**Abstract**

Nations across the globe are immersed in a technological revolution—intensified by the need to respond to COVID-19 issues. In order to be critical and responsible citizens in the current media ecosystem, it is important that students acquire and develop certain skills when consuming and producing information for and when communicating through the media. This is a major challenge that educational systems worldwide have to face. Hence, new curricula in media education to guide future teachers towards the successful acquisition of new media skills have been proposed. The aims of this work are to conduct a theoretical approach to this worldwide technological and media evolution in the past decade, to make an indepth comparison between the Curriculum for teachers on media and information literacy published by the UNESCO (2011) and the publication of the new AlfaMed Curriculum for the training of teachers in media education (2021). This framework starts by providing an extensive analysis of the key elements of both curricula and of their corresponding modules, establishing, thus, a constructive comparison while updating them, according to the needs, changes, and realities that have taken place regarding digital literacy in the past decade. Finally, the chapter concludes with the detailing of the challenges and with proposals for teacher training in media and information literacy.

**Keywords:** Media and Information Literacy, EduCommunication, digital competences, curriculum innovation, teacher training

### **1. Introduction**

The world, particularly developed nations, is undergoing a process of technological changes that has been especially influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic—it has changed how we interact with each other and our understanding of society. This upcoming decade will be of utmost importance in regard to educating and empowering people so they will be able to face these new digital media challenges.

In its latest report, "COVID-19 and Human Rights. We are all in this together" [1], the United Nations advocates education as an ally for the defense of human

rights—education is, after all, a fundamental element in the struggle against inequality and social vulnerability. Besides, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 objectives add a series of objectives to the area of EduCommunication. A veritable media ecosystem has made its way into modern society and, in order to navigate it as responsible citizens, students worldwide require certain critical thinking skills [2]. Accordingly, with teaching and learning processes in mind, it is vital to propose a new media curriculum to guide future educators towards the acquisition of updated media skills. For this reason, the goal of this chapter is to delve into the new AlfaMed Curriculum for the training of teachers in media education [3], which has been based on the famous Curriculum for teachers on media and information literacy published by the UNESCO in 2011 [4]. For this reason, in this chapter is proposed a comparative study between both curricula, from a perspective of the aforementioned changes and transformations that citizens have been experiencing in the past decade.

One of the main goals set by the UNESCO in 2011 was to ensure that people, teachers in particular, were critical with the media. Adopting a critical stance towards the media is even more necessary today, when the pandemic has increased our media consumption and use of social networks [5]. This objective has been echoed in the new AlfaMed curriculum, which has been designed by AlfaMed Network researchers from different countries in Europe and Latin America.

This work is structured from a media conceptualization competence and key elements from the media curriculum. It analyzes the modules that are collected in both curricula, establishing thus a constructive and updated comparison, which reflects digital literacy's changes, new realities, and needs from the past decade.

#### **2. Media competences in the past decade**

The past decade will be remembered for the start of one of the most sterling pandemics in recent history, as well as for the unprecedented technological revolution that has transformed the world. For example, cloud computing has become widespread, the internet has become ubiquitous, social networks such as Instagram or Pinterest were created, the iPad revolutionized the market, and in 2011, Snapchat and Twitch appeared, paving the way to a new understanding of entertainment. On a massive scale, online video games have become a favorite among young people, especially through the use of consoles such as the PlayStation 4 (PS4) (see **Figure 1**). Social networks, however, display an everchanging landscape—Instagram is still around and YouTube and TikTok are some of the most popular platforms [5].

Children's first contact with tablets is happening earlier and earlier, at the same time that adults have borne witness to the evolution of desktop computers into increasingly lightweight, powerful, and cheaper laptops. There are mobile phones that can act as full-fledged computer replacements and cloud storage being used instead of USB flash drives. Music streaming services in the shape of mobile apps have rendered specialized audio player devices obsolete. This is the context where people of all generations, younger and older alike, are living.

Technological progress cannot be stopped—it is embodied by the creation of new products, companies that are constantly renewing themselves, and by users who demand more and more immediacy and quality service.

