Dr. Leogrande Keynotes on Media Literacy

Teachers and workshop presenters came together at CABOCES Teaching and Learning Center at Salamanca on October 9th for a great day of learning.  Several different digital tools were presented: Adobe Presenter, Mahara Electronic Portfolios, Scratch (beginning programming), Learn 360 Streaming, various assessment tools, and several online research databases, such as Tumblebooks, Teaching Books, Britannica, Sylvan Dell and Gale ebooks.

The full day workshop, sponsored by Instructional Support Services (Model Schools and Learning Resources) offered a different format, kicking off the day with a dynamic keynote speaker.

Dr. Cathy Leogrande, media literacy enthusiast and  Associate Professor, Le Moyne College, Syracuse, NY, gave a well-received and motivating keynote followed by high school and elementary strand workshops. Her topic, “Media Literacy in Ten Minutes” focused on the media bombardment that students are facing today which is different from that in the past.  She believes in taking ten minutes out of the school day, whenever you can, for students to participate in planned projects to learn how to discern truthfulness and intent behind television ads, games, bulletin boards, television shows, online ads, etc.

Dr. Leogrande’s teaching and research focuses on the teaching of new types of literacy and digital citizenship skills to adolescents.  She is currently an active board member of NAMLE (National Association for Media Literacy Education) whose mission is to “expand and improve the practice of media literacy education in the United States.”  NAMLE defines both education and media broadly.  Education includes both formal and informal settings, classrooms and living rooms, in school and after school, anywhere that lifelong learners can be reached.  Media includes digital media, computers, video games, radio, television, mobile media, printed and communication technologies that we haven’t even dreamed of yet.