As commented in a blog on 21st Century education, two media literacy skills that are of the most important includes information skills, which refer to the searching for, assessing the relevance of and employing information for own purposes, and technology adoption skills, which refer to using mobile, PC and Internet tools (http://edtechdigest.wordpress.com/2010/09/22/21-definitions-for-a-21st-century-education/). The skills of analysing and creating messages in a variety of forms are important, ranging from printed words and pictures to videos on the Internet.
Media literacy also entails an understanding of media in society and the acquisition of the necessary skills of effective inquiry and self-expression as an individual. Another important media literacy skill which is sorely needed in the 21st Century is becoming competent, critical and aware enough concerning the media that each person controls the interpretation of what they see or hear, rather than letting the interpretation control them. The Center for Media Literacy terms this as a “critical autonomy” meaning that one has the ability to think for oneself and to judge the content of media to be useful or valid or simply untrustworthy (http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/what-media-literacy-definitionand-more).
Critical autonomy at young ages show that teachers cannot give learners assignments and facts if they are not valid or accurate or even recent, and as reason, only say “Because I am the teacher”. Learners won’t fall for that anymore. Teachers need to educate themselves at these skills and also at technological and other advances in order to acquire respect from the class