Learning how to access, analyze, and create digital and media content with thoughtfulness and social responsibility is one of the key recommendations of the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, whose landmark report, Informing Communities, was issued last year.

To address this need, Professor Renee Hobbs (founder of the Media Education Lab, Temple University) has outlined a plan with specific steps that policymakers, educators, and community advocates can take to help Americans thrive in the digital age.

Read: Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action.

To mark the release of her white paper and discuss its implications, the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation are hosting a high-level roundtable discussion featuring representatives from government, education, and other areas Wednesday, November 10, from 11:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Aspen Institute’s Washington office. This discussion will take place immediately following the paper’s release at the Family Online Safety Institute’s annual conference on Internet Freedom, Safety & Citizenship. This is the second in a series of White Papers focused on the Knight Commission’s 15 recommendations for creating healthy informed communities. 

Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action
A White Paper by Renee Hobbs

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Table of Contents
From Report to Action
Executive Summary
The Knight Commission Recommendation
The Heritage of Digital and Media Literacy
Meeting the Needs of All
Where Learning Occurs
Learning and Teaching: What Works
Issues to Consider When Implementing Digital and Media Literacy Programs
A Plan of Action: 10 Recommendations
Who Should Do What
Conclusion: Imagining the Future
Appendix
Portraits of Success
About the Author
About the Communications and Society Program