Abstract:
The paper discusses the issues of improving students' media literacy
skills to help them to navigate through an increasingly complex information society.
It reports on a project aimed at applying the blended learning model to
boost high school students' media literacy levels. The given model is recognized
to have a number of advantages for both teachers (tutors) and learners (students).
It is generally accepted that the blended learning method provides students with
profound theoretical knowledge and retains the emphasis on practice. Besides,
online classes offer a great opportunity to reach a wider audience. The purpose
of the paper is to describe the authors' experience in introducing a new method
for improving the learners' media literacy skills based on the blended learning
model. The survey responses demonstrated that the accessibility, ease-of-use, and
duration of the classes were deemed effective in terms of students' engagement
and increases in their media literacy level. The course helped learners to develop
their critical thinking and other media-related skills, to identify propaganda, manipulation,
and fake messages found in media streams.
