Think global, act local: Expanding the agenda for media literacy education in the United States

The phrase "think global, act local" is used to frame the macro efforts of information literacy worldwide alongside the localized, grassroots efforts of media literacy education in the United States where there exists a complex and contradictory relationship among government, technology industry, and educational practices. This article marries the global (macro) push for information literacy with the localized (micro) efforts at media literacy education in the United States and identifies emergent tensions and challenges associated with the production of information literate citizens within an educational system that is disconnected from the highly mediated lives of students outside of school. As a microcosm of this struggle, the article chronicles the emergence of the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE).