K. Mahoney and T.

Khwaja / Journal of Media Literacy Education (2016) 8 (2), 77 - 98

Available online at www.jmle.org

The National Association for Media Literacy Education’s

Journal of Media Literacy Education 8(2), 77 - 98

Living and Leading in a Digital Age: A Narrative Study of

the Attitudes and Perceptions of School Leaders about
Media Literacy

Kerrigan R. Mahoney
Tehmina Khwaja
College of William and Mary

Abstract
Students graduating from K-12 education need media literacy skills to engage,
participate, and learn in a world in which literacy must keep pace with rapidly changing
technologies. Given the significant roles school administrators play in providing
leadership and vision to their schools, this narrative study addresses the research
question: What are school administrators’ perceptions of, and attitudes about, media
literacy? Through the stories of six K-12 school administrators, we highlight the
connections of their experiences and attitudes to the actions they take to support media
literacy learning, and their visions for technology, instruction, and learning in their
schools.

Keywords: media literacy, school administrations, K-12 education, school leadership,

narrative research, educational technology

Access to digital technology is a gatekeeper for students’ ability to

develop media literacy skills, and administrators are the ones who are in the
position of making decisions that are crucial to opening up this gate. In their
position as policy makers and leaders, principals play a crucial role in deciding to
what extent technology is integrated into the curriculum (e.g., Anderson and

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Dexter 2005; Begley and Leithwood, 1990; Dawson and Rakes 2003; Mulkeen
2003; Pelgrum 1993; Polizzi 2011; Serhan 2007). When principals have a vision
for their school, knowledge of current technology, and a leadership style that
supports teachers, their technological literacy is also strongly correlated with
teachers’ technological literacy (Chang 2012). However, principals’ knowledge of
technology and media literacy may be hindered by a lack of licensure
requirements or course offerings for administrators regarding educational
technology (Schrum, Galizio, and Ledesma 2011). Lack of access to technology
tools and network connections are key obstacles to the integration of media
literacy in schools (Jenkins 2006; Serhan 2007). These prior studies have taken a
broad approach to addressing the impact of administrator’s attitudes, knowledge,
and beliefs regarding educational technology and have found correlations. The
current study seeks to narrow this focus to one intended outcome of the use of
technology in schools: media literacy.
Arguing for the expansion of the term literacy, Hobbs (2011) maintained
that the traditional definition of the term that includes reading, writing, speaking
and listening is no longer sufficient because communication and expression now
take so many different forms that the concept of literacy must encompass all
modes of sharing meaning. The term media literacy aligns to this expanded
definition of literacy as it currently applies to education and is supported by “The
Core Principles of Media Literacy Education” from the National Association for
Media Literacy Education.
In view of the expanded definition of literacy, which necessitates access to
and use of digital technology, this study addressed the research question: What
are school administrators’ perceptions of, and attitudes about, media literacy?
This narrative study chronicles the stories of six K-12 administrators focused on
their conceptualizations of this new definition of literacy, and the links between
their personal experience, engagement, and beliefs, as well as their visions and
support for media literacy in their roles as school administrators.
The results of this study highlight a consistency among participants in
their positive attitudes toward the need for media literacy and the overarching
belief that students need technology to develop their media literacy skills in
school to enhance learning and preparedness for the future. However, each of
their stories reveals very different reasons for supporting media literacy learning,
and very different means of implementation and current practice in their schools.

School Administrators and Digital Technology

School administrators have an important leadership role in creating
conditions and modeling actions that tie the use of digital technology to
collaborative, social, and innovative learning practices (Fullan and Langworthy
2014). A national study (Project Tomorrow 2012) found that school

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administrators make above average use of personal technology as compared to

teachers and the general public. However, they face challenges in supporting the
use of technology. According to the 2013 report, “74 percent of technology
leaders [are] acknowledging that their ed tech budgets are less today than in the
2008/09 school year” (3); yet, 92 percent of these administrators agree that the use
of technology is important or extremely important to student success (up from 77
percent in 2008) (Project Tomorrow 2013). However, personal use of technology
and acknowledgment that its use is important to student success may not indicate
support for use of technology to foster media literacy. For example, in a study of
310 principals from the southwest U.S., only 27% of principals indicated that a
major function of technology in their schools was for instruction and less than
10% reported that a major function was for student learning (Waxman et al.
2013). Administrators’ personal experiences and beliefs about student learning,
and the resources available and use of technology in their schools may often be at
odds; however, each of these factors individually and in conjunction with one
another influences the roles of technology and media literacy in schools.

