6th International Media Literacy Research Symposium (2026)
Conference Reflections by Diana Maliszewski
(This summary will appear on both http://mondaymollymusings.blogspot.com and www.aml.ca)
Note: All photos that appear in this post were taken by Diana Maliszewski
Day 1
5:00 p.m. - Opening Celebration and Awards
Summary: (taken from program) The Media Literacy Education Award is established in recognition of Marieli Rowe's forward-looking vision and commitment to innovation. It honors projects that are still in development or at the planning stage and that demonstrate imaginative, critical approaches to advancing the field. Emphasis is placed on initiatives that move beyond theory by putting ideas into practice, fostering meaningful connections among people, concepts, and communities, and opening new pathways for growth and collaboration in media literacy education.
3 Key Points:
1) The top prize went to Mariana Ochs from Brazil, and "The Stack - A Critical Literacy of Computational Infrastructures".
2) Other awards went to Pallavi Guha from the USA ("What We Wish We Knew: Intergenerational Civic and News Media Literacy"), Syed Nazakat from India ("Taking Media Literacy to the Masses: FactShala"), Marlon Julian Nombrado from The Philippines/Baltic ("AI Literacy Community Workshops: Manilla to the Baltics"), and Sheri Lambert from the USA ("Reimagining Media Literacy for GenZ and Alpha: Case-Based Learning in the Age of AI")
3) The goal of these awards is that, in two years' time, the recipients will be able to share how the financial gift assisted their work.
So What? Now What? Belinha set the stage well with her opening remarks. I first met Mariana at the UNESCO MIL Conference in 2025. I vow to link some of her resources (which are conveniently in Portuguese and English) on the Canadian School Libraries Digital and Media Toolkit. Mariana actually made her own app for the conference, to make it easier for us to track what sessions we wanted to attend. It was pure genius! (I used it a lot during the conference!) It was nice to reconnect with people I associated with at IMLRS5, especially Ryan and Matt, the powerhouse team behind the technology and logistics related to this conference. They are unsung heroes.
Media Artifacts:
Day 2
9:00 a.m. - Morning Opening Remarks and Session
The Church and Communication in a Digital World with Sister Rose Pacette, Monsignor Paul Tighe, and Doctor Paolo Raffini
Summary: (taken from program) This session explores the evolving role of the Church in engaging with contemporary digital media and communication technologies in an increasingly complex, AI-shaped world. As digital platforms transform how individuals access information, form communities, and understand truth, the Church is called to reexamine its communicative mission in light of these shifts. This includes not only the dissemination of messages, but also the cultivation of meaningful dialogue, ethical responsibility, and authentic human connection. Focusing on the intersection of faith, technology, and society, the session invites reflection on how the Church can effectively participate in digital spaces while upholding human dignity and promoting the common good. It considers the opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, algorithmic influence, and the rapid spread of information and misinformation. Participants are encouraged to engage questions of digital ethics, media literacy, and the formation of conscience in online environments. Ultimately, this session seeks to highlight how the Church can serve as both a guide and a presence within the digital world—fostering trust, encouraging critical engagement, and contributing to a more just, informed, and humane digital culture
3 Key Points:
1) We enter AI as explorers, yet knowledge no longer belongs to us, truth is commodified, thought is colonized, and the rules of economic competition have been transformed; therefore the goal of the church is to safeguard (not locking us in drawers) people through active commitment and literacy. We need a tech vision that preserves our humanity and allows us to be the custodians of identity and change. (Dr. Raffini)
2) The Pope's recent encyclical, Magnfica Humanitas, is meant for all of humanity, and in fact other cultures have insights that we Catholics need to be attentive to, for we can be architects or victims. We should consider "When do humans flourish?" and notice that factors that help answer that question include individual well being, support for social institutions, inclusivity, peace, sustainability, and principles of dignity, common good, solidarity, social justice, and the intrinsic value and worth of every human being (not about productivity). (Msgr. Tighe)
3) AI is magnifying and accelerating power, and we must disarm AI literally and metaphorically, because it intensifies the fault lines of competition, polarization, inequality, and monopolies. Technology itself is not bad (look at dentistry from 100 years ago!) but we should map out how AI and CST (Catholic social teaching) can intersect, being aware of false optimism ("don't worry about the environment, the tech will fix it") and new methods of exclusion, (not being included in the code/algorithm). (Msgr. Tighe)
4) We need to understand who we are, where we are going, and avoid sacrificing deeper thinking because AI cannot do this. The disarming power of human love is a gift (not the surrogate, fake socialization / relationships that AI purports to offer) and we must remember the intrinsic value of all people and reclaim human agency in AI. (Msgr. Tighe)
So What? Now What? I took pages and pages of notes. I was considering reading the encyclical myself, but I'm not sure if I would be able to understand it all, as it is a very lengthy document. (Here is the link to the actual document, in case I feel ambitious - https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html ). I was also fascinated by Sister Rose's observations about the role of suffering, love, and leisure related to AI. There are plans afoot to possibly have an AML podcast discussion with Sister Rose to discuss the encyclical more
Media Artifacts:
1:30 p.m. - Session I
Rethinking the Good Guys/Bad Guys Binary in Media Literacy and Media Ethics with Elizaveta Friesem (USA)
Summary: (taken from program) This presentation examines the "good guys versus bad guys" binary -one of the most pervasive patterns in media - and argue that, although it has been widely discussed in scholarship on narrative and culture, it deserves greater attention within media literacy education. Drawing on my ongoing work on meaning and power, the presentation will show how this binary functions as a moral meaning-system that shapes how people interpret ethics, agency, and social problems. From ancient myths to contemporary films and news coverage, media narratives routinely divide the world into heroes and villains, victims and perpetrators. While this framing can be compelling and accessible, it also encourages polarized thinking and inhibits empathy for those cast as “bad,” dynamics linked in research to moralization and intergroup conflict. Although some educators address moral binaries in practice, major media literacy frameworks still rarely emphasize the ability to recognize and critically examine this narrative structure.
3 Key Points:
1) Western culture is big on binaries. Look at the big hits from the past year: K Pop Demon Hunters, Star Wars, and Wicked. Even though in some commercial properties, there appears to be a "twist" (e.g. Rumi in KPDH is part-demon), it complicates the binary without developing the idea further (e.g. only Rumi and Jinu are demons worthy of being saved).
2) In non-fiction, similar binaries exist, emphasizing the idea of the "bad other" who is not deserving of empathy. Elizaveta asks her audience to remember thing things: a) the binary exists, b) sometimes it's complicated, c) the binary still exists within the complication.
3) We need use media literacy education to analyze and be aware of this pattern. Ask ourselves "Why do we find stories with clear good guy / bad guy narratives so satisfying?". If we understand the complexity a bit more, we will be closer to free ourselves from conflict and hatred.
So What? Now What? This was a satisfying beginning session to the conference. It wasn't as mentally taxing as the encyclical was, and I appreciated all the KPDH references and the reminder that what may seem like an innovative approach still leans to the default good vs bad trope. Based on Elizaveta's talk, I decided to finally watch Wicked. (I did, but I don't know if I can bring myself to watch Wicked Part 2: Wicked for Good - everyone except Elphaba is just so gosh-darn mean and shallow!)
