Author: Rosemary Smith
Managing Director – Getting Better Foundation
Marshall McLuhan said, “The medium is the message.” Preferably, use the medium to teach the method. [1]
As educators, when we advise students not to use new technology, it is typically out of fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear they will use it to cheat and for bad intent. Fear they will gain knowledge we have yet to possess. Fear this new technology will steal our identities or ideas. When we shift these notions to put the focus on the student – not the “maelstrom” as in McLuhan’s use of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Into the Maelstrom”[2], we then practice the Socratic Method[3] which instills budding knowledge, for using tech for good, into budding minds. We know there are bad actors out there. We realize media is often manipulated into propaganda. When we choose not to teach or allow a new mechanism into classrooms, we stall progress. We stall student growth. We suppress their voices. We further disadvantage them to compete in this brave new world, leaving them drowning in the maelstrom.
Certainly phone-free classrooms (PFCRs) curtail distractions. They can curtail bullying and vitriolic expression. There are many short-term benefits. I wish I’d invented the Yondr Pouch – the secure lockable bag schools use to lock students’ phones during the school day! However, are we truly empowering students with critical thinking skills by dodging the rules of the road? Preparing them for the world? Is it helping them navigate what they’ll run into online when they re-plug in – which they certainly do immediately after leaving their “safe” PFCR. As psychologists now admit the addictive nature of mobile devices[4], taking away access only delays the gratification… potentially leading to more binge usage.
“It is important to acknowledge that today’s learners are not just users/consumers of AI, they are its present and future teachers. The data, questions, and ideas they feed into AI will shape how these systems evolve. In this context, we as media literacy educators, have enormous responsibility when it comes to shaping the future (and present) of how AI learning occurs.” John Cabot University’s Sara Gabaik, when talking about sustainable communication[5]. That’s where media literacy comes in. My late, dear friend, Tessa Jolls, from the Center for Media Literacy and I joked about media literacy being the answer to everything. Well, maybe it is.
Andy Norman’s Mental Immunity Project[6] studies and posits, from a philosophical perspective, how our minds have immune systems, just like our bodies. If we don’t care for them, though, they can’t protect us from invasive digital threats. Teaching AI with AI provides that inoculation against bad ideas, extremism, and polarization. Sounds like Media Literacy… as defined by Sister Elizabeth Thoman’s Five Key Questions that can change the world:
- Who created this message?
- What creative techniques are used to gain my attention?
- How might different people understand this message differently than me?
- What values, lifestyles, and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?
- Why is this message being sent?
I’ve travelled the world sharing media literacy with educators, students, embassies, and organizations. What I’ve discovered is that once people learn how they may be manipulated; their eyes and minds are opened. Before “Trust Me” film screenings[7], they thought they were “media literate” as they grew up with devices as young children. These devices were always part of their lives. Once they hear true global stories where life and death repercussions occurred from a lack of media literacy, they relate. They acknowledge. They empathize. In Steven Pinker’s “Enlightenment Now”[8], he posits how humans’ ability to empathize is what sets us apart from animals. It is the trait that allows us to overcome our differences, enabling us to collaborate on the bigger problems facing our world. By teaching AI with AI, our students will develop the critical thinking necessary to survive this tech-based world… and thrive in this brave new world. Yes, it will take bravery. Yes, it will eliminate fear.
A funny thing happens when we learn to trust… “When we trust one another, we have less fear of one another. When fear is driven out, we are open to collaborating on solutions.” – Joe Phelps, Getting Better Foundation.[9]
Just like humans learned to consume media after the advent of the printing press, then radio, television and now the internet and Artificial Intelligence, to give kids their best shot at rising to their potential, we need to teach them how to communicate. Media Literacy education – integrated into every subject – and, for every student – in rural as well as urban schools – is one of the best solutions to the deep dilemmas facing our nation. Media literacy standards implemented through legislation, added to social media platforms eliminating “bots” by more stringent account verification standards, plus curriculum frameworks educators can add to as they gain skills equals sound civic pedagogy for K-12, collegiate, and adult students. Media Lit is not limited to youth. Parents, adults and seniors, some of our most at risk populations, can use free tools like News Literacy Project’s Seven Standards of Quality Education[10] and Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart[11] to become more media literate. More resources like these are available at www.gettingbetterfoundation.org under our resources tab.
The United States’ Bill of Rights, featuring the nation’s prized freedom of expression, makes it difficult, if not unconstitutional, to censor what can be said online. And do we really want to place censorship power in the hands of a for-profit social media platform? While there are big brains and big agencies working on digital intelligence solutions, in the meantime, the answer is media literacy education. AI to teach AI – Academic Integrity to teach Artificial Intelligence and vice versa.
These days, trust is our highest currency. The level of trust we win or lose is proportionate to the quality of our communication. Coincidentally, when people are empowered with media literacy, they learn to trust one another more.[12] Connection happens. It’s not easy to hurt one another when we know another person. Differences are set aside to work together on solving the bigger problems our world is facing. When people learn to communicate clearly and credibly – they become “Response-abled”. They become part of the solution – THAT is empowering and makes us feel useful. It makes us want to use technology for good and report those bad actors who misuse it. It provides us with a mechanism for positive change and a process for critical thinking. Everything is easier with process. Think about cooking recipes. Good grandmotherly advice. Guided gardening or walks in nature with a naturalist or park ranger. It’s always easier and more insightful to start a new diet or exercise program with advice from a trusted professional like a doctor, a nutritionist, or one who’s been there to explain the “why”.
Media Literacy arms generations with advantage – across borders, genders, age, nationality, and wealth disparities. Once learned, the lessons are difficult to forget. Those with it rise to become the best version of themselves, inspiring others toward peaceful resolutions. Communication is about creating clarity where there’s confusion. It’s about creating relevance when people feel disconnected. Most importantly, it’s about inspiring people to achieve things they never thought possible. That’s hope. That’s what media literacy does. Let’s propose a national educational model including AI with AI.
[1] McLuhan Institute: https://www.marshallmcluhan.com/common-questions/
[2] McLuhan’s use of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Sailor vs. the Maelstrom”: https://mcluhangalaxy.wordpress.com/2017/08/21/marshall-mcluhans-maelstrom-metaphor-for-our-digital-world-with-the-assistance-of-edgar-allan-poe/
[3] Socratic Method: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_method
[4] See Jonathan Haidt’s Anxious Generation: https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/book
[5] Gabai, Sara https://www.johncabot.edu/news/2025/10/alumna-sara-gabai-sustainability-communication
[6] Mental Immunity Project: https://mentalimmunityproject.org/
[7] “Trust Me” Documentary and Educational Program: www.trustmedocumentary.com
[8] Pinker, Steven – “Enlightenment Now”: https://stevenpinker.com/publications/enlightenment-now-case-reason-science-humanism-and-progress
[9] Phelps, Joe – Getting Better Foundation: https://gettingbetterfoundation.org/
[10] News Literacy Project “7 Standards of Quality Journalism”: https://newslit.org/educators/resources/seven-standards-quality-journalism/
[11] Ad Fontes Media – Media Bias Chart (2023): https://adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/
[12] Center for Media Literacy longitudinal education study: “The Effectiveness of Media Literacy for Reducing Violent Behaviors” – https://www.medialit.org/research-evaluation (CDC and UCLA funded study, 2010, 2012, 2013)