Defining Media Literacy

One of the barriers to understanding how school administrators influence
the roles of technology integration and media literacy is in how they perceive
these constructs as separate and related entities. Is media literacy about analyzing
and creating different forms of texts in different mediums (Brown 1998), does it
refer to understanding and critiquing mass media (Ontario Ministry of Education
as cited by Baker 2011), or is it about the principles for media literacy education
from the National Association for Media Literacy Education (Bergsma et al.
2007)?
A comprehensive definition of media literacy or “new media literacies”
comes from Jenkins et al, (2006) who define them as:

[A] set of cultural competencies and social skills that young people need
in the new media landscape. Participatory culture shifts the focus of
literacy from one of individual expression to community involvement. The
new literacies almost all involve social skills developed through
collaboration and networking. These skills build on the foundation of
traditional literacy, research skills, technical skills, and critical analysis
skills taught in the classroom. (4)

Jenkins provides not only a broad definition of media literacy that includes
individual analytical skills, social skills and cultural implications grounded in the
wide “media landscape” (4) that is available; he also develops this definition to
create a comprehensive framework of the skills an individual needs to be media

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literate. This definition of media literacy provides the foundation for this study in
terms of our understanding of media literacy and how we interpreted the data as
part of the study. In the next section, we explain how we used a narrative
approach to highlight our participants’ perceptions of, and attitudes about media
literacy.

Research Design and Methods

Narrative research involves collecting stories and making meaning from
them through collaboration between the researcher and participant (Creswell,
2013). The attitudes and perceptions of people originate in their life experiences.
Life experiences refer to more than just the events in people’s lives; they also
encompass how a person thinks about, reflects on, and interacts with these events
during and after they take place. People construct the stories of their life through
the periods of time they recollect and then reflect upon. Because people make
sense of the world through creating narratives of their experiences, it also make
sense to study the world using narratives (Clandinin and Connelly 2000).
Participant Sample. The participant sample for this study is comprised of
six K-12 administrators, including three assistant principals and three principals.
Three are female elementary school administrators and three are male high school
administrators. Convenience and chain sampling allowed us to find local
administrators, each from different school districts in the same mid-Atlantic state,
who had relevant experience and were interested in participating, and they were
able to lead us to more participants.
Data Generation. The primary mode of data generation was in two
interviews and a writing prompt from each participant. Prior to the interviews, we
gave participants an overview of Jenkins’ (2006) framework for media literacy to
help reach shared meaning between each individual participant and the
researchers regarding media literacy. Participants then responded to a prompt to
create a written media literacy timeline in which they reflected on their personal
experiences with media literacy (see the Appendix for two examples of media
literacy timelines created by the participants). The initial interview occurred soon
after each participant completed the assigned work and the second interview with
each participant was conducted a month later. The participants had an opportunity
to read and provide us with feedback on summarized interpretations of the data
written from the point of view of the participant.
Data Analysis. We used Riessman's (2008) thematic analysis strategy to
analyze the narrative data, in which data are interpreted using themes we
developed in light of the data, the research question, and prior theories. We used
the components of Jenkins’ media literacy framework as a priori codes and
developed additional codes to account for topics related to experiences, attitudes,
values, and ideas not included in the framework. We used the coded data and

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summaries approved by the participants to construct each administrator’s

narrative in the first person, capture their individual voices, and uphold the
integrity of their stories. The narratives begin with chronologically arranged
highlights of experiences with media literacy from different parts of their lives.
The narratives conclude with the participants’ individual definitions of media
literacy and the vision they have for media literacy in their schools.

Results and Interpretation

Our data analysis resulted in distinctive narratives for each of our
participants. The school administrators’ stories provide glimpses into different
parts of their personal experiences, values, and vision as school leaders and
highlight their conceptualization of media literacy in these contexts. Each of the
administrators in this study had an overarching positive attitude about media
literacy in general, saw the need for students to develop media literacy, and
articulated support for classroom instruction that includes technology. However,
these manifested very differently in each participant’s personal experiences and in
their schools.
As we will see in the presentation of data below, the administrators’
stories paint a picture in which their beliefs and attitudes about media literacy fall
on continuums within each of the following four dichotomous points: (1)
Technology integration vs. media literacy; (2) classroom instruction vs. student
learning; (3) the development of students’ literacy skills vs. content knowledge;
and (4) an administrative leadership approach that values teacher autonomy vs.
administrative control of curriculum and instruction.
Each of the participants emphasized each of the four points to a greater or
lesser degree depending on their leadership style, beliefs about media literacy, and
personal experiences. Ultimately, the administrators have very different profiles
for the landscape of media literacy implementation in their lives and schools. We
next report on the individuals who participated in this study.