Media Artifacts:
Deconstruct and co-create with AI: a practice-based Media Literacy study on auditing and mitigating bias in generative content with Gabriele Biagini and Maria Ranieri (Italy)
Summary: (taken from program) Large Language Models (LLMs) are socio-technical systems whose training data can reproduce and amplify bias and misinformation, especially when provenance is opaque. This practice-based study reports a media-literacy e-tivity in a University of Florence Master’s module on AI and new literacies, asking how and to what extent users can detect and mitigate bias in AI-generated content. Learners first audited seven AI-generated images and their prompts, identifying stereotypes, errors, unverifiable claims and misinformation risks. They then refined prompts to create a public-facing artifact modelling generative AI use through verification and source checking. Worksheets, revised prompts and final artifacts were thematically analyzed across seven dimensions (representation, framing, bias risks, evidence, authenticity, impact, redesign). Participants recognized salient stereotypes and reported improved verification, often using reverse-image search or metadata inspection but rarely triangulating external sources. Subtle design cues were harder to detect, indicating a need for more scaffolding and reusable classroom resources across subjects.
3 Key Points:
1) AI is not the cause for an unjust society; it just amplifies what exists in our data.
2) The tasks they had the participants do included a) deconstructing 7 AI images with the prompts behind them, and b) co-creating, refining prompts and building an original responsible public artifacts. They used English instead of Italian to do this because in Italian, it has masculine and feminine gendered words so they wanted ones like "doctor" or "CEO" to get to the biases.
3) Their hope is that if people are more aware that AI generates injustice, they will be more critical and ask for digital justice.
So What? Now What? I was able to both presenters a question. I asked Elizaveta about her thoughts about the KPDH sequel and whether they'd attempt to explore the complex nature of good and evil. She replied that, because the media text is aimed at a large audience, it needs to be accessible but we can always hope for more complexity. I asked Gabriele and Maria and what they meant by digital justice and they explained that it's about digital sovereignty, tech for the common good, and how the various governments lack impact or control in how these AI tools are used, especially for profit.
Media Artifacts:
Let’s Play! Using Production-as-Inquiry to Build Early Years Media Literacy with Chelsea Attwell and Carol Arcus (Canada)
Summary: (taken from program) Young children now grow up immersed in digital texts, making media literacy an essential element of early childhood education. Research in this area remains limited, with most studies centred on older children. This roundtable discussion explores how production-as-inquiry—a pedagogical approach can support young children’s emerging ML skills. Drawing on interdisciplinary insights from media education, early years pedagogy, and play theory, the discussion examines findings from a Master’s thesis conducted with five children (ages 5–7) during a 2024 summer camp at Ontario Tech University. In the “Stuffy’s Adventures at Camp” project, children created digital stories that revealed playful yet meaningful engagement with media concepts. The discussion offers new perspectives, including the importance of conceptual frameworks in ML education, the role of inquiry and production, and the value of play-based, multimodal learning experiences. This research contributes to the growing body of knowledge in early childhood media education. impactful.
So What? Now What? I did not get to attend Chelse and Carol's table talk, because I was at the presentations occurring at the same time. However, I snuck down to take a few photos of them.
Media Artifacts:
2:45 p.m. - Session II
The Meme’s The Thing: Memes As Tools for Entertainment and Empowerment with Diana Maliszewski (Canada)
Summary: (taken from program) Continuing the conversation initiated at IMLRS5 in Portugal (“The Meme Conundrum: Y U NO Understand?”), this table discussion aims to examine how the impact of memes has grown and expanded to include memes as tools for political protest and social expression. If memes can result in individuals being barred from entering certain countries, how might teachers understand and safely harness this power to help students advocate for themselves and social justice issues? Examples will initially come from an elementary school perspective but the talk will be relevant to educators in elementary, secondary, and higher education.
Meme Making and Tik Toks : Critical Digital Literacy in A High School Chemistry Classroom with Joanna Marshall (USA)
Summary: (taken from program) Over the course of the 24-25 and 25-26 school years, a high school teacher in Illinois incorporated Critical Digital Literacy into a Chemistry classroom in a suburban High School district. The practitioner will share how students were engaged by using the Question of the Day format to have structured conversations with students that investigated student attitudes towards their digital media consumption and creation. This session will focus on how the principles of critical digital literacy were applied in a classroom context and how over the course of the school year the teacher modified the lessons to engage students in thinking critically about the media they consume and then produce. These principles shaped how students were asked to create memes and tik toks about topics covered in the Chemistry classroom.
So What? Now What? (Part 1) I'm putting the "so what, now what" part beforehand because of what we did. I am a big admirer of Joanna Marshall, and she seems to like me as well. In fact, she said that my IMLRS5 presentation inspired her with this IMLRS6 talk of hers. Joanna and I were chatting briefly in the morning in the hall and we made a quick decision. Since the topic of each of our talks was so similar, and we both wanted to attend each other's session, and the format was a table talk (which lends itself to a less formal, more discussion oriented style of discourse), we decided to combine our table talks into a single one!
3 Key Points (Maliszewski):
1) Memes are dominated by American content but it is important to see/note cross-national and national content, as it speaks to a country's issues and experiences (e.g. Canada or Nepal). See www.politicalmemes.ca for the way groups of all political stripes use memes to communicate.
2) Memes can be "dangerous" because the "in-joke" nature can disguise meanings, influence people without fact checking, and lead people to more extreme right-wing views. Understanding how memes communicate can help. Memes are often funny because they skirt the boundaries of what's appropriate to say, so using memes in schools should be undertaken with some caution so they aren't too offensive or derogatory.
3) Maliszewski's Grade 6 Social Studies students participated in a meme assignment for their unit on "Canada's Interactions with the Global Community". She shared a few of the sample memes that were ready (because they assignment due date was after the conference), the co-constructed single-point rubric, and some observations about the pre-teen insights.
3 Key Points (Marshall):
1) Marshall begins her 85-minute science class with a Question of the Day that doesn't necessarily have to relate to the subject. This way, she gets to know her students' interests and experiences as people. Questions such as "What do you like about social media?", "What do you dislike about social media?", "What would you change about social media?", "Is this thing I made art?" "Who is a trusted adult in your life?" or "What strategies do you sue when you come across something online that is upsetting?" gets teens to have deep conversations and builds the class community, especially because there's no judgement to their responses.
2) Marshall uses "The Out of Touch Adults Guide to Kid Culture" by Life Hacker (Gawker Media) to keep abreast of what her students are discussing or consuming on Tik Tok (e.g. "mogged it").
3) Because of this solid, positive relationship built in class, students are will to share about what they are watching (e.g. "get ready with me" videos or streamers/gamers) and they can discuss the codes and conventions of the media texts. She will ask them to make her a Tik Tok video or a meme about what they are learning in science, with the one caveat that the information must be accurate.
So What? Now What? (Part 2) I am so glad that Joanna and I decided to combine forces. Joanna even used her laptop to share my slide deck (temporarily disabling hers, which worried me, but we got it fixed so her slide deck became operational). We had three visitors come to our joint session: Emily Lunch, Michael Dezuanni, and Susannah Stern. Emily, Michael, and Susannah were delightful. Emily discussed how to reach youth in ways that aren't litigious; Michael mentioned the "quality" adult overlay and how there's a great deal of judgement around "silly" content; Susannah referred to how memes are used for friendships and the use of media for identity work. I promised Emily, Michael, and Susannah that I would send them both a copy of my slide deck as well as the finished products from my Grade 6 students. I will make sure to do that! Joanna and I commented on the differences between our students; preteens are eager to share (and were excited to hear I was presenting some of their memes at a conference), whereas teens are more nervous and have concerns about sharing or where their product will go (which is why she doesn't assess the memes her students create because she worries it will suck the joy out of the creative process). My other goal is to continue to find ways to work with Joanna in the future - she is a joy to be with and so inspirational!
Media Artifacts:
4:00 p.m. - Session III
“Unfolding” in Digital Intercultural Dialogue: A Poetics of I–Thou Encounters with Denise Chapman and Stefan Kammhuber (Australia / Switzerland)
Summary: (taken from program) This paper introduces "Unfolding" as a new concept and process for intercultural learning and critical media making, blending theory and practice. Inspired by Daniel Bar-On’s dialogical method, Urie Bronfenbrenner’s developmental model, and Stefan Kammhuber’s Intercultural Anchored Inquiry, "Unfolding" fosters reciprocal, multimodal, and collaborative media engagement. It emphasizes poetic inquiry and emotional connection to construct identity narratives. Through dialogic poetry and photographic quilt-making, participants co-create relational narratives, merging text and image to reach a deep mutual understanding. This justice-oriented pedagogy reimagines media literacy as an embodied, ethical practice, prioritizing care, collaboration, and collective re-making for equitable futures.
3 Key Points:
1) It is impossible to know people completely, so we must be conscious not to "flatten" people or stereotype.
2) Images of us, of others, of what we thing the others have of us, don't have to be 100% shared. What we choose to share expands on our social and cultural identity.
3) In this project, Denise and Stefan engaged in media making with poetry. They shared their poems about themselves and each other during the talk.
So What? Now What? The room was packed during this session. I chose to attend because of Denise Chapman, who is a dynamic speaker who I first met at NAMLE and who helped my team (Greta, Wayne and I) for our Media Specialist AQ assignment as our featured interviewee. I wondered about the reactions each of them had to the poetry written by the other about themselves, but I didn't have a chance to ask that question at any point during the conference.
Media Artifacts:
Civic Media Literacy and Emotional Resilience Through Filmmaking: High School Students Respond to the Israel-Gaza conflict with Evanna Ratner (Israel)
Summary: (taken from program) This study examines student filmmaking as a tool for fostering empathy and resilience among Israeli high schoolers following the October 7 attacks and the subsequent Iron Swords War. Analyzing nine finalist films from the 2024 Jerusalem Film Festival, the research employs a qualitative content analysis integrated with Friesem’s (2016) empathy model and Hobfoll’s (2007, 2021) resilience framework. Findings reveal that the filmmaking process enables students to develop cognitive, emotional, and psychological empathy while reinforcing five essential resilience elements: safety, calm, self-efficacy, social cohesion, and hope. By transitioning from passive media consumers to active creators, students utilized cinematic techniques to process trauma, construct identity, and engage in civic discourse. This research underscores the importance of media literacy as a pathway to digital resilience, demonstrating how creative production serves as both an artistic practice and a therapeutic intervention for youth navigating national crises.
3 Key Points:
1) The films weaved personal narratives with national / collective narratives and was a way to come together. The documentation was in real time, not a retrospective, so this shifted the tone and captured the youth's immediate feelings.
2) 16 of the 130 films were entered into a film contest and made it as finalists. There was a debate about whether these films should be shown, since many teens had friends that were kidnapped and some had friends and family in the army.
3) Evanna made a point of saying that at school they don't talk about "the other side", which can be a challenge. Evanna showed a few clips from some of the student films.
So What? Now What? This was a sensitive topic. Evanna shed a few tears as she talked about the project. It was best to sit, watch, absorb and think.
Media Artifacts:
Media literacy as resilience for societies in crisis with Olga Pasitselska and Annamária Neag (Netherlands)
Summary: (taken from program) Throughout the years, media literacy has been considered as aid for many societal ills in the Western world: from fighting against stereotypical representations of different (marginalized) groups to combating mis- and disinformation. However, these educational initiatives build upon a Western view of the world, and do not take into account issues faced by societies in permanent crisis. The aim of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework called H.E.L.P. that positions media literacy as a form of resilience in areas fraught by wars, migration, famine, climate catastrophe, and other adversities. In the H.E.L.P. framework, we identify four core elements: habit (focusing on media use and media environment); escapism (focusing on entertainment and media avoidance); listening (discussing attentiveness to affective and bodily reactions); and participation (highlighting active engagement with media). We discuss implications for media literacy research and provide guidelines for practitioners.
3 Key Points:
1) Vulnerable people have different profiles from the usual audience perceived to be in need of media literacy. Often it's a Western Europe / North American approach, which presumes that there are trusted media sources available, people have time to look and they exist in a stable environment. The focus is often on educational or informational needs, rather than emotional or recreational.
2) The HELP acronym stands for Habit (media use and information environment), Escapism (entertainment and media avoidance), Listening (attentive to the affective / body response), and Participation (active engagement with media).
3) This approach is based on research around media avoidance (avoid the news because it's depressing), mediated trauma (media can retraumatize you) and disinformation resilience. Olga and Annamaria work with unaccompanied refugee children and people in the Ukraine. They discussed things such as strategic ignoring, focusing on media tools that are cheaply and readily available (e.g. radio, news on the bus), and that pop culture can be a vehicle for social justice.
So What? Now What? Again, this was an eye-opening and sensitive subject. It was a good reminder to consider our own biases, especially when in service of others.
Media Artifacts:
5:15 p.m. - All-Conference Keynote
The End of Information: Media, Knowledge and Education in a Post-Truth Age with David Buckingham (UK)
Summary: (taken from program) Are we really living in a "post-truth age"? Have ideas like information, knowledge and truth passed their sell-by date? Is 'information disorder' leading to the terminal decline of democracy? Or will fact-checkers, media regulators and educators come to the rescue? The End of Information cuts through the exaggerated claims that have been made about these issues. Interrogating the key terms in the debate, including trust, democracy, news, and information itself, the book offers a clear-eyed evaluation of potential solutions to the problem. It also considers the implications for education, in relation to key issues like literacy and knowledge. It argues that we need to look, not just at the symptoms of information disorder, but also at their wider political and economic causes; and it suggests that these will not be amenable to a simple 'information fix'.
3 Key Points:
1) David wrote the book for the media literacy community with a deliberately provocative title. He has become exasperated with the idea of media literacy as the rescuer from the "crisis of information". He explains that this is more a crisis of legitimacy. In fact, far-right groups borrow critiques and arguments that are media literacy phrases (e.g. "don't be sheep"). We are inclined to think that "other people" can't tell truth from lies but that we are exempt. Really, it's about trustworthiness - are institutions worthy of trust?
2) Governments are looking to individuals, rather than corporations for regulation. The idea that we can just fact check things doesn't work. We all have confirmation bias. People push back if the facts disagree with their ideas and beliefs. Free speech has been weaponized by the far-right.
3) How do we know what we know? We need to rethink media reform and consider public good vs private profit.
