KUALA LUMPUR: The Media and Information Literacy for Malaysia-Philippines Network (MIL for MY-PH Network) organised a three-day mini TechCamp virtual workshop from March 29 to 31 for secondary school teachers and teacher educators from across Malaysia and the Philippines on how to integrate Media and Information Literacy (MIL) components into their lesson plans.
A funded alumni project of TechCamp Malaysia 2020 granted by the United States Department of State, the US Embassy Kuala Lumpur, and the Penang Institute in Malaysia, the workshop's theme of Teaching Media and Information Literacy Skills in Everyday Life stemmed from the desire to foster a simplified understanding of the importance of MIL in a fast-moving, digital landscape, and provide teachers with methods to use available tools online for a more engaging teaching and learning experience in the classroom.
More than 70 participants comprising secondary school teachers, teacher educators, education experts and industry professionals from the US, Spain, the Netherlands, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, shared their knowledge and tips in a series of talks, brainstorming and Q&A sessions.
Topics covered included overview of media landscapes in Malaysia and the Philippines, countering false information in a modern classroom, verification and fact-checking as foundations of civic online reasoning, as well as 'netiquettes' for teachers and educators.
Inspired by work experiences in education and media and communications, TechCamp Malaysia 2020's small grants recipient group members formed the MIL for the MY-PH Network.
The aim of the network is to work with other like-minded individuals who are passionate about championing responsible media practices, to curb the worrying phenomenon of sharing misleading and inaccurate information; create quality, non-biased content; and develop MIL skills in Malaysia and the Philippines in order to be informed and responsible users.
"One defense against the infodemic is to ensure that our citizens acquire MIL competencies...the education of our future generation must be geared towards providing them with skills and knowledge that will empower them to be media and information literate - critically evaluate information before using or sharing it," said Lai Cheng Wong, Co-Chairperson of the Organizing Committee of TechCamp Malaysia-Philippines.