AN EVALUATION OF DIGITAL MEDIA LITERACY AND INNOVATION TEACHING SKILL AMONG COMMUNICATION EDUCATORS IN EBONY STATE USING EBSU AND FUNAI

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY: It is becoming more typical for individuals who live in the 21st century to completely immerse themselves in a digital world. When compared to the previous decade, in which the internet served to link people all over the globe, individuals in the modern day simply cannot survive without their digital devices. In point of fact, the digitalization of the environment not only has an effect on the way individuals live their lives but also molds the human mind. Consuming the message alone is not sufficient for full participation in today's society; rather, one must also produce and disseminate knowledge by way of the process of analyzing, evaluating, and reflecting on what they have seen (Hobbs, 2010). This is due to the fact that the media is controlled by a variety of economic and sociological forces. The evolution of media as well as the effects that different types of media have on individuals are influenced by a number of factors, including culture, racial and socioeconomic position, gender, age, and mobility. In addition, the arrival of new media made it possible for individuals to share the material they generated with others by using the instruments of new media. The audience's role in the processing of the information has shifted from that of passive receivers to that of active participants as a result of this (Eristi & Erdem, 2017; Literat, 2014; Martens, 2010).

Due to a lack of preparedness to deal with the unprecedented demand placed on students in the Greek educational system to make the transition to online learning, the emergency remote teaching that was required as a result of the recent COVID-19 epidemic resulted in a number of problems. According to the European Commission (2020), a high level of expertise and innovation on the part of lecturers and school leaders is required in order to facilitate the flexible distance learning of all students in a way that functions as a coherent pedagogical approach. This is a requirement that must be met. As a consequence of this, educators are required to make effective use of the resources at their disposal and provide individualized assistance to students who have a variety of requirements. In light of the current situation, which has affected students emotionally and psychologically (Miller, 2020), there is a necessity to develop an effective competence development process and respond to learners' affective needs that would enhance their motivation, engagement, and satisfaction while alleviating their frustration and discouragement. These challenges need to be taken seriously, and the crisis has demonstrated that change and flexibility are of high priority.

The International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century, in its report to UNESCO in 1996, emphasized the significance of promoting education as "one of the principal means available to foster a deeper and more harmonious form of human development and, as a result, to reduce poverty, exclusion, ignorance, oppression, and war." This was done in light of the fact that education is "one of the principal means available to foster a deeper and more harmonious form of human development" (Delors et al., 1996b, p. 11). In order to accomplish this goal, it was determined that, as we moved forward into the 21st century, a significant reevaluation of the function of education was required. To "provide maps of a complex world that is constantly in turmoil," as the commission argued, and "the compass that will enable people to find their way in it," education should be based on four fundamental pillars of learning, namely, learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be. This will help "provide maps of a complex world that is constantly in turmoil" (Delors et al., 1996a, p. 85). In 2011, in response to the ever-evolving need for educational innovation in the digital era, UNESCO created a curriculum with the goal of enabling the educational community to better understand the role that media plays. This was done with the goal of better understanding the role that media plays in the educational community. The acquisition of media literacy was the primary focus of this initiative. Media literacy was defined as "a set of essential competencies (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) that allow citizens to engage with media and other information providers effectively and develop critical thinking and lifelong learning skills for the purpose of socializing and becoming active citizens" (Wilson, 2012). Students may be resistant to the process of interrogating and examining their media literacy practices, as noted by Hobbs and Jensen (2013). As a result, it is the responsibility of media literacy educators to shift the interest from students' "tool competence" – that is, their ability to use advanced technology – to "digital citizenship," which is a concept closely related to media literacy that focuses not only on the importance of internet safety but also on the rights and responsibilities of internet users.

​​​​​​​STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In point of fact, students now enrolled in universities who are between the ages of 18 and 23 are regarded to be members of the digital generation because of their embrace of digital technology in their everyday lives. The lives of today's modern college students are increasingly dominated by their various electronic devices. Students now enrolled in universities are considered to be "Internet natives" since they grew up with the medium and are adept learners in technology settings (Prensky, 2001). Their identity has shifted from that of information recipients to that of media prosumers as a result of the huge transformation that has occurred in the environment of the media. According to Westlund and Bjur (2014), young people have a tendency to become savvy consumers of media, which might lead to a life centered around media consumption. Therefore, the significance of kids having a good understanding of the media cannot be overstated if they are to develop into responsible digital citizens and prospective knowledge workers (Westlund & Bjur, 2014). In light of the fact that there is a growing convergence of media, a number of academics (Buckingham, 2015; Eristi & Erdem, 2017), among others, have emphasized the importance of acquiring the knowledge, abilities, and skills necessary to comprehend the variety of contemporary modes of communication. Therefore, the ability to use digital devices and to handle and deal properly with information is a set of abilities that is vital for university students to have.