Click Smart: Media Savvy Insights for Social Change with Janette Ballard

Learn to discern.

That was the name of a component implemented by  @irexdc   and a part of the youth engagement  @Ma3anTunisia   program I worked on. Back then, my sons were still in elementary school and called me mom, so media literacy was of an intellectual interest to me back then.

Fast forward four years, and now I'm "bruh." My kids navigate screens and sites like Formula One drivers, know a gazillion AI sites that can help do everything but clean their room…

Learn to discern! An important mantra for teens and adults alike in our “fake” new(s) world.

🎙️ So you can imagine my pleasure to host Janette Ballard on the ReThink Social Change podcast 🌟

Janette is an award-winning documentary film director turned media literacy consultant through her company Be Smart Cookie https://www.besmartcookie.co.uk. Her diverse portfolio includes collaborations with the BBC, NGOs, schools, and a major law training firm. Her expertise. Unmatched!

Janette’s media literacy work is built on a 20-year career as a  @BBC   journalist, with pivotal roles in teams like RealityCheck , #Panorama, #digitalstorytelling training at the Academy, policy development, and BBC Northern Ireland. In 2017, Janette spearheaded the BBC’s media and news literacy programs, Young Reporter (UK) and #BeyondFakeNews (BBC World Service in Kenya, Nigeria, India, Brazil, Serbia). 

The 4️⃣ cards that were randomly drawn to guid our conversation were:
🃏Historical context
🃏Community change
🃏Technical Support
🃏Scope

We touched on so many aspects of media language, source and ever changing landscape, we played a “game”, she shared tips and approaches; and now I am looking for a "fact checker” training for the kids 😁 I’ll say no more! Tune in to the podcast to hear her insights on navigating the digital landscape and fostering media literacy for social change! 💡

Hope you’ll enjoy it. 

🎁 If you’re a #teacher , caretaker, #parent , #youthcenter worker Janette offers great resources on her website, some of which are free.

🔸Free Courses https://www.besmartcookie.co.uk/free-courses
🔸Family toolkit https://www.besmartcookie.co.uk/family-toolkit

And here are some of the media literacy games she mentioned 

👩🏻‍💻The BBC iReporter https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-8760dd58-84f9-4c98-ade2-590562670096 where kids are invited to publish a story, on a “BBC Live” site, that will be judged on accuracy, impact and speed. 

👩🏻‍💻The Bad New Game https://www.getbadnews.com/en It turns media literacy on its head by exposing players to severely weakened doses of the stategies that are used in the production of fake news to stimulate the production 'mental antibodies' against misinformation💡

👩🏻‍💻Media Smart educational games https://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/educational-games
Would love to hear your experience, thoughts and any resources you’ve found useful in the comments below 🙏🏻

🇲🇦This was my last recording out of Morocco! Packing my house as I write this and heading east… See you soon for another episode. 

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