HKAECT 2014 International Conference
Integrating News Literacy into Teaching in the Age of Social Media
Masato Kajimoto and Anne Kruger
Journalism and Media Studies Centre,
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
kajimoto@hku.hk; akruger@hku.hk
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Abstract
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This workshop demonstrates how the two authors have been integrating news literacy and critical thinking into their curriculum for the last three years to guide the future generation of discerning news media consumers who could critically distinguish reliable facts and knowledge from the problematic. It introduces the key concepts adopted from various literatures while showcasing some of the fresh case studies with “ripped-from-the-headlines” examples developed for exercises and discussions, which especially addresses the issues surrounding today’s social media-saturated, mobile world. It highlights some of the students’ research that exemplify the skills their pupils acquire. The authors also suggest a variety of ways their teaching modules could be modified according to the academic environment in different institutions and countries. The news literacy initiative is part of the Asia Pacific Digital Citizens Project at their university, for which the two have been collaborating with like-minded scholars and educators around the world.
Keywords: News, Journalism, Social media, Literacy, Curriculum, Education
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Bio
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KAJIMOTO, Masato
Dr. Kajimoto specializes in news literacy education, multimedia storytelling, and social media in journalism. His research incorporates learning analytics, media and cultural studies and narrative analysis. Before beginning a career in teaching and research, he worked as an online reporter and “Specials” editor (web producer) for CNN. He holds a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia in the U.S. and a PhD in Sociology from the University of Hong Kong. He heads the Asia Pacific Digital Citizens Project at the Journalism and Media Studies Centre, the University of Hong Kong.
KRUGER, Anne
Ms Kruger was a daily Business News Presenter and world News fill-in Anchor at CNN International, and Anchor and Senior Reporter at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. During her time at CNN, Anne was assigned to cover SARS (2003) as a daily beat. At ABC TV Anne was Anchor and National Correspondent for the iconic documentary program ‘Landline’. During her 20 year industry career Anne witnessed first-hand the transfer from analog to digital media technology and the implications for journalism. Anne has a MA in Journalism (Research) from the Queensland University of Technology and is a PhD candidate and Assistant Lecturer at the Journalism and Media Studies Centre, the University of Hong Kong.
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