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2008 Spring CMNS 428: Media and Education

List of Media Education Websites

Organizational Name /

Site URL

Action for Media Education (AME) – A website of a Seattle-base non-profit organization promoting and advocating for critical media literacy education, with special outreach to parents, teachers, and those who work with children. It offers media literacy resources to teachers and parents to empower children and youth to active, critical, and creative consumers. / Adbusters – The granddaddy of consumer activism in Canada and around the world, the Adbusters Media Foundation has defined generations of culture-jammers throughAdbusters magazine and consumer public awareness campaigns. The Adbusters Web site features articles, a jammer's gallery of parody ads and stickers, discussion forums, and information on various campaigns such as Buy-Nothing Day and TV Turn-Off Week. / Advertising Avenue – A useful site to find recent televisions ads, particularly for youth-oriented products. / Alliance for a Media Literate America (AMLA) – One of the leading American media education organizations. The AMLA was formed to unite the media literacy field and lead the drive to include the teaching of media literacy in a wide range of educational settings.Various resources available. / Association for Media Literacy (AML) – The goal of the AML is to promote the understanding of culture and technology through media education. AML seeks to do this through education of students, teachers and the public; through lobbying governments and media industries; and through networking with those with shared concerns in education, business, government, and community organizations. / Australian Teachers of Media, Qld Inc (ATOM Qld Inc) – ATOM Qld Inc advocates for media education in Queensland, Australia, by providing professional development opportunities for teachers; advising education authorities on policy and curriculum development; and providing students with opportunities to engage critically with the media. /
The British Film Institute (BFI) – A charitable organization established in 1933. It promotes understanding and appreciation of British’ s rich film and television heritage and culture. It offers a wide range of educational materials (e.g., screen guides) for a wide range of audiences such as primary and secondary school pupils to undergraduate students. /
Brand Hype – a recent web resource designed to foster informed debate about product placement in the movies. You'll find placement examples in the Gallery, lots of articles listed in the Bibliography, a discussion forum, and a critical video all about product placement called Behind the Screens. / Center for Democracy & Technology – A Washington (DC)-based non-profit public policy organization dedicated to promoting the democratic potential of today’s open, decentralized global Internet. It offers Internet users online information resources (reports and articles, press releases podcasting) to maximize the democratizing potential of the Internet. / Changemakers – An Arlington (VA)-based non-profit organization working as an initiation of Ashoka who provides solutions for the world’s most urgent social problems. It builds a global online open source community that helps everyone become a change maker and presents compelling stories (e.g., films) that seek the best social solutions and collaborative social change. / Children’s Media Project (CMP) – A New York-based non-profit arts and education organization creating a teaching and learning environment where artists, educators, community activists and especially children and youth can learn to interact with the media arts both as creators and critical viewers. Its major task involves accepting and showing on the website a variety of youth produced videos. / The Cool Hunter – a leading online publication founded by Bill Tikos. It provides worldwide audiences an upmarket hub for what is the most creative, the most innovative, the newest, best, stylish, sociable, and coolest in architecture, design, gadgets, lifestyle, urban living, fashion, travel, and pop culture. Under its “Ads” section in particular, there is a variety of postmodern eclectic images constantly updated. Those audiences interested in designing subversive ads may find the website useful. / Epistemic Games – A website aiming to build the future education through gaming founded by David Williamson Shaffer, a Game scientist as well as an associate professor of educational psychology and curriculum and instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It offers games called epistemic games that enable players to leaning to think like engineers, urban planners, journalists, architects, and other innovative professionals, giving them the tools they need to survive in a changing media environment. / Games for Change – Games for Change (G4C) provides support, visibility and shared resources to organizations and individuals using digital games for social change. This is the primary community of practice for those interested in making digital games about the most pressing issues of our day, from poverty to race and the environment. We are the social change/social issues banch of Serious Games Initiative. /
History of Children and Youth Group – The goals of this group include: promoting teaching and research in the field of the history of children and youth in Canada and beyond; disseminating information about sources, current research and publications; encouraging the preservation of archival sources in the history of children and youth; linking researchers, professors, teachers and students with each other and with other similar organizations in other countries; and promoting social justice concerns of contemporary children and youth in Canada and around the world. /
Jamie Oliver.com School Dinners – A website of an English celebrity chef called The Naked Chef, promoting nutritionally healthy food and dieting for kids and challenging the junk food culture by attempting radical changes to the school meals system. It offers downloadable information (including videos, DVDs) about what national and local governments, educators, parents, and children should do to achieve the goal. / The Magic – An UNICEF’s (United Nations Children’s Fund) website responding to the Oslo Challenge of 1993, which called on media professionals, educators, governments, organizations, parents, children and young people themselves to recognize the enormous potential of media to make the world a better place for children. It functions as a public arena where children and young people in the world are getting their voices heard and putting their hopes and concerns through TV programs, radio shows, newspapers, websites and other media projects. /
The Meatrix – An online grassroots advocacy established in 2003, showing online animations that spoofs the movie The Matrix, while educating viewers about the problems with factory farming and today’s meat and dairy supplies. / Media Awareness Network – Canada’s Leading Media Education Website – Fabulous lesson plan resources available. /
MediaChannel – A New York-based media issues online site founded by, featuring media criticism, news, reports, resources, research and perspectives from hundreds of organizations and contributors worldwide. MediaChannel exists to provide information and diverse perspectives and inspire debate, collaboration, action and citizen engagement. Its media ownership chart is very provoking. /