So What? Now What? David made people squirm in their seats, but for a good cause. Too many of us focus on establishing new frameworks. David answered lots of questions. He plainly stated that there is a cultural war happening in classrooms around the world, when accusations of "woke teachers suffering from liberal bias" are thrown around. Conspiracy theorists believe they are dealing with knowledge and truth. He says that media education has been about representation since the 1970s but that we get distracted by "how to spot a deep fake". He says that we must teach about culture and communication (bedrocks of media education) in language classes and in other subjects because if we focus on media literacy as a specialist subject, then we won't have enough teachers trained to do the work. He stressed that SELF critical thinking is important. Carol Arcus bought his book, so my next step is to eventually borrow Carol's copy and read it (when I get the time).
Media Artifacts:
Day 3
9:00 a.m. - Opening Remarks and Award Presentation
Jessie McCanse Award for Significant Contributions to the Field of Media Literacy Education
Summary: (taken from program) The Jessie McCanse Award is given for an individual’s dedication and contribution to the field of media literacy education over a sustained period of at least ten years in a leadership role. It honors individuals whose contributions exemplify Jessie’s positive philosophy, her principles of fairness and ethical practices, her creativity, and her role as a collaborative bridge builder.
3 Key Points:
1) There are two winners this year. The first is Thomas Bauer from Austria. In his acceptance speech, Thomas said media is a tool, and language and a space, and "how we think them". He encouraged the audience to not be a slave of the system, to get out of the singularity way of thinking (i.e. "the AI" or "the media") and don't focus too narrowly on technology.
2) The second winner is Alice Y. K. Lee from Hong Kong. In her acceptance speech, Alice downplayed the contributions she has made to the field, but confessed that media literacy is her career true love that she discovered thirty years about while doing her doctoral studies in Canada. She mentioned the media pioneers that influenced her, such as the Association for Media Literacy in Toronto, and specifically Neil Andersen, Barry Duncan, and Fr. John Pungente. She mentioned that in Hong Kong, there is limited funding for media literacy, so NGOs and schools support each other. She described the media literacy community as a big family and shared her mantra: collaboration is king.
3) The location of IMLRS 7 was revealed. The next conference will be in Dingle, Ireland in 2028.
So What? Now What? It warmed my heart to hear tributes to AML predecessors like Barry Duncan, who (as Belinha added in her comments), made media literacy accessible through his personality and work as an educator. It makes me appreciate how well-respected AML is in the global media literacy world. Would you believe that Alice brought me a present? I was so surprised and incredibly touched. My next step (far in the future) is to consider what I might present at IMLRS7.
Media Artifacts:
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| A photo of me and Alice from the day before |
9:45 a.m. - Session I
Critical Media Literacy in Kindergarten Teacher Training: A Mixed Methods Case Study from Austria with Kobra Mohammadpourkachalami (Austria)
Summary: (taken from program) Kindergarten teachers play a crucial role in fostering children's critical reflection and analysis of media from an early age. This study examined the integration of critical media literacy into kindergarten teacher training in media education. The training, offered by a private university college for teacher education in Austria, focuses on using digital media to support language development. A primary objective of the training was to cultivate pedagogical and learning strategies that promote critical and reflective engagement with digital media and technology in kindergartens. The study employed Kellner and Share’s critical media literacy framework and a mixed-methods design to address the research question. Analysis of a post-training survey completed by 30 inservice kindergarten teachers and two semi-structured interviews reveals that the training placed a greater emphasis on the use of new media and technology in kindergarten than on teaching about media and fostering critical reflection
3 Key Points:
1) In Austria, teacher training in media literacy began in 2023.
2) Based on the survey results, the #1 reason (86%) was to "use media correctly" and the #2 reason (76%) was "critical thinking". As for competencies, the surveyed kindergarten teachers identified "technical skills" as #1 (83%) and the last was ideology, at 16%.
3) In the interviews conducted, there was little to no engagement with ideology critique or analysing media and advertisements.
So What? Now What? I sat near Chelsea, who is a Canadian kindergarten teacher and media literacy researcher. She whispered lots of observations to me, such as noting that Kobra's "teaching with media" was an equivalent to the AML concept of teaching through and about, and she recognized some of the statistical analysis methods used in the Austrian study. It was nice to hear Chelsea so excited because she was so familiar with the topic.
Media Artifacts:
Developing Critical Media Literacy with TV Series – A Study on Heartstopper in English Language Education with Rieke Dieckhoff and Jan-Eric Leonhardt (Germany)
Summary: (taken from program) This contribution presents an ongoing qualitative dissertation project exploring the use of the Netflix series Heartstopper (2022–2026) in secondary English language education in Germany. Despite students’ high engagement with English-language series, research indicates a lack of critical media literacy regarding the analysis of audiovisual aesthetics. Addressing this gap, the study investigates how series can foster learners’ critical media literacy, focusing on the negotiation of gender and LGBTQIA+. The main research question asks: Which negotiation processes between students and teachers emerge when addressing these topics through Heartstopper? Using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke 2006; 2022), the study examines a corpus of four teacher interviews and ten recorded classroom sessions. Preliminary findings aim to contribute to a deeper understanding of how popular series can support critical media literacy in English language education.
3 Key Points:
1) Language teachers are looking for interesting subject matter, not just focusing on acquiring reading skills. Because Heartstopper is based on a graphic novel, the choice of material was engaging and relevant to students, make it a conscious choice by teachers to use. However, there is little empirical insights on the use of TV or film in classes. Often the focus is on the narrative rather than on cinematic design. The other issue is that when the subject matter involves taboo topics, the teacher will tend to move on rather than dive in to discuss them.
2) Three preliminary themes arose from the research: a) Potential vs Challenges (the topic was motivational and inviting for students to share their individual experiences and opinions, but this required time and meticulous preparation for the teacher and the institutional challenges can prevent teachers from addressing gender and LBTQIA topics) b) Openness vs Closure (there's a tension between promoting diversity in class without imposing teacher opinions on students - teachers must allow for critical voices but ensure safety for all) c) Negotiating Opposition and Disruption (there's a danger of ridiculing, trivializing, and stereotyping gender and LGBTQIA issues).
3) Teachers perceive that popular series are a good way to teach language skills and critical media literacy skills can help.
So What? Now What? I admired the enthusiasm and courage of the German researchers. Only some of their material is in English, so if I get a chance to read their studies, (linked in QR codes in the photo I took) I won't be able to access all.
Media Artifacts:
What prevents teachers and educators interested in media literacy education from practicing it? Lessons from a public policy evaluation in French-speaking Belgium with Pierre Fastrez (Belgium)
Summary: (taken from program) In the context of media literacy education’s (MLE) partial institutionalization at international, national, and regional levels, this presentation reports on the first phase of a two-year evaluation of the MLE policy of the French-speaking Community of Belgium (FCB). The study explores motivational and contextual factors influencing education professionals’ decisions to use—or not use— FCB-supported MLE instruments, analyzes practices among adopters, and maps unmet needs. The project’s first phase combines focus groups with nonusers and interviews with users of the assessed MLE instruments. This presentation focuses on non-users and explores their conceptions of MLE, awareness of and attitudes towards the assessed MLE instruments, barriers to their adoption, and improvement areas in their design and dissemination. Findings include a typology of factors hindering adoption, developed through thematic analysis. The presentation also discusses the methodological transferability of this approach, offering insights for policymakers and researchers seeking to enhance policy design and implementation.
