Peer Review

EAVI - Media Literacy for Citizenship

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Reviewed:: Sep 22, 2021 by ICT Literacy

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

EAVI is a non-profit organisation based in Brussels. They work in Europe (and beyond) to empower individuals to be active, engaged citizens in today’s increasingly challenging media environment. Media literacy focuses on the development of critical thinking and participation in public life through the media. Media literacy is increasingly relevant because knowledge is now, primarily, transferred through digital technologies. Individuals who are media literate are able to engage and participate at every level of public life, from social networking to e-Government. Individuals who are not equipped with these skills are left isolated and vulnerable.

Type of Material:

Collection

Recommended Uses:

Instructors can incorporate cartoons, films and videos into lesson planning. There are also ready-made lesson plans and online game that can be done in class and as assignments.

Technical Requirements:

Works across browsers

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Promote full citizenship and media literacy
Develop and disseminate best practices in media use
Forward the interests of citizens by engaging the EU institutions as media policy stakeholders
Critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.

Target Student Population:

Grade School, Middle School, High School students

Pre- and in-service teachers and librarians

Communications studies and journalism majors

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Basic ICT literacy; basic understanding of media literacy, misinformation

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

EAVI has created and collected many good resources in various formats that address media literacy. Content is complete and relevant, integrates concepts well and focuses on the topic of media literacy from a variety of angles. Content is accurate and current, informed by research. The site is self-contained and can be used for reading/viewing to gain knowledge independently. On the other hand, resouces can be easily incorporated into existing instruction, or used as the basis for instructional design across discipilnes. Links work, and are approprirately attributed. While the headquarters is in Brussels, the content has universal qualities.

Concerns:

The number of site-based lessons is limited. Some people might be put off by the donation feature. Some of the videos on this topic date back 11+ years. Creators either need to find more updated videos since they borrow from YouTube or move to create their own.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: Media literacy is central to media literacy. Site-developed materials are clear and compact, resulting in efficient learning. Within the activities, concepts are related. Each lesson is a standalone in the topic of media literacy. There is a wide variety of topics to choose from and for educators/librarians to build lessons on. The realistic sources make for authentic learning and practical application for daily life.
Concerns:: Sometimes the variety of resources seem disparate rather than cohesive, largely because this site is not built on concept building. Prior concepts would really need to be build beforehand. Don't use this tool to start with the basics. Teach the basics of media literacy, misinformation, etc and then use this site to build from there.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: The website is engaging, and balances text and visuals content. Navigation has several pathways (some more easy to drill down than others). Social media keeps the site current and interactive. Little technical expertise is needed to take advantage of the resources.
Concerns:: Creators rely on previously created or borrowed YouTube which means no control over captions or accessibility. Site itself is overall accessible. Site if very english centric, captions as well. Hopefully captions are correct. No help feature exists. Not all resources are ADA-compliant, especially the videos.

Other Issues and Comments:: There is definitely an age on this website. There are videos from 2007, content that is out of date. This is not a new site. We are a year and half into a pandemic and nothing on health literacy, misinformation? Site needs to be updated. Overall theres some good information but needs more.
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