A new debate has surged amidst this panorama, regarding how the educational systems of different countries are responding to the diverse contexts, needs, and demands of a digital society that has seen how technologies have revolutionized the educational system as whole. With the arrival of the COVID-19, teachers from

**41**

literacy processes.

**Figure 1.**

and ideas from a critical thinking standpoint.

*The Revolutionary Media Education Decade: From the UNESCO to the ALFAMED Curriculum…*

all over the world had to adapt to new ways of learning and teaching, innovate with methodologies that could be applied online, reorganize spaces, resources, and time—in short, they had to devise a new way of understanding the curriculum. Curriculum theories and definitions have been evolving for several decades, some stemming from objective-based planning models, typical of rationalist theories such as those promoted by Dewey, Tyler, or Bloom, while others emerged with the support of reconceptualist theories or processual or critical approaches. In one way or another, the term curriculum has been defined as a learning plan [6] and is constituted by capacities, values, contents, methods, and procedures that require certain management and evaluation models, which should be successfully conducted by educational organizations [7]. The term "curriculum" has been adopted in various ways, depending on the country, to respond to specific demands [8]. In this sense, and taking into account the current media society, the expression "digital competence" was coined to describe one of the essential skills that people should acquire [9], establishing, this way, a direct relationship between media competence and education—the teaching of this competence relies mainly on media and digital

*Evolution of the past ten years in technologies. Source: Statista, from: https://bit.ly/3lmHbGp.*

In 2008, the European Parliament made an etymological approach of the concept of media education—a paramount concept that each country understood in its own way until the publication of the Media and Information Literacy Curriculum for Teachers in 2011 by the UNESCO [10]. Its aim was that people were able to identify the functions of the media and its devices in their daily lives, thus, empowering them to exercise their individual right to seek, receive, and transmit information

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97804*

*The Revolutionary Media Education Decade: From the UNESCO to the ALFAMED Curriculum… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97804*

#### **Figure 1.**

*Teacher Education in the 21st Century - Emerging Skills for a Changing World*

that citizens have been experiencing in the past decade.

**2. Media competences in the past decade**

YouTube and TikTok are some of the most popular platforms [5].

people of all generations, younger and older alike, are living.

who demand more and more immediacy and quality service.

rights—education is, after all, a fundamental element in the struggle against inequality and social vulnerability. Besides, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 objectives add a series of objectives to the area of

EduCommunication. A veritable media ecosystem has made its way into modern society and, in order to navigate it as responsible citizens, students worldwide require certain critical thinking skills [2]. Accordingly, with teaching and learning processes in mind, it is vital to propose a new media curriculum to guide future educators towards the acquisition of updated media skills. For this reason, the goal of this chapter is to delve into the new AlfaMed Curriculum for the training of teachers in media education [3], which has been based on the famous Curriculum for teachers on media and information literacy published by the UNESCO in 2011 [4]. For this reason, in this chapter is proposed a comparative study between both curricula, from a perspective of the aforementioned changes and transformations

One of the main goals set by the UNESCO in 2011 was to ensure that people, teachers in particular, were critical with the media. Adopting a critical stance towards the media is even more necessary today, when the pandemic has increased our media consumption and use of social networks [5]. This objective has been echoed in the new AlfaMed curriculum, which has been designed by AlfaMed Network researchers from different countries in Europe and Latin America.

This work is structured from a media conceptualization competence and key elements from the media curriculum. It analyzes the modules that are collected in both curricula, establishing thus a constructive and updated comparison, which reflects digital literacy's changes, new realities, and needs from the past decade.

The past decade will be remembered for the start of one of the most sterling pandemics in recent history, as well as for the unprecedented technological revolution that has transformed the world. For example, cloud computing has become widespread, the internet has become ubiquitous, social networks such as Instagram or Pinterest were created, the iPad revolutionized the market, and in 2011, Snapchat and Twitch appeared, paving the way to a new understanding of entertainment. On a massive scale, online video games have become a favorite among young people, especially through the use of consoles such as the PlayStation 4 (PS4) (see **Figure 1**). Social networks, however, display an everchanging landscape—Instagram is still around and

