The Psychological Effects of Violence-Related Information From the Media

The media is one of the main resources from which people derive information about events surrounding them. The media tries to mirror realities, transmit various events, including cases of aggression and violence; however, lack of control on quality and quantity of information may result in perilous outcomes. This chapter offers a psychological analysis of the influence of media on crime in society, as well as the relation of crime levels with information about aggression and violence. The results of the research suggest that frequent, overstated, and embellished media disseminations of information of an aggressive character, without considering its possible psychological outcomes, increases viewers' levels of aggression and violence. In order to prevent this increase, it is crucial not to eliminate aggressive information from media completely, but instead to present it while taking into account its psychological effects.

Assessing Multilingual Multicultural Teachers' Communication Styles

As many educational institutions become more globally competitive, and the number of diverse teachers increases, it becomes even more imperative to avoid what some cultures might deem as inappropriate and unprofessional verbal and non-verbal forms of communication. Those behaviors are sometimes interpreted in different ways, depending on the cultural perspective. Any unwanted verbal and non-verbal actions often increase stress, unwelcomed job pressures, and hinder a positive work environment. At the institutional level where teachers are very diverse, understanding verbal and nonverbal behaviors must be addressed. The researchers propose a methodology which will help multilingual, multicultural teachers' communication styles within the workplace and how to improve cross-cultural team collaborations. Additionally, the information provided in this study allows educational leaders to make inferences about their teachers' team performance and expectations based on their motivation, experiences, and skills used when working with a multicultural team.

A Counterpoint on American Education and Media

Coming from Azerbaijan to America as a Fulbright Scholar, I packed as many assumptions as I did suitcases. After conducting my research, I realized that everything I learned while visiting the United States should be shared with my students, to prevent them from some culture shock and to prepare them to be globally-minded, thinking of mediated messages about foreign countries in a critical manner. This chapter is a result of this endeavor, a sort of auto-ethnographical tour through the America that I saw through my positionality as an Azerbaijani woman.

Teaching Digital and Media Literacy as Cross-Cultural Communication

As technology increasingly becomes a part of our day-to-day lives in the United States and throughout the globe, there is a greater push for students to develop the digital and media literacy skills necessary for the twenty-first century. In the United States, students learning these skills often come from a wide range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The diversity of the U.S. is one of its greatest strengths, but with this diversity come cultural differences in access to technology and how it is used across different cultural contexts. This chapter analyzes the constructs of digital and media literacy, the ways in which culture can be defined and how that can affect the intersectional identities performed in the social and participatory world of Web 2.0. It also examines access to technology and how technology is used for communication and accessing information in Russia, Germany, and Azerbaijan, and how approaching digital and media literacy through the lens of cross-cultural communication can help teachers to better meet the needs of learners from diverse backgrounds.

The Shluvim Social-Professional Network

Establishment of the Shluvim network in 2010 responded to the Israeli education profession's need to introduce innovative pedagogical challenges. This social-professional network provides a virtual space for its members, empowering them through discussion on different aspects of education. The article describes a case study, employing both qualitative and quantitative methodology (questionnaires and interviews), to identify the dynamics of quantitative components involved in the evolvement of the network and to elicit members' experiences in the communication process. Findings reveal challenges involved in informed use of social networking in education and show how participation in the professional network can assist members' professional development, although it is necessary to adapt to changes in usage patterns and competition with alternative social networks. The research enhances understanding of the social-professional network's role as an empowering environment for the Israeli education system in general and for teachers' education and professional development in particular.

Technology Access Gap for Postsecondary Education

Technology to learn the digital literacy skills required to attend postsecondary institutions or to access distance learning courses. Three groups of students are impacted by the lack of access to technology: (a) without broadband access, (b) students' low socioeconomic status, and (c) students' primary language is not English. Without digital literacy skills, selecting, applying, and fully participating in a postsecondary education is difficult. This chapter will outline the challenges these three groups of students have in accessing broadband, the impact the lack of access created in Florida, and solutions that were suggested to address lack of high speed broadband.

A Trans*+ Media Literacy Framework for Navigating the Dynamically Shifting Terrain of Gender in Media

Of the many identity markers that students claim and encounter throughout their educational journeys, none might be more salient than gender. While much of the European Union seems to be sloughing off the gender binary as a vestige of the 20th century, many educators and students in the U.S. continue to reinforce the binary through explicit and implicit strategies that normalize the cisgender condition while othering those who are trans*+. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the entrenchment of the gender binary in the American post-secondary system, to analyze the media frenzy currently addressing trans*+ identities, and to offer a theoretical framework of Trans*+ Media Literacy, borne of Critical Media Literacy, to address specifically how post-secondary educators and students can create gender expansive and inclusive spaces that might foster the growth of students prepared to think of gender representation and media production that challenge the binary and encourage gender expansiveness to flourish.

Developing and Assessing Media Literacy Through Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling is an effective tool to develop Media Literacy skills in educational settings. This chapter will analyze and present current research/literature on Media Literacy through Digital Storytelling in regard to developing and assessing media literacy skills. Authors have been implementing an instructional project called Digital Storytelling Contests (DISTCO) since 2008 (http://www.distco.org). DISTCO reached out to more than 10000 K-16 students and teachers over the years. The goal is to relay the experiences on how media literacy has been developed through Digital Storytelling activities with DISTCO. In addition, the current DISTCO rubric for assessing digital storytelling projects is modified to include a version assessing Media Literacy through digital storytelling.

Learning Content Creation in the Field

Media literacy is the raison d'être of journalism and media education in universities. With the advent of digital technologies and generational online developments such as Web 2.0, media literacy has now turned into multimedia literacy, where future media professionals learn to write, produce video and audio, edit, link, curate, and disseminate the content produced as individual communicators rather than members of a production team where each member specializes in one or two of these aspects to media production. Simultaneously there has been an increase in efforts to globalize educational experiences for students. These developments raise questions about new elements to media literacy, pedagogy, assessment, and learning the ethics of responsible communication about foreign cultures in the media. This chapter tackles these questions by reflecting on a Study Abroad course experience where students in a US university traveled to South India, and created content in the field about specific experiences related to development.

Digital Media and Social Network in the Training of Pre-Service Teachers

The use of Web 2.0 environments and social media in teaching and learning facilitates the provision of participatory and creative, learner-oriented teaching. The proposed chapter describes the role of social media in teaching and learning in colleges of higher education and suggests possible uses and applications for a variety of social media environments in education, especially the environments of Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Social networks facilitate activities that promote involvement, collaboration and engagement. Modeling of best practices using social networks enhances its usage by students, increases student confidence as to its implementation and creates a paradigm shift to a more personalized, participatory and collaborative learning and a more positive attitude towards its implementation.