Just Accepted OLD

In response to feedback from the research community, Media Education is now making articles available online after the acceptance. 

As a free service, making the accepted manuscript available has a number of benefits for our authors, including;

This version of the manuscript will not be language-edited or typeset and will be provided as a flat PDF.

We will continue to work with authors on the production of their article, and the final version of record will replace the accepted manuscript version once this has been completed. 


Journalism and fake news in the Covid-19 era. Perspectives for media education in Italy.

Gianna Cappello, Francesca Rizzuto

Dipartimento Culture e Società, Università di Palermo

DOI: 10.36253/me-9682

ABSTRACT

In this article, drawing from the data collected by the AGCOM during the pandemic crisis, we argue that the emergence of COVID 19 has made more evident the new relationships between the informative cybercascades, the significant need of news during a crisis, the presence of disinformation online, and the relevant consequences on collective narrations, often producing a generalized panic. We also argue that infotainment can be considered a critical turning point in the relationship between true and false in the news because of its fusion of facts, drama, and emotional narrative frames so that it is no longer possible to separate reality from media reconstruction of it. We finally argue that Media Education can help individuals unpack the complexities of this fusion and engage ‘civically’ so that, by combining critical thinking and social action, they can contribute to reconnect (news)media to vital issues such as credibility, freedom of expression, pluralism, democracy, and social change.

 


School goes on TV. A research on the quality of an educational program at the time of Covid 19

Ranieri Maria, Gaggioli Cristina, Cinotti Alessia, Ercoli Silvia

Università degli Studi di Firenze

DOI: 10.36253/me-9975

ABSTRACT

The history of Italian public television presents many educational programs created with the aim of offering a cultural and educational service supporting the school. The closure of the school, due to the health emergency from Covid 19, has given a strong incentive to the use of technologies in education, while highlighting the presence of an important digital divide. The Italian public television broadcaster (RAI) launched the programme “La Banda dei FuoriClasse” to support children and adolescents after the closure of schools, and integrate the public educational offer. The paper presents the results of a research promoted by RAI Gulp, University of Florence and University of Palermo, for the monitoring and evaluation of the didactic and communicative quality of the program. A specific grid was developed and 105 observation grids were collected for each episode. The results indicate that “La banda dei fuoriclasse” was highly appreciated by the listening group for the technical and didactic aspects that characterize the program, with a strong emotional implication.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Dis)connected? Pupils, Parents, and Teachers Facing the Covid-19 Emergency

Mariagrazia Santagati, Paolo Barabanti

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

DOI: 10.36253/me-9646

ABSTRACT

Even if the alarm caused by coronavirus in Italy has actually arisen as a medical emergency, it soon became apparent that there would be may other spill-over effects. The education system has been one of the first areas which have been adversely affected by this pandemic, as schools and university have been closed since the very first weeks. Schools have thus begun to build new ways of schooling in order to keep in contact with students and families and to go on with teaching activities. This article aims to focus on students’, parents’ and teachers’ educational experience in the time of the Covid-19 emergency. After a brief study of the situation of the Italian school before this pandemic, the paper seeks to investigate the lockdown effect on the school-family relationships and on the way of schooling during this emergency time.

Findings show that distant learning has caused tensions and difficulties among teachers, students and parents, but at the same time it has enabled to reflect and to build new unexpected ways of drawing connections, guaranteeing socializing and refiguring the school on its role both of transmitting knowledge and of training the future citizens.