Children's first contact with tablets is happening earlier and earlier, at the same time that adults have borne witness to the evolution of desktop computers into increasingly lightweight, powerful, and cheaper laptops. There are mobile phones that can act as full-fledged computer replacements and cloud storage being used instead of USB flash drives. Music streaming services in the shape of mobile apps have rendered specialized audio player devices obsolete. This is the context where

Technological progress cannot be stopped—it is embodied by the creation of new products, companies that are constantly renewing themselves, and by users

A new debate has surged amidst this panorama, regarding how the educational systems of different countries are responding to the diverse contexts, needs, and demands of a digital society that has seen how technologies have revolutionized the educational system as whole. With the arrival of the COVID-19, teachers from

**40**

*Evolution of the past ten years in technologies. Source: Statista, from: https://bit.ly/3lmHbGp.*

all over the world had to adapt to new ways of learning and teaching, innovate with methodologies that could be applied online, reorganize spaces, resources, and time—in short, they had to devise a new way of understanding the curriculum.

Curriculum theories and definitions have been evolving for several decades, some stemming from objective-based planning models, typical of rationalist theories such as those promoted by Dewey, Tyler, or Bloom, while others emerged with the support of reconceptualist theories or processual or critical approaches. In one way or another, the term curriculum has been defined as a learning plan [6] and is constituted by capacities, values, contents, methods, and procedures that require certain management and evaluation models, which should be successfully conducted by educational organizations [7]. The term "curriculum" has been adopted in various ways, depending on the country, to respond to specific demands [8]. In this sense, and taking into account the current media society, the expression "digital competence" was coined to describe one of the essential skills that people should acquire [9], establishing, this way, a direct relationship between media competence and education—the teaching of this competence relies mainly on media and digital literacy processes.

In 2008, the European Parliament made an etymological approach of the concept of media education—a paramount concept that each country understood in its own way until the publication of the Media and Information Literacy Curriculum for Teachers in 2011 by the UNESCO [10]. Its aim was that people were able to identify the functions of the media and its devices in their daily lives, thus, empowering them to exercise their individual right to seek, receive, and transmit information and ideas from a critical thinking standpoint.

Media education, media and information literacy (MIL) or media literacy (ML), were defined in the recommendation made by the European Commission to the European Parliament (August 20, 2009) on media literacy in the digital environment. Article 11 of this recommendation pleads for a more competitive audiovisual content industry and for a more inclusive knowledge society. It also stresses the importance of media access through a critical lens: to be able to understand and evaluate different means of communication with sound criteria. Moreover, article 18 of this recommendation emphasizes the need to address media literacy in different ways and at different levels, from educational systems to local authorities—they are closer to the population and should foster support initiatives of the non-formal education sector. Civil society, too, should actively contribute to the promotion of media literacy.

The truth is that being exposed to the media does not mean that you will acquire media competence—younger people, such as children and teenagers, lack criteria that would make them responsible and critical consumers [11]. This is why it is imperative that teachers learn skills and strategies that would allow them not only to consume media, but also to be active agents in the processes of construction of digitized meanings, becoming themselves, thus, intelligent prosumers who are then capable of transmitting the same skills to their students. Furthermore, teachers should become veritable designers who will take the initiative to, critically, creatively, and sustainably, access, select, produce, and distribute, digital material in any type of media [12]. Teachers have to work with centennials and millennials, which, in itself, pose new challenges regarding in-class dynamics. The implementation of new pedagogical methods and tools is directly related to teacher training and requires the development of multidisciplinary learning networks [13, 14].

For this reason, the curriculum must adapt to the aforementioned changes, to new ways of understanding communication processes, media consumption, and the building of citizenship identities. In a recent publication by Pérez-Tornero, Orozco and Hamburguer [15], "MILID Yearbook 2018/2019. Media and information literacy in critical times: Re-imagining learning and information environments," professionals from different fields, such as EduCommunication, have compiled reflections, research, and analyses on the current state of media and information literacy. This work is divided into three parts: MIL Augmenting Information Freedom and Knowledge Status, MIL and the Different Actors and Situations of Learning, MIL Providing New Opportunities. Specifically, and regarding media literacy teaching and learning processes, the importance of dialogue with students is mentioned as crucial in understanding the ideas, expectations, and assessments of other people in media environments.