Elizabeth: A Vision for Teaching

Elizabeth (all names are pseudonyms) situates her understanding of media
literacy in terms of teaching and learning of skills that can be enhanced through
the use of technology to support the needs of learners. Throughout her life, she
has had rich experiences with technology and has developed sophisticated skills
in navigating technology for use in her personal life and to support student
learning. Her independent research on media literacy spurred by her participation
in this study underscores the value she places in this concept. Elizabeth is an
assistant principal in a rural elementary school serving 500 students in grades 3-5,
of which 40% are identified as economically disadvantaged. On the standardized

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tests given by the state, 72% of students passed the reading test and 65% of
students passed the mathematics test.
In the passage below, she first explains her background with media and
technology, then shares her understanding of media literacy, and finally outlines
her vision for the use of technology in education:

When I was in middle and high school, I was lucky to have rich
experiences with media and technology. I participated in radio
broadcasting, and I took communications classes and learned how to use
Dreamweaver. I got to play with tools to create layout spreads and designs
for the yearbook. Since then, I have associated media with technology.
I taught elementary school prior to becoming an administrator and
used technology frequently to enhance my instruction. I believe that what
we do with technology needs to be driven by content and have purpose. I
often started a lesson with a short video clip so students could connect
class activities with a visual memory. We used virtual manipulatives that
allowed for more opportunities to experiment than physical ones.
Recently, teachers in my school had the opportunity to apply for mini-
grants to receive iPads. They had to write proposals to explain how they
are going to use iPads to enhance learning. I support this approach because
I want to see skills first. Particular technology tools are transient.
Educators need to understand the skills we want students to learn and how
we can use technology to help enhance these skills.
I want students to go home and say, ‘I did a lesson on probability
today’; I don’t want them to say, ‘I did a lesson on the interactive white
board.’ I work in a school where teachers primarily get this. I do not face
resistance in terms of technology integration; but I am focused on
supporting them to integrate technology in meaningful ways that will
support student learning. I also support them through classroom
observations and meetings by suggestions about online resources and how
to use them effectively.
Media Literacy: We use terms in education that aren’t always well
defined. Media literacy is one of these. At first I saw it as how technology
is integrated in K-12 schools, but now I understand that it is also about
how we use different mediums to help students to create and share what
they know and teach responsible ways to use media. Judgment is a critical
media literacy skill that I want my staff and students to continue to
develop as they work with different forms of texts.
Vision: I live and work in a rural area. I am not in favor of
beginning initiatives that will exclude students from participating because
they don’t have access to devices at home. Overall, we are a very

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technology rich school, so going forward I want to see us invest in highly

qualified teachers. It is teachers, not programs, who have the biggest
impact on student learning. Then, over time we need to strengthen the
technological knowledge of our teachers and continue to adapt our
teaching so students will continue to be successful beyond school.

As this passage reveals, Elizabeth has had rich and diverse experiences
with technology in her own life that she was able to specifically trace to her own
development of media literacy. Elizabeth supports innovative uses of technology
in her elementary school that are purposefully driven by content and purpose for
student learning. Elizabeth fosters students’ literacy learning by supporting and
training her teachers in integrating technology in ways that will support media
literacy.

Steve: Supporting Critical Thinking

Like Elizabeth, Steve, our second participant, places a great deal of value
on teaching: media literacy development will not happen if technology is not in
the classroom and teachers need to learn how to use technology effectively;
however, his vision for how and why this needs to happen is very different from
Elizabeth’s approach to change. He is eager to put technology tools into the hands
of students and sees his role as central to making this happen by increasing
resources available in the school and directing the use of technology in
classrooms. Steve is an assistant principal in an urban high school of 1,750
students, of which 33% are identified as economically disadvantaged. On the
standardized tests given by the state, 87% of students passed the English test and
75% of students passed the mathematics test. In this passage, he reveals his
background, his understanding of media literacy, and her vision for technology in
education:

When I was in high school, I had really good teachers who showed me
how different countries involved in World War II had their own take on
their objectives. That changed me forever in the way that I look at
anything like political campaigns, the news; it’s just that I have always
been fascinated by the power of the media to manipulate.
When I was teaching, I would have my students use the Internet to
do research and create movies. I was doing a lesson with the video editing
app iMovie within days of discovering it. My students loved it. One thing
that teachers often wonder is if the focus is on form or substance. I think
this is something we are seeing in high schools: people are so taken in by
the appearance that they don’t always pay attention to whether it is
academically sound.

