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** Registration ends March 19, 2010 **

Act 48 Credit Hours Available: 14.5

Drug Free Pennsylvania’s third annual media literacy conference, Media Literacy and Its Impact on Substance Abuse, will feature three of the top authorities in the field of media literacy: Dr. Renee Hobbs from Temple University, Dr. Brian Primack from the University of Pittsburgh and Dr. Jean Kilbourne. The goal of the conference is to provide educators and other professionals with an understanding of the core concepts of media literacy to help teach kids how to make healthy lifestyle decisions regarding substance abuse.

Participants will gain the skills needed to reach our kids through interactive, hands-on applications in media literacy including: dissecting advertisements, writing public service announcements (PSA), and analyzing the way companies market their products. These skills can then be implemented in the classroom, or during after-school programs or family sessions.

Participants will also receive a free copy of The Media Straight Up! Critical Thinking Skills for Pennsylvania’s Youth curriculum guide.

Dr. Renee Hobbs

Renee Hobbs is a Professor of Communication at Temple University’s School of Communication and Theater in Philadelphia USA, where she founded the Media Education Lab. She created numerous award-winning curriculum materials, videos and multimedia games for K-12 English language arts students and provides consulting and staff development programs to educators all across the nation and around the world. Hobbs co-authored Elements of Language, the first language arts textbook in the US to integrate media literacy. Her new book, Teaching the Media: Media Literacy in High School English provides the first large-scale empirical evidence of the impact of media literacy education on adolescents’ reading comprehension skills.

www.mediaeducationlab.com

Dr. Brian Primack

Brian A. Primack is Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

After graduating Yale University magna cum laude in 1991 with degrees in English literature and mathematics, Dr. Primack spent 4 years teaching adolescents and studying human development for his master’s degree, which he received from Harvard University. He subsequently graduated first in his class and summa cum laude from Emory Medical School and trained in Family Medicine in at UPMC Saint Margaret Hospital in Pittsburgh.

Now, on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Primack combines his expertise in education, technology, human development, and medicine by researching the effect of the mass media messages on health. Specifically, he focuses on the use of media literacy education in preventing adolescent smoking, underage drinking, and other harmful adolescent health behaviors.

He is the recent recipient of the University of Pittsburgh Provost’s Innovation in Education Award, the New Investigator of the Year by the National Society of Adolescent Medicine, and the Robert Wood Johnson Faculty Physician Scholar Award.

www.pitt.edu/~bprimack


	CONFERENCE BROCHURE (click image to download)



	CONFERENCE SCHEDULE (click image to download)



	REGISTRATION FORM (click image to download)



	HOTEL INFORMATION Crowne Plaza Hotel 23 S. 2nd St. Harrisburg, PA 17101 (tel) 717.234.5021 (toll free) 877.227.6963 www.crowneplaza.com Room Rate: $99/night + tax Parking: $9/day (hotel guests only) *Indicate that you are attending Drug Free PA's conference when making reservation.*



KEYNOTE LUNCHEON SPEAKERS
	Dr. Jean Kilbourne (March 25) “Deadly Persuasion: Advertising and Addiction” Jean Kilbourne is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking work on the image of women in advertising and for her critical studies of alcohol and tobacco advertising. In the late 1960s she began her exploration of the connection between advertising and several public health issues, including violence against women, eating disorders, and addiction, and launched a movement to promote media literacy as a way to prevent these problems. A radical and original idea at the time, this approach is now mainstream and an integral part of most prevention programs. According to Susan Faludi, "Jean Kilbourne's work is pioneering and crucial to the dialogue of one of the most underexplored, yet most powerful, realms of American culture— advertising. We owe her a great debt." Mary Pipher has called Kilbourne "our best, most compassionate teacher." Her films, lectures and television appearances have been seen by millions of people throughout the world. She is the creator of the renowned Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women film series and the author of the award-winning book Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel and So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids (with Diane E. Levin). www.jeankilbourne.com

	Craig LeCadre (March 26) Senior Supervisory Special Agent PA Attorney General’s Office “Truth & Choices” This new program introduces middle and high school students to Shane. A popular kid from a suburban Pennsylvania school, Shane shares this true story of hard choices and near death experiences due to drugs and alcohol. The presentation features interviews with Shane (from prison), his family, law enforcement and the medical community. It's a reality check for all students and will open a unique dialogue about the realities of substance abuse. www.attorneygeneral.gov

PAST CONFERENCE PARTICIPANT COMMENTS "The 2009 Media Literacy Conference was a great conference – enlightening, engaging and timely!" Leslie Knight, SSgt, PaANG, Drug Demand Reduction Specialist "It was well worth the travel to attend your conference. I had to leave early to visit a sick friend in Avondale, PA but the time I was there was very rewarding. Any conference that has Renee Hobbs as a presenter is a serious and important event. I applaud all those that arranged this meeting. The keynote speaker was inspiring. The conference was a wonderful combination of academics with the gritty realism of drug use." "Bravo and I will be back." Jim Metrock, President, Obligaiton, Inc. (Alabama) "Regarding the Media Literacy Conference...I thought it was fantastic! Both Brian and Renee did such a great job. I am still reeling from what I learned. It made me angry with the tobacco companies as well as the liquor producers. I always looked upon drinking and smoking as a choice...but now I see it as taking advantage of targeted people for profit. The message and the critical skills with media need to be spread." Janie A. Hecker, Supervisor of Auxiliary Services, Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 "This conference is a MUST for anyone who works with youth in today’s techno-world. The experience was enriching and stimulating, giving me the tools and skills I can now use in my work with young people finding their way in the world." Helen Gyimesi, Drug and Alcohol Prevention Educator, Education Resources, Memorial Hospital "It was truly the most beneficial conference I have attended in some time! I have gained knowledge and made contacts. We are very excited to begin using some of the resources." John Oster, SAP Coordinator, PA Cyber "I want to express my appreciation for such an educational and exciting conference. I found myself looking at ads in a whole new analytical way." Dale Teitelbaum, Allegheny County , Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services