Countering Information Manipulation: A Social Change Approach

Propaganda and disinformation are polluting our digital spaces and fueling our divisions as a society. Even casual conversations can feel fraught in these times. People care deeply about these realities but often don’t know what to do about them.

In this Media Literacy Week (MLW) talk, social change and communications strategist Deanna Troust will explore these dynamics and share simple but powerful ways each of us can be part of the solution set in addressing them.

Standards-based journalism — at the local level, especially — is a key antidote to the spread of false and harmful content. Deanna’s co-speaker will be a local Baltimore journalist who will offer a window into reporting processes in covering local Baltimore newsworthy events.

Deanna Troust is a communications strategist, consultant, and founder of truthincommon.org.

Deanna will be introduced by Dr. Stephanie Flores-Koulish, Professor of Education at Loyola University MD and Vice President for NAMLE’s Board of Directors.

Preparing Middle Schoolers for the Ups and Downs of Smartphones and Social Media with Jennifer Berger of Ready Set Screen

This eye-opening presentation challenges the usual assumptions about how teens and kids can be safe, smart, and healthy in the digital age — and what media literacy is — and illuminates what kids actually need to thrive online. Drawing from 16+ years of classroom experience with more than 10,000 teens and two years of surveying and interviewing parents and their kids, Jennifer Berger offers a unique perspective as a community educator who witnessed media literacy education transform students. This isn’t another doom-and-gloom talk about social media dangers. Instead, you’ll learn how libraries, schools, and families can fill the critical gap in media literacy education, moving from awareness to meaningful action. Here’s the link to join!

Media Literacy is for Everyone 2025

Join us for hands-on training designed for students, teachers, and community leaders alike. Together, you’ll get the tools to engage your community in media literacy education and worthwhile dialogue, including a guide with a mission statement, format suggestions, and activity ideas to share with your partners in this endeavor, whether that be your principal, faculty sponsor, students, or community members.

Hear directly from a panel of educators in various spaces who have successfully integrated media literacy with their communities, and take part in an interactive session where you can ask questions, share ideas, and start building your vision. Together, we can mobilize a generation of media literacy advocates!

Courageous Conversations are coming to PBS LearningMedia

We’re excited to announce a collection of free classroom resources created by Courageous RI, an initiative of the Media Education Lab. This collection of lesson plans, hosted on PBS LearningMedia and produced by Ocean State Media, features videos of Rhode Island students engaging in real, courageous conversations about issues that matter to them and their peers.

Political violence and radicalization are as present as ever, reinforcing the need for honest conversations around hard topics. We invite educators, students, and community members to join us as we introduce the resources, showcase highlights, and share strategies for using them to build media literacy skills, engage students in dialogue, and offer space for diverse perspectives in the classroom.