Ecosystem Awareness: Local Environments and Media
This learning activity aims to enhance students’ awareness of their local ecosystems and the influence of media on environmental perceptions by contrasting their familiarity with brand logos against their knowledge of local flora, ultimately cultivating a more integrated understanding of the relationship between media literacy and ecoliteracy.
Addressing “Plant Blindness” Through Reflective Reading and Creative Writing
The main focus of the learning activity is to combat “plant blindness,” a cognitive bias where people tend to overlook plants in their environment. By engaging students in reflective reading, creative writing, and hands-on plant care, the activity aims to foster empathy for plants and enhance their appreciation of the natural world.
Ecomedia Literacy: Principles and Practices
This short article offers practical insights and strategies for incorporating ecomedia literacy into media education, addressing the urgent need to foster environmental consciousness and media engagement in today’s interconnected world. By presenting a diverse array of educational activities and methods, it equips educators and learners with tools to navigate and critically evaluate the complex relationships between media, ecology, and society.
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.
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.
Nature Rx Pt. 1: Humorous Promo for Outdoors
Synopsis: “One lost man, longing for the apocalypse and crippled by modern life, finds an answer… a humorous and obvious solution he was missing all along. Having fun again, feeling sexy with his wife, wild, peaceful and free, this man offers a good time prescription for our busy world. Warning: this prescription may lead to spontaneous euphoria. For euphoria lasting more than 4 hours, check work email and consult your doctor.” This can be used to explore discourses about nature and wilderness, humor, and the language of pharmaceutical advertising.
Toys R Us vs. Outdoor Education
This 2013 “mockumentary” ad for Toys R Us shows a group of school kids being taken on a field trip to the forest. The kids are shown to be bored and disinterested until the trip leader announces that they are actually going to Toys R Us. This provides a rich discussion for how different environments are portrayed. You can can compare the framing of the natural world versus the the environment of the toy store and how they are represented as distinct. You can also discuss which provides more education, excitement, and fulfillment, according to Toys R Us and our own lived experience. This can also be used to discuss the issue of nature deficit disorder.
Outdoor Education – Toys R Us Parody
This should be shown along with the Toys R Us ad. This short grassroots video responds to Toys R Us by showing the benefits of outdoor education. The discourses around the benefits of outdoor education can be compared to how it is represented in the Toys R Us ad.