The Neag School of Education is hosting the ninth annual Northeast Media Literacy Conference, “Media Literacy in a Digital Media Age,” on Friday, March 25, in the Bishop Center from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. This year’s event will explore the connection between understanding digital media and the rapid spread of new technology. A key emphasis will be to help youth develop critical thinking skills in understanding and interpreting media, and to educate schools, communities and youth-oriented organizations about the impact of the digital media explosion.

A special feature of the conference is the participation of 23 media leaders from 23 nations who are part of a U.S. State Department International Leadership Program out of Washington. Their visits to the Neag School and UConn offer conference participants the opportunity to make worldwide professional contacts in media literacy and related fields.

“Media literacy has been recognized nationally and internationally as an urgent need to help citizens, and particularly young people, to recognize and think critically about the great impact of the mass media upon their daily lives,” said Dr. Thomas B. Goodkind, conference creator and a Neag School of Education professor of curriculum and instruction. “Over 50 nations currently have or are developing media literacy programs, often requiring media literacy in their school curriculums and other organized programs.”

Keynote speakers are Marc Prensky, nationally recognized expert and author of Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Digital Game-Based Learning, Don’t Bother Me Mom – I’m Learning and The Role of Technology in Teaching and in the Classroom, and Renee Hobbs, well-known media literacy leader, Temple University educator and author of the recent landmark Knight Commission-sponsored Digital Literacy and Media Literacy, a Detailed Plan.

“The Northeast Media Literacy Conference has been recognized for years as a key annual meeting of media literacy leaders and enthusiasts to learn and share with each other,” Goodkind said.

The conference also features 15 workshops, exhibits and film showings. Registration includes a continental breakfast, buffet lunch, refreshments throughout the day, social hour, conference-related handouts and parking fee. Cost to attend is $95 per person; $45 for students with ID.

For more information and to register, contact Thomas B. Goodkind at t.goodkind@uconn.edu or (860) 486-0290.