In the Baltic region, Media & Information Literacy (MIL) experts aim to expand critical thinking skills in school curricula.
In the Baltic region, media and information literacy (MIL) training is often included school curricula. Meet MIL trainers who teach MIL skills, which strengthen democracy and civil society in an era of disinformation.
Baltic MIL Summit 2022
Media and Information Literacy (MIL) training is often part of school curricula across the Baltic region. MIL trainers there recently gathered to consider best practices and effective teaching methods for critical thinking skills, all of which strengthen democracy and civil society in an era of disinformation.
Maia Klaassen, MIL expert at the University of Tartu, Estonia
"MIL is a survival skill for anyone who goes online. So, if you live in the middle of a forest and are completely disconnected, you may say you do not need MIL. But if you use social media or smart phones every day and pay attention to the news - this includes most of us - then we need this basic knowledge about the digital world."
Donatas Kriukas, Teacher at Vilniaus Salomėjos Nėries gimnazija, Lithuania
"In 2017, our school decided to incorporate MIL into our curricula, although we had no idea what MIL was. With the support of our partners and experts, we became the first gymnasium instructing in this field. And we meanwhile decided to offer it as a separate subject as well."
Andželika Aleksandravičiūtė, Teacher at Vilnius Pilaitė gymnasium in Lithuania
"MIL is connected to language arts (I teach Lithuanian): students receive text messages, analyze them and react. With digital media and information, it can be more dangerous because in addition to language, we are influenced by photos, videos and new technologies. You cannot avoid it once you're on the web."
Madis Vaikmaa, Advisor at the Strategic Communication Department at the Government Office of Estonia
"I work as a strategic communications adviser at the Government Office of Estonia, and I am also responsible for MIL initiatives in Estonia. MIL helps us develop our critical thinking for everyday situations and helps you make better decisions."
Agnė Andriuškevičienė, Advisor, Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport
"It's especially important to have a systematic MIL approach when people believe in ‘alternative facts’ or are unable to distinguish between what is true and what is false. Lacking media literacy can even be physically dangerous nowadays, such as when people read stories about 5-G and do not want to be vaccinated."
Linas Naimavičius, Teacher at Šiauliai District Dubysa Upper School in Lithuania
"The subjects I teach in school are physics and mathematics and to prove something, you have to experiment and test. With MIL, it is much harder. We only see the fruits of MIL over time. Therefore, it is more difficult to convince people that it is important."
Baltic MIL Summit 2022
Media and Information Literacy (MIL) training is often part of school curricula across the Baltic region. MIL trainers there recently gathered to consider best practices and effective teaching methods for critical thinking skills, all of which strengthen democracy and civil society in an era of disinformation.
Maia Klaassen, MIL expert at the University of Tartu, Estonia
"MIL is a survival skill for anyone who goes online. So, if you live in the middle of a forest and are completely disconnected, you may say you do not need MIL. But if you use social media or smart phones every day and pay attention to the news - this includes most of us - then we need this basic knowledge about the digital world."
Donatas Kriukas, Teacher at Vilniaus Salomėjos Nėries gimnazija, Lithuania
"In 2017, our school decided to incorporate MIL into our curricula, although we had no idea what MIL was. With the support of our partners and experts, we became the first gymnasium instructing in this field. And we meanwhile decided to offer it as a separate subject as well."
Andželika Aleksandravičiūtė, Teacher at Vilnius Pilaitė gymnasium in Lithuania
"MIL is connected to language arts (I teach Lithuanian): students receive text messages, analyze them and react. With digital media and information, it can be more dangerous because in addition to language, we are influenced by photos, videos and new technologies. You cannot avoid it once you're on the web."
Madis Vaikmaa, Advisor at the Strategic Communication Department at the Government Office of Estonia
"I work as a strategic communications adviser at the Government Office of Estonia, and I am also responsible for MIL initiatives in Estonia. MIL helps us develop our critical thinking for everyday situations and helps you make better decisions."
Agnė Andriuškevičienė, Advisor, Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport
"It's especially important to have a systematic MIL approach when people believe in ‘alternative facts’ or are unable to distinguish between what is true and what is false. Lacking media literacy can even be physically dangerous nowadays, such as when people read stories about 5-G and do not want to be vaccinated."
Linas Naimavičius, Teacher at Šiauliai District Dubysa Upper School in Lithuania
"The subjects I teach in school are physics and mathematics and to prove something, you have to experiment and test. With MIL, it is much harder. We only see the fruits of MIL over time. Therefore, it is more difficult to convince people that it is important."