Nature Images: Constructing “nature” in Visual Culture and Ads
This activity involves students in a two-part exploration of “nature” imagery. Initially, they analyze and discuss their associations with nature images, followed by an examination of how these same concepts are employed in advertisements.
Make a One-minute Eco-film
In this activity, students are encouraged to produce a one-minute eco-film using the “remoscope” technique, capturing a static view of something in nature. This creative exercise prompts students to contemplate how the media portrays “nature” while embracing the concept of “slow media,” fostering a deeper connection with their subject.
What About Bottled Water?
Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing videos and TV commercials to discern messages about decisions to purchase or not purchase bottled water.
Corporate Greenwashing? Exxon and Greenpeace
This is a media literacy and critical thinking activity in which students decode an ExxonMobil commercial and an environmental advocacy video for conflicting messages about corporate advertising credibility and about human impact on the environment.
Consumerism and Sustainability
Media literacy and critical thinking lesson asking students to consider their own consumer decisions relating to sustainability through a process of decoding TV commercials and videos about bottled water.
Infographics for Environmental Communication
Students utilize online infographic tools to craft a visual means of environmental communication, allowing them to concisely convey and analyze environmental issues. Through the creation of infographics, students articulate claims about environmental problems, employ research-based communication strategies, and enhance their information and visual literacy skills, which are essential for evaluating research credibility and meaningfully connecting imagery with ideas.
Indigenous Media Making: Affirming Identity
In this activity, students explore various perspectives on cultural pride within Indigenous communities worldwide, critically assessing media messages related to Indigenous culture and pride. Through this analysis, students gain insight into how both contemporary and traditional media play pivotal roles in fostering social change and cultural continuity, while also contemplating the profound impact of identity on shaping individual perspectives.
Environmental Ideology: A Spectrum of Environmental Worldviews
The lesson’s primary goal is to educate students on discerning environmental worldviews within media, highlighting the importance of worldviews in shaping how we value the environment. These worldviews influence environmental ideologies and the ethical choices individuals make in their interactions with the world, spanning the spectrum from anthropocentrism to ecocentrism.
Environmental Discourses
This lesson introduces students to the foundational concept of environmental discourse, a vital element in ecomedia analysis, enabling them to discern how environmental discourses convey environmental beliefs, ideologies, and ethics. Through the examination of historical shifts in environmental discourses across diverse media forms, students will gain insights into the evolution and prevalent manifestations of these discourses in media representations.
Discourse or Disinformation?
Media literacy and critical thinking lesson analyzing conflicting presentations of scientific information about global warming in various drafts of government reports, video and opinion articles.