Educational Media Reviews Online

This volume of the Teaching for Results series is a workshop aimed at teachers, and strives to persuade teachers that media literacy is a necessary and important topic to address, and to provide them with some ways to teach this subject.This reviewer should point out that as a media librarian, she is in full agreement with the producers on this point!

The program is in a news magazine style, with a pair of perky, blonde presenters, and many interviews with educators, scholars and policy makers who discuss some aspects of the impact of television on children. The topics covered include narrative structure and the demands it places on the presentation of tv' reality', stereotyping and the techniques and practices of television production, such as framing, camera angles, editing and sound effects. The presenters aim to show teachers, and students how the construction of television programs impacts the content that is being presented. The workshops are full of practical exercises that can be incorporated into the classroom, and each segment ends with viewers/participants calling in to query different aspects of the presentation. The workshop was originally broadcast as a live teleconference, and occasionally refers to materials that may or may not come with the videotape.

The production values are adequate, and at times quite slick. There are some moments that seem to be slightly misplaced, such as a segment of an educational series for children that is used to illustrate a point, but overall the program is lively, informative and practical.

The tape is highly recommended for collections with a focus on teacher training and development. It would not be of much interest to other groups, although collections dealing with media literacy and advocacy may find some useful segments.

Highly recommended