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I feel strongly about access. If we have resources available, I try to

make sure that they are in the hands of students as much as possible. I
wheel the carts out myself and put laptops in the classrooms. I came up
with ways for teachers to share them and rules for how students could
check them out.
Media Literacy: Technology has outpaced literacy for us right
now. We have the ability to research online like never before. Kids now
have the world at their fingertips and yet they aren’t necessarily any more
informed, more as in necessarily better. It is just a question of being a
critic of things when you read. Technology right now is so advanced that
if we don’t teach kids how to be critics then they are going to end up being
mediocre at best, instead of being able to really use it for all its worth.
I think of teachers as facilitators for students. For some teachers all
that matters is that a product is created. It doesn't really matter if it doesn’t
make any sense. There are some who hold kids to a high standard where it
is not enough to be published online but that the work meets the objectives
of the unit or lesson and that your argument is solid and you supported it
with reason. Media literacy learning depends on the quality of the lesson
that the kids are exposed to. I think students need writing and researching
skills for college and careers. They need to use technology to organize and
manipulate data in ways that allows them to make meaningful decisions.
Vision: I think we need a canned media literacy curriculum, and
there are companies that provide that. A really good one would include an
online class, something interactive where the teacher can facilitate without
having to generate each lesson on their own. I think teachers would
become more comfortable and learn a lot, too, in that process.
I foresee some new software coming down the road that would
change things: sort of that blended learning environment where curriculum
is delivered through laptops and teachers take the role of facilitators. I
think that is going to happen more and more. It is not necessarily great for
everyone, but for kids that are struggling or are nontraditional learners, it
would help them keep up with their peers.

As we can see from this passage, Steve centers his view of media literacy
on technology and critical thinking. Steve’s deep value of critical thinking and
evaluation of media stems from his own experiences as a student, and shapes his
belief that media literacy is best developed through the use of technology for
reading, writing, and research of discipline specific content. He sees the role of
the administrator as central to any changes in resources and instruction.
Michael: Culture, Time, and Space

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Michael values teachers who use technology effectively to support

learning, not just using technology for its own sake, but again with a very
different path and reasons for implementation. He supports the possibilities that
technology can provide while being more wary of the challenges impeding their
implementation. Michael’s goal is for students to understand perspectives beyond
their own through purposeful experiences in simulation, transmedia navigation,
and judgment – all tenets of Jenkins’ New Media Literacy theory. He parallels the
learning he wants students to engage in with how he has developed and utilized
skills as a student and administrator. Michael is a principal in an urban high
school with 1,400 students, of which 60% are identified as economically
disadvantaged. On the standardized tests given by the state, 80% of the students
passed the reading test and 47% of the students passed the mathematics test.
In this passage, he reveals his background, his understanding of media
literacy, and his vision for technology in education:

Much of the coursework I do as a doctoral student deals with constructing

and analyzing case studies aimed at applying and synthesizing. For
instance, if something terrible were to happen, like a weapon in the school,
I have to be prepared to make decisions. People want to know that things
are under control, kids are safe, and we know what is happening. The
simulations have direct and immediate application in my job: They are not
only helpful, but they are critical to my learning.
I taught world geography, history, and media literacy. In
geography, we deal with sources. We look at an event and seek to
understand how it is played in the news and perceived in various contexts.
For example, I had my students look at political cartoons on the same
topic from the United States, Europe, and the Middle East to see how it
was portrayed. We looked at how media is filtered through culture, time,
and space. This is transmedia navigation.
In order for technology use to spread, there has to be a sense of
need and champions who are going to get the message across. I have
decided to not have uniform policies about the use of cell phones in
classrooms. I have teachers who are using the cell phones effectively to
support learning and formative assessment; and I have teachers who don’t
use them and are very happy not to have to. I have to allow teachers who
are innovative to take risks.
We have a majority of students who are low SES at our urban
school, but most students still have cell phones. Not all of the students
have access to a printer, computer, or even a quiet place to study at home,
but most kids are on social media. Yet in meetings with some teachers, I
hear them say: ‘Paper and pen is never going to go away.’ Often I

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disagree. Books and content delivery can be supported by digital

technology. I see media literacy as hit or miss, rather than a deliberate
effort to get those skills across in most classrooms. This deficit is
supported by standards and tests that don’t emphasize media literacy.
Media Literacy: Media literacy is about how people interact with
the world around them. It is important to understand how messages are
constructed, be aware of the weight of your own words, and think
critically to make discerning judgments about what we read, see, and hear.
As an administrator, I need to negotiate meaning with the local media,
community, personnel, and students to build a community of support for
learning.
Vision: In the future, I want everyone to have an iPad: access to
the entire world in their hands. Education then becomes a conversation for
collaboration and construction of media to support curiosity and learning.
What does not change is classroom management: students have to be
engaged in academics.

As we can see from this passage, Michael recognized and embraced the
digital and non-digital applications of media literacy in his own life and its role
and relevance in secondary education. Michael supports teacher autonomy and
fosters a school community in which teachers can experiment and collaborate to
introduce new pedagogy and technology. However, Michael cautions that long
term, sustainable change to improve students’ media literacy is currently far in the
future.

