Radio+and+Literacy

=Radio and Literacy - Luis E Cruz=

**Question:**
Can radio serve as primary tool for education in classrooms abroad?

**I wonder:**
Through careful listening, can talk/news radio substitute books, texts and other forms of media. I wonder if the storytelling delivered through radio is enough to assist students in developing vocabulary and comprehension skills. I wonder if the radio (specifically the information broadcasted) is a solution for classrooms where books aren't as accessible. I wonder if radio (audio) could be used to engage students, provoke intellectual thought, and ultimately led to learning key concepts. However, I also wonder if the radio medium can easily be accessed by societies abroad.

**My plan:**
I plan to study the traditions of storytelling and learn how past generations learn through the stories. I want to find connections between hearing sound and responding with comprehension. I plan to find videos and scholarly articles that detest to how vivid storytelling, ambient sound, and personal interviews can assist in understanding news stories. I plan to hold an interview with an instructor who is familiar with the topic and recognizes the potential the medium can bring.

**What I want to learn:**
I want to learn if radio deserves a place in the learning environment and not just for students who are studying media. I want to learn if educators in places abroad should invest in centering learning around the radio medium. I want to learn to what extent radio can be used for learning, but meanwhile I hope to learn if students will give careful attention to listening through complete news stories.

OK - Radio in developing nations is an important tool for education and development. You should be able to use some of the concepts from the course in making connections here. I urge you to also explore how cell phones can be used to enable people to create and share programs within subcultural groups. Also do take a look at the various youth media programs in developing nations, as in the work of Sanjay Asthana.

[]

Precis - Luis Cruz - __Radio Literacy and Life Skills for Out-of-School Youth in Somali__
** In addition, education has had no exception to Somalia’s halt in development. Previous to the civil war, the education system in Somalia was flawed, so during the civil war, the damage only grew worse. Across the lands, nearly every school or academic institution was burnt down or destroyed. Books were incredibly becoming nonexistent and there just weren’t enough teachers and instructors. ** ** Through all the obstacles, there still existed hope. Because the people of Somalia remained consistent with their faith and culture, including language, there was an innate appreciation for radio broadcasts. Great minds began to flourish with the idea that the radio could be used to learn skills of reading and writing in the Somalia language. The British Broadcasting Corporation known as, BBC was broadcasted through the radio airwaves in Somalia and in the Somali language too. From the urban areas to rural areas, BBC news broadcasts could be heard through the airwaves. Through radio (particularly BBC programming), there was now an opportunity for the Somali people to access literacy. ** ** Realistically radio couldn’t be sufficient on its own, so the project team at the BBC worlds service trust made the effort to make a more organized approach. Professionals at the station began to create teaching content that could potentially teach both youth and adults. ** ** Gradually, an accessible medium in Somali was being used to provide the opportunity for distance learning. A descent amount of traits led to the idea that radio could be used as an effective tool for learning. Recognizing that there were few teachers, the project team created well written content that was tied to radio. The content could be taken by someone educated, like a tutor or instructor, and then later introduced and taught to those less educated. ** ** With the ability to assess knowledge through radio, classes were formed by some educators. Teaching took place at various sites during various times of the day. ** **Class times were structured according to BBC broadcasts.**
 * Travel to the north eastern part of Africa, and you’ll find one of the most broken down countries in the continent. Somalia has been recognized as a failed state, a country that has no functioning government. During the start of the 1990’s, the country embarked on civil war leading Somalia to a time of serious regression. Two decades have past, yet Somalia continues to suffer. With no consistent social or political structure, the country is split into three regions: Somaliland in the North West, Puntland in the North East and Southern and Central Somalia. The European Commission, an executive body that oversees twenty-seven independent states in Europe, thought of Somalia in this way, “most of the country remains structurally food insecure, internal displacement is widespread and development has virtually ground to a halt”. Sadly the commission continues to be right, because there is a great deal of insecurity in all aspects and the country’s growth has been stunted. Families have been separated, homes have been deserted, and children have ** ** become orphans. **

Brophy, M. I., & Page, E. M. (2007). radio literacy and life skills for out of school youth in somali. Journal of International Cooperation in Education , 10 (1), 135-146. Retrieved from []
 * Citation:**

C.S. Wyatt writes of the influence that radio has had on his life. Wyatt gives specific examples of the awareness he has gained as a result of listening to the radio. Wyatt states that radio has created a “theater in the mind”. He follows by explaining how through the sense of hearing, radio can stir the development of critical literacy skills. C.S., W. (2011, August 14). //Multimedia literacy: Becoming a composer of texts and more//. Retrieved from [] In this text, the writer speaks of the techniques used to spread education near and far. The Interactive Radio Instruction is introduced in the text. The 1992 experiment strove to empower nomadic groups through __radio literacy__. // Use of radio in a nomadic education programme //. (2011). Retrieved from [] The writer of this text defines radio literacy as __the teaching of reading, writing and calculation to adult learners in the common language__. In addition, the article raises common questions that include: Can radio teach and what are the cost to produce radio programs that provide a literacy service. Radio cost depends on four components. Those four include: The cost of producing programs, the cost of transmitting them, the cost of the listener receiving them and the cost of organizing support for the program. The article makes a valid argument and that is that programming produced for the radio is still in many cases cheaper than using other forms of media. Borode, M. (2011). Organization and cost of literacy by radio programme in ekiti state of nigeria. //Current Research Journal of Social Sciences//, 219-233. Retrieved from [] In this YouTube clip, the relationship between an orphan girl and her process of learning by listening to the radio is portrayed. (2010). //Radio broadcasts educate somali refugees in dadaab//. (2010). [Web Video]. Retrieved from [] An organization by the name of Lifeline has created a durable and multipurpose radio. The radio is targeted to people in third world countries. The radio is battery, solar, and electrically powered. The Lifeplayer is a five-band radio and MP3 player that intends to assist in educating folks from the third world. // Lifeline energy: Lifeplayer //. (2010). Retrieved from [] BAM is a radio network produced for the education community. BAM is the largest education radio network offering 21 channels of education related programming. Programming is hosted by leading educators and advocates. // Ira reading radio's 'literacy 2.0' //. (2010, April 4). Retrieved from [] ** 7. Radio Literacy and Life Skills for Out-of-School ** The article suggests that radio is the appropriate strategy to educate in regions like Somalia. The article talks of the importance of the BBC news service in Somalia. However the article also tackles the issue that the radio medium may not be enough to teach audiences. The strategy of taking well structured written materials and linking them to radio broadcasts has been considered. The thought is that written materials that are connected with broadcasts will serve as an aid to individuals that are tutors of the SOMDEL program. Brophy, M., & Page, E. (2007). Radio literacy and life skills for out-of-school youth in somalia. //CICE Hiroshima University, Journal of International Cooperation in Education//, //10//(1), 135-147. Retrieved from []
 * // Research Report 1 //**
 * 1. C.S. Wyatt Literacy Autobiography **
 * 2. Use of Radio in a Nomadic Education Programme **
 * 3. Organization and Cost of Literacy by Radio Program in Ekiti State of Nigeria **
 * 4. Radio…a Lifeline! **
 * 5. Lifeline Energy produces the Lifeplayer **
 * 6. BAM Radio Network **

Video: []

Meet Samira, she is a Somali refugee living in Dadaab. Unfortunately, both of Samira’s parents were recently killed back in Somalia, which is why she now lives in a Hadegera Camp in Kenya. Samira faces serious troubles, but among those is the lack of education __that she is not receiving__.

Recently, there has been a compelling change to Samira’s life. Samira has been introduced to the Life player. Life player is a multipurpose radio that is designed to a durable tool for groups living in third world countries. Above all, it is a piece of technology that takes the medium of radio and uses it to educate listeners through forms of broadcasts.

In the video we get know about Samira and her interaction with the Life player. Now Samira is only one girl, but her testimony supports the notion that the radio medium is an effective teaching tool. Radios in countries like Somalia, where education resources are limited, are creating lifelines for those native to the land.

I do not want to sound like I am cheerleading for Lifeline Energy. So it’s important to understand what does organization stands for.

Life Line Energy is the author of the video, so it’s important to think about the messages that are being sent, whether they are evidently clear or perhaps underlined in the video.

In the next video: []

I chose to pay particular attention to the Life player because I recognized that here was a product that’s purpose was to bring literacy to listeners. I wanted to know all about that process.

The Life Player is introduced and a long list of features and benefits were mentioned...some of which include:


 * The World’s 1st media player recorder and bandwidth radio player…uses solar energy and a hand crank option.
 * Radio/MP3 option
 * Used for natural disasters and conflicts
 * Attached Speaker/External Speakers are accessible
 * Charged through solar power, manually (cranking) and electrically (inserted into an electrical outlet).
 * USB Port
 * 64 GB of memory
 * <span style="font-family: 'Eras Demi ITC','sans-serif';">Internal microphone

<span style="font-family: 'Eras Demi ITC','sans-serif';">The video states that lifeline’s limit is a person’s imagination. I only wonder what the cons to the life player are and how much does the life player cost. I’m going to look into those details that were omitted in the video.