Media, Education, and Change

The Author: Lesley L. Johnson is Associate Director of the Media Literacy Project at Babson College and Lecturer in the Communications Department at Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts. She received her Ph.D. in educational studies/media from Lesley College, Cambridge, Massachussetts. Her background includes twenty years of work in public education, documentary filmmaking, university teaching, and educational research. Johnson continues the examination of educational change while teaching and working with media educators throughout the United States and abroad.

"A valuable book for any teacher concerned with effective teaching and the fundamental question of why we teach. Johnson explores media literacy as pedagogy, using a scholarly base of theory and examining case studies of teachers and students engaged in media production. Johnson pushes the media literacy movement into new territory while reminding us that teaching transforms both teachers and students." (Andrew Garrison, Independent Filmmaker; Assistant Professor of Film and Video Production, University of Texas at Austin)
"This book is a major landmark in the search for an effective media literacy campaign. Johnson has tackled the problem that most educational and therapeutic methods focus on - the specialized disciplines, such as writing, drawing, movement, or role playing - while the majority of our population is exposed to the interdisciplinary art of the film and video world. Johnson is one of the few contemporary scholars who base their philosophical thinking on a rich experience in video skills and the interdisciplinary practice of the arts and, therefore, brings hope for an emancipated, autonomous, critical audience of the media." (Paolo J. Knill, Professor Emeritus, Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Acting Provost, European Graduate School, Switzerland)