Back in August the U.S. Embassy in collaboration with Dr Carol Babb launched a Media Smart program to educate teachers and students about the meaning and practice of Media Literacy.
And while the program had been in its pilot stage hosting teacher training all summer, today was the first time we got to see it in action with high school students.
We stopped by the Anglican Cathedral College for a look at this afternoon's activities and got a first-hand look at all the ways that these students are becoming Media Smart. Here's more.
Patrick Flowers, Head of I.T. Department
"The students learned how to make sure that they analyze the information, critique it make sure that they look for the sources rather than just receiving particular information and just sharing it with any person and so we learned many concepts such as you know what is media literacy learning about misinformation disinformation, fake news, ways how to stop misinformation and disinformation and help become a good digital citizen in a sense as it relates for the I.T. aspect that I teach."
Kyle Mendez, Student, ACC
"Miss I learned about social media being a platform where you have to watch what you post and how you talk about what you are posting because if you think about it again and you say mean what I just posted was very bad and it could harm this person, it's not really deleted miss because people could save it. Those are options on the platform so you have to be really, you have to have your eyes open while you do things on social media."
Cherisse Halsall:
"How do you now see, news and social media and how they come together?"
Raheema Hafiye, Student, ACC
"I would say both are I would say they are very similar because what is on the news people would reply to on social media and they would give their two cents on it and how they. Feel about it so I would say they are very similar."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Have you learned anything about the process of making news would you say?"
Raheema Hafiye, Student, ACC
"Yes, ma'am you can either be truthful and you know or you could make up your own story and that's what Belizeans like to do. It doesn't go so it goes so now."
"Dig into the information more just because you see it everywhere doesn't neccesairly mean its true."
Patrick Flowers, Head of I.T. Department
"For this media literacy program, several teachers participated in a summer workshop under the. Title media smart and so the teachers that participated basically learned how to integrate media literacy within the curriculum or the subject area that they taught, so they tried to bring forth that concept while still covering the necessary contents for their relevant subject areas."
The Media-Smart Program is being carried out in high schools countrywide.