3 Key Points:
1) Implementing media literacy is up to the goodwill of the individual educator.
2) There is a lack of research on the match between policy and actual teaching.
3) In this study, the researchers recruited non-users of tools (that they were already aware of) and asked them questions.
So What? Now What? My favourite thing from Pierre's talk was not about the content but the approach. Pierre made it clear about when the best time was to take photos. This shows a keen awareness of the codes and conventions related to presenting at academic conferences. I will always hold Pierre up in high esteem because he "saved" me during a MILA cross-chapter conference call, and now I have even more admiration for him as a researcher and presenter.
Media Artifacts:
Empowering the Next Generation: Civic Learning Through Media Literacy and Dialogue with Alejandro Ramos and Sophia Portillo (USA)
Summary: (taken from program) In an era of polarization, misinformation, and civic fatigue, higher education faces a pressing challenge: preparing students to think critically, engage across differences, and participate meaningfully in democracy. This session introduces the Ramos Research Institute’s Civic Fellowship Program as a model for integrating civic education and media literacy to cultivate informed and engaged students. Launched in late 2025, the eight-month fellowship brings together university students across the United States through shared readings, structured dialogue, and applied research, organized around thematic strands including Global Democracy, Media Literacy, Systems Thinking, Courageous Dialogue, and Civic Media. Grounded in the Citizenship Empowerment Framework, the program emphasizes knowledge, dialogue, engagement, and reflection. The session invites participants to explore the program’s design, reflect on its applicability within their own contexts, and consider how combining media literacy with structured dialogue can strengthen civic learning and cross-ideological engagement.
So What? Now What? I wanted to listen to Alejandro and Sophia's talk, but they were deep in conversation with someone else and I didn't want to interrupt. I snuck a couple of photos in during their table talk, and at lunch on the same day, I got a chance to get a recap from Alejandro and Sophia.
3 Key Points:
1) Having civic dialogue can take a lot of courage. Students were trained to lead talks on college campuses on controversial topics. They had to read books as part of their preparation (High Conflict by Amanda Ripley, I Never Though of It That Way by Monica Gusman, Reclaiming Conversations by Sherri Turk, Campus Free Speech, What Universities Owe Democracy, and The Bill of Obligations).
2) Sophia did her talk at Cornell on AI surveillance and human rights. She used a DSRP approach (Distinctions, Systems, Relationships, Perspectives). You are not supposed to analyze the issue in terms of black or white; you break down into parts and then the parts into a whole, to understand the system and all sides. It removes the "us vs them" mentality.
3) Students crave the space to have these conversations. "Democracy failed the people". Universities are shutting down because they aren't seen as useful by the average person. Instead of thinking that "average Joes just hates higer education", we need to go out to the people to understand and explain. Students see what universities are doing as a facade and students end up self-censoring because they are worried about being judged. We need an interdisciplinary rather than a mandatory course on civics.
Media Artifacts:
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| Me with Alejandro, Sophia & Remzie at the closing event |
Teacher Network Programme: community building for continuous media literacy development in Hungarian schools with Noémi Everling-Beke (Hungary)
Summary: (taken from program) Developing media literacy requires a multifaceted pedagogical approach. The media environment is constantly changing, so educators must expand their own knowledge of both pedagogical methods and the media content used in the classroom. In Hungary, the development of media literacy in formal education is implemented in various subjects, but training in this area is not necessarily part of teacher education. Since 2019, the Idea Foundation has offered teacher training courses accredited by the Hungarian Educational Authority to prepare teachers for the complex task of developing critical media literacy. Teachers who complete the training can join the Foundation’s Teacher Network, which aims to provide a professional community and to support continuous media literacy development through workshops, lesson plans addressing current issues. During the presentation a tested professional community-building concept, its programs, and media literacy teaching materials will be introduced.
3 Key Points:
1) Teachers aren't really trained to delivery media literacy education so this six-month program helps educators integrate media literacy in all subjects.
2) Their delivery vehicle is a Mail Chimp listserv and they can check the impact by the number of people who click on teh articles, as well as a Google Form.
3) They try to find specific examples and write interesting topics, like their recent FIFA themed article.
So What? Now What? I hadn't planned on seeing Noemi, but since both Alejandro/Sophia and Maarit's tables were full, I happily listened to Noemi. I will see how much of their content is in Hungarian, and maybe I can link to their work in the Canadian School Libraries Digital Media Toolkit.
Media Artifacts:
Disconnections and Reconnections: Critical Media Literacy for Environmental Justice with Jeff Share (USA)
Summary: (taken from program) With ecomedia literacy and critical media literacy we explore dominant ideologies and ways media and language have been used to influence thinking and understanding about our relationship with the natural world. We question ideologies that separate mind from body, people from nature, and encourage humans to constrain and dominate the natural world. These disconnections encourage extractive policies of governments and corporations, as well as the lack of empathy and activism from people across the globe. We address the ways language and media have been used to separate us from nature, to remove the self-restraint that have kept us in balance with nature for thousands of years, and replace those ideas with a worldview that supports a colonial capitalistic project of limitless consumption, endless growth, and exploitive extraction. Our goal is to combine research and practice to support educators and researchers to use critical media literacy pedagogy for environmental justice.
3 Key Points:
1) #IfTheyGunnedMeDown is a hashtag effort on stereotypes, part of a unit on photography. Students purposefully selected images of themselves that made them look bad or good, like a protagonist or antagonist. Each is a visual manipulation. They noted how newspapers or news outlets will deliberately choose a certain photo to force a certain narrative. The students notice what the photograph conveys and politicize it, which is why this matters.
2) We need to teach the language so students can name and notice things. In the "Cameras in the Classroom" program, they have discussions like "What adjective would you use to describe this person?" and "What did the photographer do differently?"
3) Integrate this with language arts. It's photography as pedagogy.
So What? Now What? Neil Andersen, president of AML, knows and likes Jeff Share, and I can see why. I was drawn to his table by overhearing him talk about the hashtag. He is smart and generous, and shared with me his article on Cameras in the Classroom via email.
Media Artifacts:
AI-Supported Fact-Based Writing: Scaffolding Journalistic Production Skills among Schoolchildren with Maarit Jaakkola (Sweden)
Summary: (taken from program) This paper explores the potential of AI-driven scaffolding in journalism literacy education through a case study grounded in the concept of pedagogical journalism. While journalism literacy has traditionally focused on the critical analysis of published news, this study shifts attention to the production of fact-based journalistic texts by young learners. Drawing on genre pedagogy, the paper presents a conceptual model of production literacy and examines its implementation through an AI-assisted editing tool designed for learners aged 13–15. The empirical study is situated in a digital production and publishing environment used in Nordic and European classrooms. Data consist of interviews with experienced educators from primary and higher education (N=10), focusing on critical stages in the journalistic writing process. The findings indicate that ideation and text formulation are key areas requiring support and that these stages are particularly well suited to automated scaffolding. The paper contributes to emerging research on AI-supported writing pedagogy and highlights the pedagogical potential of automation in journalism education.
3 Key Points:
1) Students can create their own publications through Mobile Stories, a Swedish association.
2) Generative AI is in the editor, which makes for an interesting process. It does not create text; instead it asks questions and links learners to existing text.
