Impact

As a learning community, the Media Education Lab has impacted the global field of media literacy by developing pioneering approaches to professional development, research, and community engagement. We have created a variety of educational resources, platforms, and learning environments. By working collaboratively with schools and universities, we have supported the development of thousands of educational leaders, researchers, activists, and community engaged media professionals across the country and around the world.

Here are some highlights of 2025:

Executive Director Yonty Friesem is proud that, in 2025, we interacted with more than 6,632 individuals from across the United States and around the world. We personally visited media literacy educators in countries including France, Argentina, South Korea, Colombia, Portugal, and Croatia. We offered more than 100 free and paid online programs!

Over more than 20 years, the Media Education Lab has helped to bring together practitioners and scholars to advance the practice of media literacy education locally and globally. Under the leadership of Renee Hobbs, the organization has reached hundreds of thousands of educators, students, and community leaders. Here is a brief history of our impactful work

Professional Development

1993. Harvard Institute on Media Education.

1995. Know TV

1998. Assignment Media Literacy with Maryland State Department of Education and Discovery Communications Inc

2006. Powerful Voices for Kids

2012 to 2023. Summer Institute on Digital Literacy

2014 to present. Graduate Certificate in Digital Literacy, University of Rhode Island

2014 to present. Northeast Media Literacy Conference - now MediaEd Forum

2020. Virtually Viral Hangouts.

2020. The Road to Copyright Clarity.

2024. MediaEd Institute

Policy Leadership