Karen: From Local to Global

Similar to Michael, Karen sees the development of media literacy skills as
the byproduct of effective instruction and teachers who see the potential in their
lessons to go beyond the standard content rather than calling for a fundamental
change in curriculum and instruction like Elizabeth and Steve. Karen’s story
centers on meeting the needs of diverse learners, supporting teachers, and
effective instruction. Karen is a principal in a suburban elementary school serving
500 students in grades K-5, of which 38% are identified as economically
disadvantaged. On the standardized tests given by the state, 77% of the students
passed the reading test and 82% of the students passed the mathematics test. In
this passage, she reveals her understanding of media literacy, and her vision for
technology in education:

When I was in grade seven, Jimmy Carter had been president and the
Iranian hostage crisis unfolded. I remember watching on TV: the same day that
Reagan got inaugurated, the hostages were released. In my twelve-year-old mind

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it seemed like the two events were related, that as soon as Reagan came into
office, the crisis was solved as if he got this done on day one. Television did
nothing to give the correct version of events. Tracing the events later, I figured
out that it was actually President Carter who had negotiated the hostage release.
I think the shift from the term librarian to media specialist was made about
20 years ago at about the time when I got my master’s in a field called Library
Media. The shift occurred because libraries are not just books anymore. Now it’s
media, and today it is a lot of online media.
I try to support my teachers and to understand what they need to do their
job more effectively. In my school some teachers do a good job of integrating
media literacy in instruction. I think they just are more big-picture people, and
realize that subjects are multifaceted and that you can bring in a lot of different
ways to explore something instead of doing it the way we always have. They are
open to trying new things. I feel it is even more important to use different media
to teach and engage kids who present behavioral challenges. For example, we do
project based learning in kindergarten. Once they created a pizzeria and another
time a transportation station, and some kids who struggled with schoolwork like
reading and math loved this: That was eye opening for me.
Media Literacy: Jenkins’ framework helped define media literacy as more
of a global term for me. I think now I understand it as the big picture, how media
influences us, how we use media to interact with the world today instead of
strictly being media-centered.
I think that in my school, media literacy is not the focus but a byproduct of
other things that we are doing. If we are looking to cultivate higher order thinking
and creativity in our students, some of these skills like the ability to multitask, or
have good judgment or collective intelligence, etc. might happen as a result of
other things we are promoting in the school.
Vision: I think we need to move toward a one-to-one environment with
technology, and I would like to see it become more of an integrated part of the
day. I think it is going to be very important that we teach kids to evaluate
information effectively. They need to know what is accurate and appropriate.

Karen’s background as a library media specialist parallels her value on

teaching students to be able to understand media, but her perspective extends
beyond media as information to consider how students can use media to interact
with the world. She values creativity and innovation in her teachers and students.
Her administrative role is to support teachers to help them meet students’ learning
needs. For Karen, media literacy is an outgrowth of effective implementation of
pedagogy and technology.

John: Student Engagement

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Similar to how Karen’s experience as a library media specialist influences

her perspective on media literacy, John’s perspective is shaped by his background
as a computer teacher. He is the most technology-focused of our participants and
does not separate media literacy from technology literacy; yet like the others, he
values technology for what it can do to support student success across the
curriculum. His biggest concern is the disparity of access that his students face
outside of school and dwindling funding to support technology initiatives in his
district. He values leadership and sees himself as having a major influence on
curriculum, instruction, and resources. He values technology in his own life for
communication and efficiency, which parallels the role he sees technology taking
in classroom instruction: for engagement, efficiency, and classroom management.
John is a principal in a rural high school serving 250 students in grades 8-12, of
which 58% are identified as economically disadvantaged. On the standardized
tests given by the state, 72% of the students passed the reading test and 57% of
the students passed the mathematics test.
In this passage, he reveals his background, his understanding of media
literacy, and his vision for technology in education:

I had to constantly teach myself and take classes on the latest in software
and technology tools to stay ahead of my students throughout my teaching
career. I see the value of using technology tools for research and writing: it
is efficient, practical, and fast. We have access to everything we need
online. I came into teaching from a business background and taught
computer and information systems classes. We had MS Office and
Windows for the first time, and I learned and taught every new version as
it came out.
I am involved in a multidistrict professional development program
for principals, and we have iPads to collect and share observational data.
In learning how to use the iPad, I took it home and played with it. You
can’t break it. It is a problem solving capability; I find it worthwhile and
enjoyable to play in order to learn. These skills help me do my job more
efficiently and effectively.
I have a major influence on my staff and students, and I try to
support teachers to become instructional leaders. I am sometimes
constrained due to budget and other factors, but I try to provide and
allocate resources to support learning.
We have interactive white boards in every classroom. I recently
observed a band class where the teacher was using software that the
students could put in notes and record their playing. Then they could go to
the computer and move the notes around. The students create songs. I see
examples like this in all of the content areas. There are major advantages

