ql-align-justify">A lot of people are now using social media 24/7 and mostly the users of it are students that are exposed to a lot of information everywhere. An example of critical pedagogy is practising media literacy where students will analyze viral social media posts, news articles, and online advertisements. Media literacy empowers people to be critical thinkers and makers, effective communicators, and active citizens (Namle, n.d). In this type of activity, the students will have a knowledge of identifying who created or posted the information and what’s the purpose of it. They can also compare some sources at the same time the contexts.

According to Media Literacy Now, media can entertain, inform, and engage children in some positive ways just like developing their expression and connecting with others who are like them but they are exposed to messages and information that can have a negative impact on their health and wellbeing and prevent them from becoming empowered and engaged citizens. Students' critical thinking and social awareness develops since they are actively examining the power and ideology of texts which is the reason for them to learn meaningfully as it connects their actual experiences in the digital world. However, it also has challenges such as dealing with students with sensitive or controversial topics as well as the overloaded information in the media that will give students confusion which is credible about all the information they see.

When compared to functional literacy pedagogy, both approaches are focused on real-life contexts and use active learning. However, their main goals differ. Functional literacy focuses on developing practical skills just like in the Alternative Learning System (ALS) to help learners function effectively in daily life. In contrast, according to the National Association of Media Literacy Education critical literacy emphasizes deeper analysis of power and the influence of media, aiming to develop learners as critical and responsible citizens that are capable of questioning, analyzing, evaluating and acting on existing perspectives and information.

Critical Pedagogy Practice: Students in Media Literacy