MediaEd – A British website for teaching about film, media and film-making with young children, young people and adults. It provides teaching ideas, lesson plans and project reports, examples of student work, details of where you can get support and training or find workshops or education screenings for students. /
Media Literacy Clearing House – A website designed for K-12 educators who want to learn more about media literacy; integrate it into classroom instruction; help students read the media; and, help students become more media aware. /
Media Literacy Online Project – While not kept up to date the way it used to be, this is still a fantastic resource for medial literacy materials and links to media literacy organizations. /
MediaWatch – Their goal is to challenge abusive stereotypes and other biased images commonly found in the media. Media Watch distributes educational videos, media literacy information and newsletters to help create more informed consumers of the mass media. We do not believe in any form of censorship, especially the silencing of marginalized groups. Corporate owned media will use any image or story to manipulate buying power and opinions, regardless of the harm engendered by their images. We believe people's safety should come before profit. /
Molleindustria – A website of an Italian team of autonomist Marxists (including artists, designers and programmers) who aims at making use of online video gaming in order for media activists, net-artists, habitual players and critics and detractors of videogames to sidestep mainstream distribution channels and to overcome a lack of means to subvert the capitalist system. For example, its McDonald’s video game is very interesting and thought-provoking. /
MuchMusic Media Education Website – A Toronto-based media education website of MuchMusic, a division of CTVglobemedia offering music, music related programs and youth culture. It offers a variety of study guides addressing media and social issues from a pop-culture, youth oriented perspectives. / National Film Board of Canada – On the extensive NFB Web site, teachers can order award-winning videos and teaching kits on a wide range of topics—including media education. The topics are subdivided into categories such as "global media," "making media," "media violence" and "spin-doctors and tycoons." /
No Logo – No Logo is the companion Web site to Naomi Klein’s recent book of the same name—described as a "book that became part of a movement." For students who wish to explore globalization, consumerism and advocacy, this site offers a wealth of topical information. Although it doesn’t offer any lesson plans, there is a Classroom section, where educators and students can post thoughts, ideas and questions. /
No One’s Listening – A website providing podcasting, videos, blogs that feature topics dedicated to media literacy, education, and entertainment. It provides a number of interesting and thought-provoking shows anyone can download or browse in the archives. /
Nordicom – A website of a knowledge centre for the areas of media and communication research, a cooperation between the five countries of the Nordic region (including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden). Its major work involves providing academic researchers, media companies, politicians, regulators, and educators with media and communication research findings in the Nordic countries (as well as Europe and elsewhere in the world); trends and developments in the media sectors in the region; and research on children, youth, and media worldwide. /
NW Center for Excellence in Media Literacy – A website founded by Marilyn Cohen, a professor and director of teen future media network at University of Washington, promoting the improvement of the training, research, and service opportunities for both adults and teens across Washington State who are interested in media literacy education and have particular interest in addressing teen health issues from a media literacy perspective. It provides useful media literacy related resources. /
Pacific Cinémathèque – Western Canada’s leading film institute with a range of media education resources and programs for students and teachers. There is also an online digital production resource ( and a mailing list. /
Pax Warrior – A Toronto-based interactive media production organization creating and engineering leaning experiences for students, parents, and teachers. The powerful and challenging material it offers is a leaning experience teachers or parents can have students place themselves in a situation, first person, under the pressure created by the immersive media presentation and give themselves a responsible choice for their actions and a sense of their moral autonomy. /
Project Look Sharp – A website created by Ithaca college, New York, providing materials, training and support for the effective integration of media literacy with critical thinking into classroom curricula at all educational levels. Useful multimedia literacy curriculum kits are available by downloading. /
Regent Park Television (RPTV) – A Toronto-based media organization that provide a forum for local youth to voice their experiences, share their stories, and explore issues that affect them and their community through interviews, debates, short dramas, documentaries, news shows, public service announcements, and Super* films. Its archive has a number of interesting experiences shared by young people. /
Scanning the Movies – Hosted by eminent media educator John Pungente, Bravo! Canada's Scanning the Movies takes viewers behind the scenes in the movie industry. Rebroadcast for classroom use through Cable in the Classroom, "Scanning the Movies" is a gem for teachers who want to explore this genre. The companion Web site to this popular program features over forty downloadable study guides written by education consultant Neil Andersen. Together, the television show and the study guides offer a wealth of resources for media educators. From The Wizard of Oz to L.A. Confidential to Scooby Doo, John and Neil help students to think critically about the movies they enjoy. /
Serious Games Initiatives – A website founded at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, DC, promoting uses for games in exploring management and leadership challenges facing the public sector. It helps forge productive links between the electronic game industry and projects involving the use of games in education, training, health, and public policy. /
Street Cents – This supporting Web site for the CBC's award-winning youth consumer program Street Cents features plenty of teachable moments and resources about consumerism, marketing and popular culture—and it provides kids and teens with a forum from which to voice their opinions. From tattoo care to over-priced sneakers to telemarketing to obnoxious ads, Street Cents encourages young people to take action and think critically about their media culture. /
TeacherTube – A website founded by Jason Smith, a public school teacher, providing an online community for sharing a variety of instructional and educationally focused videos with teachers, schools, and home learners anytime and from anywhere. It is a site to offer professional development with teachers teaching teachers. /
Teachingmedialiteracy.com – A website designed to support Riichard Beach’s book Teachingmedialiteracy.com: A Web-Linked Guide to Resources and Activities. The reader of the book is expected to use the website according to a numbering system by chapter and topic. /
Young People's Press – This youth-based Web site provides an excellent forum and model for students who want to express themselves on the Net. YPP publishes student works such as articles, reviews, photography and artwork, poetry, comics and graffiti. It offers writing tips for aspiring online journalists, and provides links to other youth-based sites. /