So What? Now What? Maarit was very busy so I was only able to glean this information very quickly at the end of the session. I look forward to interacting with Maarit in the future with the MILA.
11:00 a.m. - Session II
Who do you trust? Media and Information Literacy (MIL) in the era of influencer journalism with Ricardo Morais (Portugal)
Summary: (taken from program) The rise of social media has transformed information sharing, leading to what is termed “influencer journalism”, where social media personalities act as news conduits. These “news influencers” engage large audiences across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, often replacing traditional media for many users. Recent data (Reuters Institute, 2025; Pew Research, 2024) show that audiences, particularly younger demographics, increasingly favor the “authenticity” of these personalities, even as the boundaries between information, opinion, and persuasion become blurred. This hybridization, driven by algorithmic mediation, raises concerns regarding misinformation and the displacement of institutional trust. This paper argues that traditional Media and Information Literacy (MIL) must evolve to address these challenges. We propose integrating algorithmic, economic, and emotional literacies into a broader framework of “power literacy”. Ultimately, MIL serves as the intellectual infrastructure for democratic resilience, equipping citizens to distinguish persuasive performance from informed reporting in an ecosystem where virality is often mistaken for veracity.
So What? Now What? Okay, I feel like I need to explain myself. On Day 3, by this point in the day, I had attended 8 different sessions. My mind was starting to get a bit full. Plus I got confused about the rooms (GKG1 vs G11 vs GK11). I wanted to attend this session, but I went to the wrong room, and by the time my brain caught up with my ears (even as I was busy taking notes), it took until the second of three sessions before I realized that I was in the wrong room! Big, big thanks to Ricardo who sent me a copy of his presentation for me to peruse after the fact. That's my next step - to actually look at the session I intended on watching!
Outsmarting the Machine: Media and Information Literacy as a Safeguard against cognitive decline in the age of digital dependence with Katerina Chryssanthopoulou (Greece)
Summary: (taken from program) The growing outsourcing of human cognition to AI poses serious risks to human agency, critical reasoning, and democratic life, making MIL a crucial safeguard in the AI-driven media ecosystem. Drawing on the Extended Mind Hypothesis, we introduce the concept of Critical Extended Cognition (CEC), which frames digital tools as supportive cognitive partners rather than substitutes for human thinking, highlighting how algorithmic personalization, generative AI, and opaque recommendation systems threaten democratic deliberation by fostering manipulation, polarization, and echo chambers. Empirical findings reveal widespread cognitive offloading, relying heavily on digital devices for memory, decision-making, and sense-making, signaling a structural shift toward cognitive automation. MIL interventions help counter these risks by fostering metacognitive sovereignty, epistemic vigilance, and ethical awareness. By embedding MIL and CEC in education and AI ethics, societies can balance technological augmentation with cognitive autonomy, ensuring that AI strengthens rather than undermines human judgment, creativity, cultural memory, and democratic values.
So What? Now What? This was the second talk that I wanted to attend but missed. (Don't ask me how I mixed this up with the session I actually attended!) I just have to hope that Katerina shares her slide deck with IC4ML so I can look at it later. If not, I'll get in touch with Alice Y. K. Lee or Donna Chu to ask them about what they heard, since they were there.
Media Artifacts:
The Algorithmic Classroom: Integrated AI Media Literacy Frameworks in Schools with Melda Yildiz (Turkey/USA)
Summary: (taken from program) The rapid proliferation of Generative AI (GenAI) has transformed the information landscape, necessitating a shift in K-12 media literacy. This presentation introduces the Integrated Five-Dimension AI Media Literacy Framework (IFD-AILF), a human-centered model designed to move students from passive consumers to ethical collaborators with algorithmic systems. Drawing on practical public school experience across diverse socio-economic settings, the IFD-AILF addresses the "black box" of synthetic content through five core competencies: Critical Interrogation & Provenance, Algorithmic Ethics & Equity, Creative Prompting & Human Agency, Data Stewardship & Privacy, and Future-Casting. Attendees will explore how to transition from identifying human-led disinformation to interrogating algorithmic provenance and encoded bias. By synthesizing Digital Education Council (DEC) principles with concrete classroom strategies, this session provides a roadmap for educators to cultivate advanced critical thinking, ensuring students are prepared to navigate and shape the future of information ecosystems in an AI-saturated world.
So What? Now What? When I ran to the other room, Melda reassured me. We already bonded over a love of Canada (she worked in British Columbia for a few years) and Fluevog footwear (a habit she obtained while in Vancouver). She has already said that we will eventually work together, so we exchanged emails and I will contact her about possibly linking her work to the Canadian School Libraries Digital Media Literacy Toolkit as well.
How Student-Led School Newspapers Can Drive Media Literacy with Cat Rodie and Meredith Heaney (Australia)
Summary: (taken from program) Authentic student-led school newspapers are an effective and engaging vehicle for developing media literacy in primary education. The School News Project partners with public primary schools across New South Wales to produce student-led newspapers through the Press Gang Program, an immersive, inquiry-based media literacy initiative. During Press Gang, students step into the role of reporters, working in a simulated newsroom and engaging in core journalistic processes, including interviewing, fact-checking, source evaluation, collaborative writing, and editing, while developing critical thinking and media literacy skills. Each program culminates in the publication of a printed or digital newspaper for the wider school community. This presentation outlines the project’s conceptual foundations, methodology, and outcomes, demonstrating how student-led newspapers can effectively drive media literacy. Strand
3 Key Points:
1) The students form teams and use the 5W formula to plan their news articles and interviews. They have to agree on the interview subject and prepare questions. They are responsible for gathering information. It runs out of Sydney, Australia and can be run as a withdrawal group, a club, or with the teacher and the entire class. It is very inclusive as there are students with ASD, ADHD, limited English, vision or hearing disabilities, etc. and they can participate.
2) They set up events like actual press conferences, which reinforces that their work is real and matters. They learn quickly that Google is a search engine, not a source, and to use trusted sources to fact-check their work. It is the group's goal to have every primary school in Australia with their own student newspaper.
3) AI-made articles and AI generated content started to creep into the process but when Press Gang did a side by side analysis of AI work vs work authored by kids like them, and when they were asked if they preferred to read content that reflects their own experiences written by kids for kids, or hyperpolished articles written in an adult voice, they said they preferred the kid versions.
So What? Now What? I didn't intend on attending this talk - plus, Carol Arcus, my AML colleague was already there, and we tried hard to spread ourselves out so we could hear the widest variety of speakers at the conference. Listening to Cat and Meredith challenged my own biases that newspapers are a "dead media text".
Media Artifacts:
Case Study: Development of an Open Educational Digital Media Literacy Resource for Students at Munster Technological University, Ireland with Catherine Palmer and Michelle Power (Ireland)
Summary: (taken from program) In Ireland, students entering third level education will vary in digital media literacy skills and few third level students will experience dedicated media literacy education. To address this skills gap for students at Munster Technological University, academic and library staff have worked with students and domain experts to create an open educational resource (OER) available to all students at the university. The resource takes approximately one hour to complete and combines, text, images, videos and interactive tasks. The self-contained nature of the resource means that lecturers with no previous experience of teaching digital media literacy can deliver the content in class and extend the content to their discipline. The presentation will discuss the development of the learning resource as well as dissemination and evaluation strategies. The resource is tailored towards university students but may also be of interest to educators working with older second level students and others continuing education.