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in terms of student engagement, efficiency, and classroom management

when using instructional technology.
Media Literacy: Media literacy and technology go hand in hand.
Media literacy is information obtained through various sources of media
that is made available through technology including hardware and
software. What makes media literacy powerful is the engagement piece of
participating in the learning. If people have the chance to use a device,
they will have more of an opportunity to be engaged and involved, so they
will learn more. Technology is a way for students to explore the world
without leaving their seats.
Vision: My school is in a rural area with 75% of the county only
having access to dial-up Internet. It is our responsibility to make up for
this inequity of access in school, and students who take advantage of the
technology to multitask and network will be more prepared. This is part of
a skill set for the next 10-20 years that students won’t be employable
without.

As we can see, unlike the other participants, John has a singular focus on
technology itself. He orients his understanding of media literacy in terms of
information: students’ ability to contend with all of the information that they have
access to with technology. Like his experiences with learning technology tools on
his own, he believes that his priority as an administrator is to provide students
with access to technology tools that they can learn and use. Technology comes
first and related skills will follow naturally.

Riley: More than just Technology

Our final participant, Riley, conceptualizes technology and media literacy
as working together to allow students to contend with and communicate
information on a global scale. Like Elizabeth, Riley refers to technology as a
means of “enhancing” learning. Related to the lessons that Michael taught, Riley
conceptualizes media literacy with a global view in how people communicate and
make meaning. Her concerns about access are similar to those of John, but, like
Michael, she also sees the hesitancy some teachers have for change. Riley is an
assistant principal in a suburban elementary school serving 650 students in grades
K-5, of which 13% are identified as economically disadvantaged. On the
standardized tests given by the state, 77% of students passed the reading test and
73% of students passed the mathematics test. In this passage, he reveals his
background, his understanding of media literacy, and his vision for technology in
education:

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When I was in school in the 60s and 70s, we had typewriting labs, we
didn’t have computer labs. All research was done through encyclopedias
or journals. We hand wrote papers and assignments. In my undergraduate
and even graduate education it was overhead projectors, tape recorders
and video recording. In my undergraduate years, computers were talked
about but they had not become mainstream yet. I think it really started to
have an impact in education in the 1990s when my own kids were in
school.
I believe I have a lot of influence. The principal and I work closely
together and I have a lot of influence on the curriculum and professional
development. Once we got interactive whiteboards for our school we
made sure that the staff received training in their use. We focused our
evaluations and observations on appropriate technology use. I think when
teachers have a stake and a say they have more ownership. I feel that there
needs to be more collaboration among administrators and teachers about
the technology curriculum.
We sometimes forget that not all students have access to computers
and Internet at home. So when we want to talk about online textbooks, or
even the online components of our social studies books, we have to
remember that. We did a program this year where we had students use an
online program for math skills with a homework component to it, but a lot
of kids said that they had a computer at home but not the Internet.
Media Literacy: All aspects of the media literacy framework are
important, but I think judgment is the most important to help our students
with so they can understand if information is accurate and reliable. I think
media literacy includes more than just technology, it is how we use it
effectively to communicate with other people and share our ideas not just
across the country but across the world. Receiving, processing, storing and
sharing information are all aspects of media literacy.
Vision: Ten years ago I could have never imagined what we have
now. I would like to see more elementary students having access to media
like iPads and using their phones in school on a regular basis. Students
need media literacy skills, and they need to be able to write and
communicate and present information. These are things you need in
almost any field right now.

Riley believes that the role of media literacy is to allow students to

develop the skills they need to evaluate media content and write and share their
own ideas and information with others. Her perspective represents a balance
between a need for instruction that aligns curriculum, standards, pedagogy, and
technology and a focus on meeting the needs of students by giving them access to

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technology and opportunities to develop skills that will help them to succeed in
the future. To do this, she believes her administrative role is to facilitate a school
environment where teachers are a part of the decision-making process in
curriculum and instruction but with administrative input and guidance, especially
in professional development and curriculum changes.

