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Iowa Media Literacy Program - Educating Children about Advertisements

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Abstract

In the 21st century media surrounds daily life. Advertisements have been designed to have substantial influence over the lives of their unsuspecting viewers. Critically analyzing media is not a skill commonly taught in schools despite its potential benefits. The Iowa Media Literacy program (IMLP) was designed to educate children on how to analyze and interpret media. The IMLP's main purpose is to increase children’s awareness of advertisements’ power to subconsciously influence them on a daily basis. The IMLP blends in-class presentations and activities, to promote active learning and involvement. The pilot program involved over 1300 children, fifth through eighth graders, across four school districts in Iowa. The program includes pre- and post-intervention surveys, asking students about their suspicion, knowledge, and attitudes towards advertisements. The purpose of this study is to measure the effectiveness of the IMLP by analyzing pre- and post-intervention differences in the student’s suspicion, knowledge, and attitudes towards media and advertisement. Furthermore, we will analyze possible differences in the "third-person effect" pre- and post-intervention. We found that the IMLP was effective in its design. Suspicion of advertisements increased, knowledge of advertisement goals increased, attitudes towards advertisements became more critical, and third-person effects decreased between pre- and postintervention surveys.

Start Date

25-4-2015 8:30 AM

End Date

25-4-2015 9:45 AM

Faculty Advisor

Douglas Gentile

Comments

Location: Great Reading Room, Seerley Hall

File Format

application/pdf

Electronic copy is not available through UNI ScholarWorks.

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Apr 25th, 8:30 AM Apr 25th, 9:45 AM

Iowa Media Literacy Program - Educating Children about Advertisements

In the 21st century media surrounds daily life. Advertisements have been designed to have substantial influence over the lives of their unsuspecting viewers. Critically analyzing media is not a skill commonly taught in schools despite its potential benefits. The Iowa Media Literacy program (IMLP) was designed to educate children on how to analyze and interpret media. The IMLP's main purpose is to increase children’s awareness of advertisements’ power to subconsciously influence them on a daily basis. The IMLP blends in-class presentations and activities, to promote active learning and involvement. The pilot program involved over 1300 children, fifth through eighth graders, across four school districts in Iowa. The program includes pre- and post-intervention surveys, asking students about their suspicion, knowledge, and attitudes towards advertisements. The purpose of this study is to measure the effectiveness of the IMLP by analyzing pre- and post-intervention differences in the student’s suspicion, knowledge, and attitudes towards media and advertisement. Furthermore, we will analyze possible differences in the "third-person effect" pre- and post-intervention. We found that the IMLP was effective in its design. Suspicion of advertisements increased, knowledge of advertisement goals increased, attitudes towards advertisements became more critical, and third-person effects decreased between pre- and postintervention surveys.