being brought to you analyzing and evaluating media content.

– Why is it important?

It is important because of the era that we live in today which is so reliant on social media for information. We have to evaluate the information from different outlets that we see. 

– Why is it dismissed?

It is dismissed usually because of ignorance, most people choose what they want to believe but don’t check other sources or do the research for themselves. People will believe anything they see on the internet but don’t realise they are being duped.

Why should you aim for varied views but the factual consensus in your PLN?

It’s best to get varied views so we can see the whole story in full. Media outlets and news networks tend to show what they please. We can then use the factual consensus because the PLN will benefit, bringing in trustworthy facts will show that the participants are reliable.

Open dialogues about media literacy and factual information can create conflict, why does this happen?

This happens because of the challenges media literacy brings which causes conflict. Julie Smith stated those challenges to be investment, reaching adults and exacerbating inequalities (Smith, 2020). Even with media literacy, with all the information floating around we don’t want to believe the facts. This causes issues for factual information and the reliability is tampered.

What is the benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy?

The benefit of having a PLN that values media literacy is that the PLN will have reliable sources with actual real information that isn’t tampered with. When the participants are open and think critically we receive reliable information which in turn brings more engagement and knowledge sharing. 

Reference:

Smith, J. (2020, November 02). EDCI 338 A01- SMITH, JULIE. Retrieved from youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_T9RghwJlI