Discussion
Each of our participants situates their conceptualizations of media literacy
within their own experiences, backgrounds, and values. Those aspects of the
media literacy framework that were most familiar to the participants and part of
their personal experiences were the ones that they understood and most advocated
for in their schools. The differences among the cases highlight that media literacy
and the use of technology are supported and integrated differently in each of the
participants’ schools based on their personal experiences, understandings of
media literacy, and visions.
For example, John’s focus on providing tools and access for his students
contrasts with Elizabeth’s vision for highly effective teachers. Their visions then
manifest differently in how they provide resources and support for media literacy
in their schools. John models and observes the use of technology in his school
with the primary goals of engaging students and classroom efficiency. He largely
conflates media literacy and technology and so believes that providing resources
like interactive white boards is sufficient to meet the requirements of media
literacy. Elizabeth values how teachers use tools to help students develop skills in
content-area learning, so she provided classroom iPads only to teachers who could
demonstrate how they would use them to help develop students’ skills and meet
content learning goals. Her approach provides more alignment for technology to
be used as a support for student literacy development, but it is limited to the
aspects of literacy that Elizabeth understands and values. Throughout the cases
there is inconsistent understanding and implementation of media literacy, how
technology is used to support media literacy (if at all), and the roles that
administrators may have in advancing media literacy in their schools.
However, all participants articulated educational values that reflect a
concern for equity, student learning, collaboration, and cultivating the ability to
critically discern truth. Their positive attitudes toward media literacy are based on
their experiences, including media literacy lessons they have engaged in or
observed and their personal use of technology tools. They all play roles in
implementing media-related policies in their schools and believe that they are
facilitating the integration of media literacy by supporting teachers and/or
providing professional development. They all use technology tools in their own
lives and support their use to enhance student learning.

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The participants noted a variety of challenges to media literacy

integration. Common areas of concern include lack of funding and teacher
training regarding media literacy, and uneven student access to technology tools
and the Internet. Yet, despite the challenges, all participants have visions for the
futures of their schools that include technology integration that will foster the
development of media literacy.
The participants’ individual conceptualizations of media literacy match
their own experiences with media literacy and technology, and they do not
specifically align with Jenkins’ framework (2006). However, their perspectives do
reflect a 50-year expansion of the definition of literacy, encompassing new modes
of communication and technological devices (Hobbs 2011).

Conclusion
The overall positive attitudes and perceptions regarding media literacy
among our participants are encouraging findings as the modeling of these
attitudes by leaders can have a positive impact on the stakeholders in their schools
(Chang 2012). However, the differences in the narratives of each of our
participants emphasize the need for a comprehensive consideration of media
literacy in partnership among education policy makers, administrators, and
teachers. Clearly defined media literacy intended outcomes are needed in
curriculum and standards to help inform administrators’ decision making
regarding technology tools, instruction, professional development, and student
learning. Otherwise, support for media literacy learning experiences in schools
may be limited by the personal experiences and knowledge of school
administrators. The definition of media literacy itself is a critical area of potential
difficulty that must be addressed in education policy for administrators’ visions
for schools to move past technology tools themselves to better encompass
instructional practices and student learning that is made possible by these devices.

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Appendix
Two Sample Media Literacy History Timelines

The participants were asked to created a timeline of their personal experiences

with media literacy based on their own knowledge of media literacy and
introduction to media literacy on the New Media Literacies website. They were
not given any parameters for format or content. This appendix includes two of the
timelines that were submitted by participants. Names and places have been
changed to maintain confidentiality.

A.1: Elizabeth’s Media Literacy History Timeline

Below is my timeline of my experiences with media literacy:

• First internet exposure

o First experience with Internet in summer school as an elementary
student. We learned about safe internet practices.
• First computer
o We got our first home computer, a Tandy Sensation, while I was in
elementary school. It was a gift purchased with the help of my
papa. We had no internet connection. It was around $2,000, but we
were able to type papers and play Oregon Trail!
• Radio broadcasting
o In middle school, I took an elective course in a synergistics lab as
part of my coursework, and one of the modules I participated in
was about radio broadcasting and we created our own simulated
radio production.
• Hello! Internet connection
o Our second computer was a Gateway. Mom and Dad paid for a
monthly subscription to AOL, in which I got my first screen name.
Many of my friends already had begun using instant messenger.
• Advanced communications
o As a freshman in high school, I took a course in advanced
communications in which we worked to create a daily broadcast to
be aired for the school on a daily basis.
o In this course, we each had to create our own website as well as
our own video documentary. I chose to focus on my papa as a
World War II veteran in the documentary.
o We began to learn how to edit videos during this course with new
hardware/software.
• AIM
o I used to spend about an hour or more every night talking to my
friends on AOL Instant Messenger. My computer was visible from
my parent’s room. My parents always reminded me to never
communicate with people I didn’t know. My parents would often
check in with me to see what I was doing while I was online.

