ERIC Number: EJ1194044
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2167-8715
EISSN: N/A
Teaching Girls Online Skills: Results of the Wikid Grrls Intervention
Eckert, Stine; Metzger-Riftkin, Jade; Nurmis, Joanna
Journal of Media Literacy Education, v10 n3 p20-42 2018
In 2013-2016 we designed and implemented Wikid Grrls, a 10-week after-school workshop series to teach online skills to middle school girls in U.S. schools. We interviewed and surveyed 80 participants before and after the workshops. Girls' online skills and confidence in them increased measurably for the duration of the workshop series. Participants expressed great interest in learning more, but media literacy programs at their schools regarding online skills were lacking. Using feminist theories and the reader-to-leader framework, we argue that such media literacy interventions bring immediate learning rewards for participants. Yet, we conclude that to narrow gender gaps in digital knowledge creation and sharing, media literacy classes that include online skills should become regular features in U.S. school curricula instead of being offered merely in voluntary programs. Future research should assess long-term benefits of media literacy interventions to teach online skills longitudinally to see if and how such initiatives figure into later school and career decisions.
Descriptors: Females, Workshops, After School Programs, Technological Literacy, Media Literacy, Gender Differences, Internet, Feminism, Skill Development, Preadolescents, Early Adolescents, Middle School Students
National Association for Media Literacy Education. 10 Laurel Hill Drive, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003. Tel: 888-775-2652; e-mail: editor@jmle.org; Web site: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jmle/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Junior High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Maryland; Michigan (Detroit)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A