Students gain new ‘hands-on’ resource for learning about media and faith

Catholic school students across Australia will have the opportunity to become ‘cadet reporters’ and learn more about the life of Jesus in a new multi-media resource sponsored by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

This multi-media resource is the second part in the Bishops Pastoral document on the media entitled Go Tell Everyone which was released for World Communications Day in 2006.

Specifically, through using this web-based learning too, students are being educated to be wise consumers of the media.

Media education of children is also the theme chosen by Pope Benedict XVI for his World Communications Day Message 2007:

“The relationship of children, media, and education can be considered from two perspectives: the formation of children by the media; and the formation of children to respond appropriately to the media. A kind of reciprocity emerges which points to the responsibilities of the media as an industry and to the need for active and critical participation of readers, viewers and listeners. Within this framework, training in the proper use of the media is essential for the cultural, moral and spiritual development of children.” (n2)

The Go Tell Everyone learning tool encourages students to construct news stories from various sources, and to critically analyse the source of the story and the different voices that are often heard in a news story.

The subject matter the students are asked to write about as cadet reporters is the death of Jesus Christ, and sources include Scripture, eye witness accounts and other web-based resources.

Bishop Peter Ingham, responsible for media matters on the Bishops Commission for Mission and Faith Formation, said the project had been constructed by a group of Catholic educators from across Australia and would be delivered online directly to Catholic schools.

“We are hoping that through using the Go Tell Everyone educational resource young people will learn to become critical users of the media, and in the process find out more about the person of Jesus Christ, the centre of our Catholic faith,” he said.

“This is an important tool for students to be more aware of what they are reading and watching. We are very pleased that we are addressing this at this time as the Holy Father is raising it as issue.”

To view Go Tell Everyone educational resource, visit http://stage.cecnsw.catholic.edu.au/GTE/default.asp        

A group of bishops take a lesson in how to use the "Go Tell Everyone" online educational resource from Adalgisa Portelli of St Scholastica's College, Glebe and Hani Ailabouni of Patrician Brothers, Fairfield.