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o AIM quickly became a substitute for talking on the phone. I found

that I often used AIM to talk to people online that I wouldn’t have
talked to over the phone.
o I actually spoke to my future husband for the first time on AIM.
He knew me through a mutual acquaintance, and he obtained my
screen name. We became friends outside of the virtual world, and
later started dating!
• Wired in—first cell phone
o I got my first cell phone when I turned 15. I lived in a rural area in
which all my friends were long distance to call, and having my
own cell phone allowed me to call my friends without paying
outrageous fees.
• Photojournalism
o I participated in photojournalism (aka yearbook) for three years,
beginning as a copy editor and later becoming the editor-in-chief
my senior year.
o We moved from print photos to digital photos during my
experience. We interviewed students, wrote stories, and learned
about accurate/honest reporting.
• Facebook
o In college, I became exposed to Facebook as a freshman. I did not
become a Facebook member immediately...I was guarded about
the idea of sharing my personal information online. Later during
college, I became comfortable with Facebook and learned about
the privacy features. I wouldn’t say that I was ever a die-hard
Facebook user. I mainly used it to keep up with friends from high
school and see the pictures that my friends posted.
• Computer science
o I took a semester of computer science during college; I learned
more about the technical aspects of computer science. It was a
course that focused more on the technical aspects of computers.
• School of education: teaching with technology
o Within the school of ed, I took two courses about technology
integration.
o I became an edublogger as part of my coursework, which later was
discussed in an article on edweek.org. I was also featured on the
PTO central website.
o I liked using blogging as a means of reflection, and I also enjoyed
connecting with other educators nationwide. I didn’t continue with
blogging following my coursework.
o I learned how to develop a webquest, and I created one to align
with our geography curriculum.
o My classmates and I developed a Wiki as resource to help others
with technology.

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• Teaching experiences
o I started my first year teaching as a second grade teacher. My
students used the internet for activities/websites I reviewed in
advance. My next year, as a third grade teacher, I was able to plan
more lessons for my students online, and I always taught about
safe internet practices for my students.
o I terminated my Facebook account during my second or third year
of teaching. I felt that the need for professionalism outweighed the
need for social networking.
o I served on the personnel handbook committee in which we
reviewed staff policies, including the computer acceptable use for
staff.
o I often attended the annual Edtech conference for new innovative
ideas for technology integration in the classroom.
• Graduate experiences
o I use tools such as Google Docs, wikis, and Skype to collaborate
with my peers in graduate school.
• Conference presentation
o I presented at a conference with a co-worker of mine about how to
use Weebly to create a teacher-produced webpage. Our session
was primarily geared for classroom teachers who wanted to
provide a portal for students and parents to stay connected.
• Admin experience
o I have created my own Weebly as an administrative page for my
principal and me to stay connected with our school community.
• Mendeley
o I was introduced to Mendeley as a tool for collaborating with my
peers in a doctoral program while using the same resources.

Steve’s Media Literacy History Timeline

1967-1997
My media literacy for the first thirty years of my life would have been
connected to television, radio and print. I grew up in a time before there was a
blurring of the lines between news and entertainment (The Daily Show, The
Onion) so the question of reliability was never really considered. The news was
the truth. As I got older I got my first tastes of media manipulation. I watched
Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live, read National Lampoon and learned of
Orson Welles and the War of the Worlds event. I also was a student of World War
II and the Cold War and had come to learn about propaganda. I guess that I grew
to realize that the message was controlled by the creator and that the media itself
could actually imbue the message with an unearned level of respectability. Like
any good 20 year old, I became a cynic. I had my first experiences with the
Internet in my 20’s and immediately recognized the power of the medium. The

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Internet offered connection and anonymity, intimacy and a public bullhorn. I did
not use the Internet for news, school or communication until I became a teacher.

1997-2008
My years as a high school teacher were during the explosion of the
Internet. In a period of years, the print resources in the library had become
obsolete, replaced by databases and web based resources. As an English teacher, I
became very familiar with my students’ use and misuse of the medium.
Plagiarism became as simple as a copy and paste. Misinformation became as well
advertised as respected and reliable sources. It was during this time that I became
a student of the Internet. I helped my students navigate the ethical grey areas and
unreliable source pitfalls. This was a time when we were making up the rules as
we went along. The Internet eventually developed a hierarchy of reliability.
Universities developed useful sites while danger areas were exposed and
publicized.

2009-2013
For the last 5 years I have worked in technology and school
administration. These have been the years of the social media boom. Everything
seems to feed this medium. Television, radio and print all pander to find a place in
everyone’s personalized media sphere. As an administrator I have seen some
positives come out of social media. Children and parents feel that they have a
voice. Social activism has become accessible. Also, communities can share and
communicate very effectively. Morals can be improved through a good social
media plan. The dark side of social media has been bullying, sexting and
academic misconduct. Children today use their phones as extensions of their
personalities. Thus, character flaws are amplified. I have learned that there is a
complex web of electronic communication going on as a subtext to our children’s
day. I work now to help children navigate this web. We are always on the alert for
danger but unfortunately we usually discover too late. We need to continue to
educate young people about how to be responsible members of this new world.

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