PROJECT DESCRIPTION
European Centre for Media Literacy (ECML)
was a 24 months project, which started in 2004
and ended in 2006, co-funded by the European Commission within the "eLearning
Initiative" Programme.
Objectives
With media technology becoming so prevalent in homes, and with multi-media
education more possible now with student access to computers and the
Internet, "media literacy" expands the basic concept of literacy
(i.e. "reading" and "writing") to all forms of communication
- from television to T-shirts, from billboards to multi-media environments.
In our world of multi-tasking, commercialism, globalization and interactivity,
media education isn't about having the right answers-it's about asking
the right questions. The result is lifelong empowerment of both the
learner and the citizen.
ECML project would like to help stakeholders to understand why teaching
media literacy is so important and give students new education tools.
Therefore, the main objectives of ECML are focused on its target and
will give it the possibility to:
 |
Understand that media are constructed to convey ideas,
information and news from someone else's perspective; |
 |
Understand that specific techniques are used to create
emotional effects; |
 |
Identify those techniques and their intended
and actual effects; |
 |
Be aware that the media benefit some people, but leave
others out; |
 |
Pose and answer questions in the ECML Community about
who benefits, who is left out, and why in media literacy education; |
 |
Seek alternative sources of information and entertainment; |
 |
Use the media for their own advantage
and enjoyment; |
 |
Know how to act, rather than being acted upon; |
 |
Preparing for the new learning culture, digital literacy. |
Approach
The aim of the project is to create an European Center for Media Literacy
(ECML) as a nonprofit educational organization that provides leadership,
public education, professional development and educational resources
nationally.
Dedicated to promoting and supporting media literacy education as a
framework for accessing, analyzing, evaluating and creating media content,
ECML works to help citizens, especially the young, develop critical
thinking and media production skills needed to live fully in the 21st
century media culture.
The European Center for Media Literacy is dedicated to a new vision
of literacy as the ability to communicate competently in all media forms,
print and electronic, as well as to access, understand, analyze and
evaluate the powerful images, words and sounds that make up our contemporary
mass media culture.
Indeed, we believe these skills of media literacy are essential for
both children and adults as individuals and as citizens of a democratic
society.
Our mission is to help children and adults prepare for living and learning
in a global media culture by translating media literacy research and
theory into practical information, training and educational tools for
teachers and youth leaders, parents and caregivers of children.
Expected results
 |
Public Report on the state-of-the-art analysis; |
 |
Statement of Educational Philosophy; |
 |
Guidelines for media literacy introduction
in the European education field; |
 |
ECML website; |
 |
Database linked to the website where it is possible
to find public articles on media literacy; |
 |
ECML On-line Community; |
 |
ECML On-line Review; |
 |
To ensure that the vision and results
of ECML become as widely known and understood as possible in Europe
and all around the world. |