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A sermon competition entitled "Mediatized Childhood" has been held on the initiative of the Chair of Pedagogy of Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU).
The event that was initially dedicated to the International Children's Day has expanded into a competition of student sermons and social media videos.
Aida Topuzyan, Head of the Chair of Pedagogy, says the competition is not an end in itself; it contributes to the development of students' communicative and cooperative skills and abilities, teaches to identify problems of education and childhood, to study them and find the causes, and to find the ways and means of solving them.
“The competition teaches to critically analyze every phenomenon around us that can harm our children, their future and safety. It gives every student the opportunity to create, imagine and take the initiative," the professor said.
Forty-five students from the eight faculties of the university have participated in the competition this year.
By a decision of the jury, three participants presented their works in “The Best PSA” category and five - in “The Best Sermon” category. The first group presented the positive and negative aspects of the media and its influence on children’s life, behaviour and psychology. In their works, they emphasized the need for media literacy and in that context, stressed the role of the family and educators, as well as the importance of reintroducing traditional games in children’s life.
In the long run, the jury named the work of Arus Ayvazyab, a 3rd year student of the Faculty of Primary Education, as the winner in “The Best PSA” category. The jury’s decision was based on a number of criteria, including the relevance of the topic, participant’s creative imagination, way to attract the audience and message to young teachers.
In her video, the future pedagogue emphasized that in the digital era, it is not necessary to keep children away from media: it is necessary to be media literate and raise media literate citizens.
Nairi Matinyan, a student of the Faculty of Fine Arts, came second in the same category. The joint work of Liana Barseghyan and Sose Harutyunyan, students of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, took 3rd place.
"Mediatized childhood has many challenges, numerous complications and fears. And who, if not us, should realize this, try not to give up, but fight, find a solution to the problem, create a tool to filter only the positive from the media, and carry out great work with parents and children?!" said Karine Avalyan, a 3rd year of the Faculty of Primary Education who became winner in “The Best Sermon” said in her speech. She added that mediatized childhood presents us with challenges and great opportunities at the same time, and as future pedagogues and conscious specialists, they should know which one to choose.
The other participants in the category spoke about the importance of facing media challenges and overcoming existing obstacles, the responsibility of educators, importance of media competencies, the need to use the media correctly, and emphasized the combined and balanced use of media tools.
Mariam Ispiryan, ASPU Vice-Rector for Education and Science, congratulated the participants and handed over certificates to the winners.
She said they are aware of the gaps in the field and are discussing ways to overcome them. The vice-rector added that through such platforms, the University gives students an opportunity to speak up and present their viewpoints on various issues.
