Renee Hobbs keynote, Summer Institute in Digital Literacy, July 12, 2021.

1. Digital Authorship
and the Practice of
Media Literacy Education
Renee Hobbs

2. Digital authorship is a form of social power.
Digital authorship is a creative and collaborative
process that involves experimentation and risk
taking.
Critical thinking about message form, content and
context makes people better creators and
consumers of digital and media messages.
KEY IDEAS

4. Beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles Police, March 3, 1991
My Story
I began my career as a teacher educator in 1991

5. Media Literacy
& Democracy
Media education is an essential step in the long march
towards a truly participatory democracy, and the
democratization of our institutions. Widespread media
literacy is essential if all citizens are to wield power, make
rational decisions, become effective change agents,
and have an effective involvement with the media.
- Len Masterman, Teaching the Media (1985)

6. Harvard Institute
on Media Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Week-Long Program
Summers 1992 - 1993
Elizabeth Thoman
Neil Postman
Joshua Meyrowitz
Barry Duncan
David Considine
Kathleen Tyner
Pat Aufderheide

7. stereotypes: “the pictures in our heads” that
oversimplify the complexity of human experience
priming: when an exposure to a media message increases
the perceived importance of a particular idea
cultivation: over time, exposure to mass media
entertainment and news media shapes people’s perceptions
of the world.
imitation: a form of social learning where people view an
act and are inspired to copy it
desensitization: feeling less shock or distress at scenes
of cruelty, violence, or suffering as a result of repeated
exposure to images or experiences

8. We share meaning through symbols
that come in many forms

10. Powerful Voices
When people have digital and media literacy
competencies, they recognize personal, corporate and
political agendas and are empowered to speak out on
behalf of the missing voices and omitted perspectives
in our communities. By identifying and attempting to
solve problems, people use their powerful voices and
their rights under law to improve the world around
them.
- Renee Hobbs, Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of
Action (2010)

11. Consumers
Creators

12. How do we prepare learners for the
social responsibilities of being creators and consumers?

13. Replace with your own text
1 in 3 college students have had
some exposure to media literacy in
elementary or secondary grades

14. Replace with your own text
40% of teachers say that they
integrate media literacy concepts into
existing instruction
FORTHCOMING RAND REPORT: “Approaches and Obstacles to Promoting Media Literacy Education in
U.S. Schools”

15. Anyone Can Create Media

17. Learners may infer from mass media and popular culture that acting outrageous or
goofy will bring them fame and fortune
What Children & Young People Learn about
Digital Authorship Through Media

18. Learners may learn from digital culture that being angry or mean will attract
attention

19. In the Chat
What values & messages do your
learners get from the media they use
every day?
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20. We Are All Digital Authors
Multidirectional Influence

21. Social Media is Form of Digital Authorship

22. How do students develop confidence as digital authors in
academic discourse communities?

23. Lone Wolf Collaborator
Visions of Authorship

25. People are inspired and engaged by many different types of texts

26. Authors are Unknowable
It is impossible to truly understand an author’s
motives, goals and intentions….

27. Entering the Scholarly Conversation

28. Digital & Library Resources
Can Be Overwhelming

29. We know from Project Information Literacy that
students actively try to reduce the number of
choices they have to make in order to get their
assignments done.
We know from the Citation Project that first year
college students who use sources in their writing
rarely write about them with much understanding.
They don’t summarize sources, they harvest
quotes.
Nearly half the time the quotes they use are from
the first page of the source.
We

30. Comprehension activities in open digital spaces
require readers to navigate, evaluate, and integrate
ideas that they encounter from narrative or
informational hypertext, hypermedia, or internet
text.
--Julie Coiro, 2021

31. Finding & organizing information is a
practice of digital authorship
comprehension
meaning
interpretation
search strategies
annotation
curation

34. CRITICAL QUESTIONS of MEDIA LITERACY
1. AUTHOR/PURPOSE. Who is the author
and what is the purpose?
2. ATTENTION. What techniques are used
to attract and hold attention?
3. REPRESENTATION & VALUES. How does
the message depict people, events and
values?
4. INTERPRETATION. How might the
message be interpreted differently?
5. OMISSION/POINT OF VIEW. What’s
omitted or left out?

35. Is This Legit?

36. CRITICAL QUESTIONS of MEDIA LITERACY
1. AUTHOR/PURPOSE. Who is the author
and what is the purpose?
2. ATTENTION. What techniques are used
to attract and hold attention?
3. REPRESENTATION & VALUES. How does
the message depict people, events and
values?
4. INTERPRETATION. How might the
message be interpreted differently?
5. OMISSION/POINT OF VIEW. What’s
omitted or left out?

37. How do we design experiences that advance
digital authorship for young learners?

38. Pair share: What creative
and collaborative activities
happened in school before
the filming took place?
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39. How to Take Care of Your Pet by Grade 1 Students at Russell Byers Charter School

40. In the Chat: What creative
and collaborative activities
happened in school before
the filming took place?
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41. Creating with Digital Tools Involves a Process of Messy Engagement

42. “How do I get started?”
Digital Authorship
Involves Issues of Creative Control
“What is our topic?”
“When is it due?”
“How long should it be?”
“Do have to work with a
partner?”
“How do I get an A?”

43. TEACHER
STUDENT
Teachers make decisions about how much
creative control to give to learners

44. Overscaffolding May Limit Creativity

45. Learner
creative control
changes everything
deeper learning

46. CHOICE
MATTERS
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY:
Wiley.
BLOGS VIDEO
PODCAST ANIMATION
INFOGRAPHIC
VLOGS &
SCREENCAST

47. Digital authorship is a form of social power.
Digital authorship is a creative and collaborative
process that involves experimentation and risk
taking.
Critical thinking about message form, content and
context makes people better creators and
consumers of digital and media messages.
REVIEW OF KEY IDEAS

48. This Week:
You Take on the
Identity of a Digital Author

49. PREPARATION
INCUBATION
ILLUMINATION
VERIFICATION
Wallas, Graham (1926). The Art of Thought.

50. Perfectionism Kills
Creativitity

51. SLEEP
How to Improve your
Creative Competencies as a Digital Author

52. Try New Things & Make Mistakes

53. What
will you
create
this week?

55. The Power of Two

56. REAL TIME ANYTIME