Ecomedia literacy is an approach that combines environmental awareness with media education.
For learning activities, browse Curriculum Materials.
Core Principles
Ecomedia literacy aims to:
- Encourage eco-friendly behaviors and attitudes
- Extend ethical considerations beyond humans to include the entire planet
- Help students see familiar media from a new, environmental perspective
Learning Objectives
Students should learn to:
- Understand how media impacts the environment (e.g., biodiversity, pollution, climate change)
- Analyze the connection between technology, global economy, and environmental issues
- Recognize the difference between human-centered and nature-centered viewpoints
- Examine how media shapes environmental ideologies
- Evaluate how media affects our perception of time, space, and place
- Use media in ways that promote environmental ethics and citizenship
Skills Development
Ecomedia literacy helps students develop various skills:
- Researching media organizations
- Calculating environmental impacts
- Analyzing media content
- Understanding visual and audio elements
- Thinking holistically about media systems
- Engaging mindfully with media
Practical Applications
Teachers can incorporate ecomedia literacy by:
- Analyzing news coverage of environmental issues
- Studying climate change misinformation
- Examining environmental claims in advertising
- Identifying greenwashing in marketing
- Exploring social media’s role in climate discussions
- Creating media projects about real-world environmental problems
Teaching Methods
Some effective teaching approaches include:
- Hands-on research and production tasks
- Multimedia projects (blogs, video essays)
- Simulations of environmental media campaigns
- Problem-solving activities
- Scenario-building for different futures
- Experiential learning in local ecosystems
Mindfulness and Personal Experience
Students can also:
- Track their media usage and its impact on their perception of the world
- Compare experiences with and without media (e.g., walking in nature)
- Explore how media affects emotions and physical responses
- Practice media mindfulness techniques