Renee	  Hobbs	  About	  Renee	  Hobbs.	  Professor	  Hobbs	  is	  an	  internationally	  recognized	  authority	  on	  digital	  and	  media	  literacy	  education.	  As	  Professor	  of	  Communication	  Studies	  at	  the	  Harrington	  School	  of	  Communication	  and	  Media	  at	  the	  University	  of	  Rhode	  Island,	  Renee	  Hobbs	  is	  Founder	  and	  Director	  of	  the	  Media	  Education	  Lab,	  whose	  mission	  is	  to	  improve	  the	  quality	  of	  media	  literacy	  education	  through	  research	  and	  community	  service.	  	  	  	  Research.	  Renee	  Hobbs	  maintains	  an	  active	  research	  agenda	  that	  examines	  the	  intersections	  of	  the	  fields	  of	  media	  studies	  and	  education.	  
Her	  work	  specifically	  examines	  the	  impact	  of	  media	  literacy	  instructional	  practices	  on	  academic	  achievement.	  She	  is	  the	  founding	  co-­‐editor	  of	  the	  Journal	  for	  Media	  Literacy	  Education,	  an	  open-­‐access	  peer	  reviewed	  journal	  that	  is	  the	  official	  journal	  of	  the	  National	  Association	  for	  Media	  Literacy	  Education	  (NAMLE).	  	  She	  has	  published	  more	  than	  130	  articles	  in	  scholarly	  and	  professional	  journals.	  Books	  include:	  Exploring	  the	  Roots	  of	  Digital	  and	  Media	  Literacy	  through	  Personal	  Narrative,	  Discovering	  Media	  Literacy:	  Digital	  Media	  and	  Popular	  Culture	  in	  Elementary	  School,	  Digital	  and	  Media	  Literacy:	  Connecting	  Culture	  and	  Classroom,	  Copyright	  Clarity:	  How	  Fair	  Use	  Supports	  Digital	  Learning	  and	  Reading	  the	  Media:	  Media	  Literacy	  in	  High	  School	  English.	  	  	  Professional	  Development.	  As	  an	  experienced	  teacher	  educator,	  Hobbs	  offers	  staff	  development	  programs	  for	  educators	  across	  the	  United	  States	  and	  around	  the	  world.	  With	  her	  colleagues,	  she	  created	  the	  URI	  Graduate	  Certificate	  in	  Digital	  Literacy,	  a	  12-­‐credit	  graduate	  program	  that	  engages	  K-­‐12	  and	  college	  faculty,	  librarians	  and	  media	  professionals	  in	  robust	  face-­‐to-­‐face	  and	  online	  learning.	  	  In	  the	  early	  1990s,	  she	  created	  the	  first	  national	  teacher	  education	  program	  in	  media	  literacy,	  the	  Harvard	  Institute	  on	  Media	  Education	  at	  the	  Harvard	  Graduate	  School	  of	  Education.	  	  	  	  Advocacy.	  Renee	  Hobbs	  co-­‐founded	  the	  national	  membership	  organization	  for	  media	  literacy	  education	  in	  the	  United	  States.	  She	  has	  advocated	  for	  the	  use	  of	  mass	  media,	  popular	  culture	  and	  digital	  media	  in	  education	  and	  works	  to	  increase	  visibility	  for	  digital	  and	  media	  literacy	  at	  the	  national	  and	  international	  level.	  She	  has	  sought	  and	  received	  exemptions	  from	  the	  U.S.	  Copyright	  Office	  regarding	  the	  Digital	  Millennium	  Copyright	  Act	  (DMCA)	  in	  permitting	  the	  legal	  “ripping”	  of	  DVDs	  by	  educators,	  helping	  to	  advance	  the	  benefits	  of	  digital	  learning	  for	  all	  teachers	  and	  students.	  Her	  white	  paper,	  Digital	  and	  Media	  Literacy:	  A	  Plan	  of	  Action	  offers	  a	  blueprint	  of	  pragmatic	  actions	  to	  bring	  media	  literacy	  competencies	  to	  all	  Americans.	  It	  was	  released	  in	  Washington	  D.C.	  in	  2010	  and	  co-­‐published	  by	  the	  Aspen	  Institute	  and	  the	  Knight	  Commission	  on	  the	  Information	  Needs	  of	  Communities	  in	  a	  Democracy.	  In	  2012,	  Hobbs	  served	  as	  the	  Digital	  Literacy	  Fellow	  for	  the	  American	  Library	  Association	  Office	  of	  Information	  Technology	  Policy.	  	  Media	  Production.	  Renee	  Hobbs	  is	  a	  multimedia	  producer	  and	  has	  developed	  numerous	  award-­‐winning	  resources	  for	  K-­‐12	  students	  and	  educators.	  Mind	  Over	  Media:	  Analyzing	  Contemporary	  Propaganda	  is	  a	  user-­‐generated	  content	  website	  for	  teaching	  and	  learning	  about	  propaganda.	  	  Hobbs	  developed	  Powerful	  Voices	  for	  Kids,	  a	  university-­‐school	  partnership	  that	  demonstrates	  the	  application	  of	  media	  literacy	  in	  urban	  elementary	  education.	  Assignment:	  Media	  Literacy	  is	  a	  media	  literacy	  curriculum	  developed	  with	  support	  from	  the	  Maryland	  State	  Department	  of	  Education	  and	  the	  Discovery	  Channel.	  The	  U.S.	  Office	  on	  Women's	  Health	  provided	  funding	  for	  Hobbs	  to	  create	  My	  Pop	  Studio,	  an	  award-­‐winning	  online	  edutainment	  game	  that	  introduces	  tween	  girls	  to	  media	  literacy	  concepts	  and	  takes	  girls	  "behind	  the	  scenes"	  of	  popular	  music,	  television,	  magazines,	  and	  online	  media.	  	  	  Renee	  Hobbs	  received	  an	  Ed.D	  in	  Human	  Development	  from	  the	  Harvard	  Graduate	  School	  of	  Education,	  an	  M.A.	  in	  Communication	  from	  the	  University	  of	  Michigan,	  and	  a	  B.A.	  with	  a	  double	  major	  in	  English	  Literature	  and	  Film/Video	  Studies	  from	  the	  University	  of	  Michigan.	  	  CONTACT	  INFORMATION:	  Media	  Education	  Lab	  www.mediaeducationlab.com	  Email:	  hobbs@uri.edu