3 Key Points:
1) Students enter university with varied digital media literacy skills. Their institution is a STEM focused university. They wanted to address the digital media literacy gap. They made it easy for staff to embed it into programs by creating 8 short units that only take 2 hours to complete and the units are influenced by UNESCO's SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).
2) The university was concerned about anti-immigrant rhetoric spilling into violance and online misogyny. Social media feeds are the primary source of information on political issues for Europeans under age 30.
3) The university had experts to develop the content, as well as 19 student partners. They used a bottom up instead of a top-down approach.
So What? Now What? This makes me look forward to exploring Ireland in two years.
Media Artifacts:
1:30 p.m. - Session III
The McLuhans, AI, and the Teacher-Learner Reversal with Carol Arcus (Canada)
Summary: (taken from program) Marshall and Eric McLuhan’s provocative insights—the medium is the message, the global village, and media as environments—continue to shape how educators understand learning in mediated worlds. This presentation applies the McLuhans’ media ecology as a framework for understanding generative AI in education. Rather than viewing AI as a neutral tool, the session frames it as a new environment that reshapes epistemology, perception, thinking, authorship, and classroom relationships. Drawing on Eric McLuhan’s laws of media, participants will consider what AI enhances, displaces, retrieves, and reverses in teaching and learning. The session examines the possibilities and challenges AI introduces in K–12 classrooms, including creativity, accessibility, authorship, ethics, and critical thinking. Practical classroom strategies will be shared, positioning AI as a subject of inquiry and a participatory medium rather than a shortcut. Grounded in McLuhan’s enduring insights, the presentation encourages educators to approach AI with curiosity, reflection, and learner agency.
So What? Now What? I couldn't attend as this was a time slot that had multiple sessions I wanted to attend (I wanted to go to Presentation Groups 2, 3 and 6 but "the cloning machine was not working", as I often quip when I want to be in several places simultaneously). Chelsea attended and grabbed a few photos.
Media Artifacts:
Critical Digital Literacy Professional Development for Teachers: A Year in Review with Joanna Marshall (USA)
Summary: (taken from program) As of 2023 in the United States, there are currently 19 states that have taken legislative action to incorporate media literacy into education. There is a gulf between policy and implementation. One factor that can bridge this gap is providing teachers with professional development. In the state of Illinois there is legislation for requiring a unit of media literacy at the high school level. Over the course of the 25-26 school year , a classroom teacher in Illinois provided professional development on Critical Digital Literacy to staff at a suburban high school. The impact of the sessions on the participants will help to reveal what components of the professional development translated to classroom implementation. The real world experience of teachers will be shared. The session will reveal how to provide teachers with professional development opportunities that have tangible classroom results.
3 Key Points:
1) Joanna has several maxims: a) there's a method to the madness, b) critical digital literacy is highly contextualized, and c) it's all about relationships.
2) Professional Development can fill the gap between policy and implementation. At her school, teachers were allowed to choose what they signed up for. Her critical digital literacy "course" was 5 sessions long, and not everyone made it through all 5, which is okay; it's important to meet people where they are.
3) Her first session used a QOTD (question of the day, a format she uses in her high school science class) about concerts, to see what media the teachers liked, how they accessed it, and about production. She got her colleagues to realize that the media environment world of our youth no longer exists. McLuhanesque questions posed included "What sources are our students getting information from?" and "How much critical awareness are they given?" Her second session shares current research on where kids are at, like the Pew Report saying the % of time 13-17 year olds are on certain apps. The third and fourth sessions deal with the ML Key Concepts and applying the frameworks. Teachers need time to dig through what's available.
4) The key takeaways from this experience: i) experiential joy and rigor, ii) practice, application, time iii) teacher-driven assessments, iv) offering in person PD is critical, v) give time to modify for context is king and resources must be easy and editable
So What? Now What? In trying to see as many different people as I could, was it wise for me to attend two sessions by Joanna Marshall? Not necessarily, but this woman is so captivating to listen to and, as a practicing teacher actually in a school, she is "the real deal". I would love to be able to offer something like she did/will be for my own staff related to AI (AI through a critical digital literacy lens). I got to ask her a question about the benefits and drawbacks of running professional learning with your own staff.
Media Artifacts:
Empowering 21st-Century Learners: The Role of School Library Media Specialists in Advancing Media Literacy and New Literacies with Patricia Dennis (USA)
Summary: (taken from program) School Library Media Specialists (SLMS) are central to advancing media and new literacies—digital, participatory, and critical—within modern library media centers. Grounded in New Literacies frameworks and TPACK, SLMS move beyond custodial roles to act as collaborators, mentors, and instructional partners. By integrating STEAM, Makerspaces, game-based learning, and multimedia projects, they design inquiry-driven, technology-rich experiences that foster creativity, collaboration, and digital fluency. Examples include 3D-pen Makerspace tasks, digital simulations, and blended projects combining storytelling and game design. Persistent challenges—limited technology access, uneven professional development, and resource gaps—require systemic support and targeted training. This practice-focused perspective positions SLMS as leaders in media literacy, advocating for equitable, media-rich learning environments that prepare students to navigate and create in complex digital spaces.
3 Key Points:
1) The TPACK model is foundational to the SLLC and it helps to compare it in a class vs library environment.
2) The school library is positioned to do great things but if it is not in place to give resources, it cannot function.
3) School must add the school library media specialst (SMLS) into their plans.
So What? Now What? It's disappointing that Patricia is going to be leaving her SLMS position to work at the university. I asked her a question about that. She hopes that there, she will be able to affect more change, do more case studies, and advocate for school library staff. I was also attracted to her Minecraft-themed slide deck. I sent her tons of photos of her presenting, so we are already in contact now thanks to IMLRS.
Media Artifacts:
2:45 p.m. - Session IV
Developing AI Guides for a School Board and a Country with Diana Maliszewski (Canada)
Summary: (taken from program) Canadian School Libraries created their Digital and Media Literacy Toolkit, which was released in the fall of 2025 to coincide with Canadian School Library Day. A few months prior, during the summer of 2025, the Toronto District School Board organized a writing project to support its educators with ethical and informed use of AI as part of teaching and learning. Hear about the similarities and differences between these two ambitious projects, how the approach was quintessentially Canadian, and how policies can both liberate and impede pedagogy.
3 Key Points:
1) Canadians are known as being polite, multicultural, and community minded. The AI guides try not to "stir the pot" and help as many people as possible, even with a wide range of scenarios.
2) Creating AI guides is like making poutine: it's messy, there are many regional variations, there are simple basic fundamentals, and it's still great despite all the ways it can be made.
3) The CSL project was a volunteer project with a non-profit organization, made for school library professionals with varied AI interests ; the TDSB project was a paid project with an official Ministry organization, made for educators with varied AI knowledge and both projects aimed to help people with AI.
So What? Now What? This was my session. I am so glad that I had the chance to present it to the AML Media AQ beforehand; it helped me work out some of the kinks and allowed me to find the "poutine path" which unified it. I'm grateful to Alice and Chelsea for taking a couple of photos of me presenting. I counted and there were 13 people in the room that heard the talk. I appreciated their presence, because there were so many options to choose from!
Media Artifacts:
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From Television Addiction to Algorithmic Attention: MIL Curriculum Design for Epistemic Agency with Gina Marcello (USA)
Summary: (taken from program) AI-enabled platforms optimize for engagement, shaping emotion, attention, and ultimately what counts as knowledge and truth. U.S. media and information literacy (MIL) still leans on defensive skills that treat misinformation as isolated content and learners as detached fact-checkers. While well-intentioned, such approaches reduce MIL to a set of decontextualized cognitive heuristics, focusing on individual responsibility rather than the structural, affective, and epistemic conditions under which misinformation circulates. Building on Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi’s (1990, 2002) empirical work on media use, motivation, and affect, this presentation suggests an updated MIL foundation: curriculum oriented toward epistemic agency within sociotechnical attention infrastructures.
So What? Now What? I didn't take detailed notes from the other two presenters that shared my time slot. Instead, I took copious amounts of photos, to capture the ideas shared. Gina knows Neil Andersen; they did a podcast together on AI. It was lovely to meet her in person.
Media Artifacts:
Ghosts in the Learning Machine: Teaching Creative Resistance in the Algorithmic Age with Ralph Beliveau (USA)
Summary: (taken from program) Generative AI reshapes information creation and consumption, so media literacy education faces a critical challenge: preparing learners to navigate systems that are transformative yet opaque, democratizing yet discriminatory. This presentation explores critical AI literacy at the intersection of creativity and information access, examining who benefits, who is excluded, and what literacies foster human agency in AI-mediated environments. Drawing on Marcus du Sautoy, the presentation considers human creativity’s roots in intentionality, emotional resonance, and cultural meaning-making aside algorithmic pattern recognition. It examines two critical tensions: the myth of AI as autonomous creator (when systems rely on scraped human datasets) and creative critical pedagogy. When students can generate content through simple prompts, how do we nurture both their creative and cognitive capacities? Pedagogical strategies include investigating training datasets, comparing AI and human creativity through exploratory versus transformational frameworks, and critiquing both creative processes and product to consider ethical human agency.
So What? Now What? Again, because I was focused on doing a decent job on my own talk, I didn't take a lot of written notes from these talks and relied on my photographs to remind me about the content covered.
Media Artifacts:
4:00 p.m. - Session V
A social-material and relational media literacy approach for responding to AI generated Synthetic media with Michael Dezuanni (Australia)
Summary: (taken from program) In this paper, we will build on Dezuanni’s ‘Building Blocks’ model (2015, 2018) to consider how theoretical and material resources can be deployed to construct agentic digital media literacies when interacting with AI generated synthetic media. The model assembles four clusters: digital materials, digital making, conceptual resources and analytic processes to consider how people may form critically reflective relationships with technology to construct and interact with media for meaning making and relational agency. In this paper, we apply the building blocks model to a selection of images and text generated with GenAI tools. Through crafting prompts, refining system-suggested prompts, and selecting specific artistic features, the images can be seen as a negotiation between not only us as creators and the AI-generator, but broader social, cultural, political and economic assumptions entwined, and reinforced, by the inter-relationships of actors involved.
3 Key Points:
1) Don't be intimidated by the title - this presentation is about media production with students and how they get students to make media with AI tools around, especially in an environment awash with AI generated video content. What does medial literacy mean when you go beyond critical analysis. What do kids need to learn as they make media? How do you think about how digital materials are created?
2) Much of the GenAI made videos are offensive, such as the "Bush Legend" (which is a person who makes AI nature videos in the style of Steve Irwin [Crocodile Hunter] but with a stereotypical Australian Aboriginal invented person). It begs the question "If you make it with AI, are you still the artist?" Because of much of video production is physical (e.g. "How do you choreograph a shot?" or "How do you position a person related to the camera?"), how does this experience change when we bring AI into the mix?
3) Michael's work used a paid credit AI tool and they attempted to make a nature documentary / clip from a film in four different styles (Bluey / Mad Max / Neighbours / McLeod's Daughters). They found that the protagonists of their video clips were all men, and that they burned through their money very quickly to get the small amount of content they did. They have no answers yet at this stage of their research and are still exploring.
So What? Now What? I am a huge fan of Michael Dezuanni. I think the man is brilliant and his work extremely accessible and very important. This presentation did not disappoint. Remember how I said that we in AML tried hard to spread out our attendance to different presentation groups, so we could get the maximum impact from the huge amount of wisdom at the conference? All three AML representatives went to Dezuanni's session.
Media Artifacts:
From Tools to Culture: Media Education Perspectives on Teachers' Professional Development in the Age of AI with Luciano Di Mele (Italy)
Summary: (taken from program) Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently one of the most complex and stimulating challenges that schools face. On the one hand, Large Language Models (LLMs) and other machine learning-based tools are rapidly entering everyday teaching practice; on the other hand, the vast majority of teachers report not yet feeling adequately prepared to respond to the expected transformations. This perceived inadequacy is, above all, cultural as well as technical, and concerns the very meaning of being a teacher in the age of AI.
3 Key Points:
1) What do schools expect when they invite trainers to teach AI to staff?
2) When the main objective is to maximize interactions, it can lead to negative consequences (like the Facebook blitz that led to genocide in Myanmar).
3) We need to trust people, not thermostats.
So What? Now What? It was a bit hard to follow this talk, as Luciano was more comfortable reading his notes in English. However, his English was infinitely better than any presentation I might give in a second language.
Media Artifacts:
AI Imaginaries and AI Literacy: Valuable Lessons from Media Literacy Education with Donna Chu (Hong Kong)
Summary: (taken from program) The rhetoric advocating for greater AI literacy is becoming more compelling at a time when the use of AI has become increasingly commonplace. AI literacy may be new, but we have seen similar challenges before. At the turn of the 21st century, a new digital environment emerged, characterised by interconnectedness, interactivity, and instant exchange. Educators debated how best to integrate these tools into teaching and learning, while governments sought to seize emerging opportunities. Yet digital media was not the first to alarm educators— films, television, and video raised concerns throughout the 20th century. The rhetoric has long emphasised media’s ubiquity and influence, arguing that children and young people must be educated to critically engage with it. Under different names—media literacy, media and information literacy, digital literacy, new media literacy, and so forth—these efforts preceded AI literacy in response to sweeping changes in our information environment. This study argues for the urgency of learning from the lessons of media literacy education. Educators committed to developing media and related literacies are interviewed for their experiences and insights. Drawing on their AI imaginaries and conceptualisations of AI literacy, the study proposes an actionable educational framework informed by past practice. Despite shifts in terminology, the essence of thriving in the digital age, with or without AI, must be recognised.
3 Key Points:
1) There are so many terms for this: digital literacy / data literacy / scientific literacy, etc. which contain both familiar debates and novel complexities, but have a shared foundation of classical literacies. It can be tiresome to see the proliferation of so many literacies!
2) Media literacy has shifted to be more participatory. What else has changed? Generative and autonomous systems, algorithmic opacity, prompting and human-AI interactions, a focus on ethics and bias, and human-AI collaboration.
3) AI literacy is seen as a quick fix, not at this conference per se but elsewhere - it's not the grand solution. consider ecology, technology, and care.
So What? Now What? Donna's was the last presentation talk of the conference. There were great questions asked of the presenters, especially by David Buckingham and Pierre Fastrez.
Media Artifacts:
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