Researching Media Literacy and the Internet

Arshia Lodhi, Verrazzano Class of 2021, completing major in Biology Healthscience, with a minor in Psychology  

Working in a psychology research lab with Professor Patricia Brooks for over two years I have developed and enhanced my research skills by assisting with a Statistical Learning project and a Media Literacy project.

My capstone project falls under a specific category of Media Literacy, which is assessing students’ mental models of the Internet. This is a widespread project assessing college students’ knowledge of media literacy through different tasks. With today’s world being saturated with technology dependency, it is important to understand the technical aspects of these sources. As college students, we are constantly exposed to technologies and are often active online users. Now more than ever when classes are conducted remotely, and we are utilizing online resources to attend lectures and learn.

In my research, I compared the mental models of college students from NYC, and middle school students from rural Indiana. Both groups had shown similar mental models of the Internet and we concluded that the college students’ mental models of the Internet were not sophisticated. With everything being conducted remotely in the spring of 2020, I believe that students’ mental models will change drastically. The student’s functional understanding of the Internet will improve and their feelings regarding the Internet will be more negative. This project would be interesting to continue as the learning systems are changing. Our project can be further developed by assessing students’ mental models post remote school and as well as obtaining data of middle school students from NYC and comparing it with our previous data.

By being involved in the research lab, I have developed analytical skills by using Excel and SPSS, a statistical software. I have gained self-confidence by conducting in-person research and interacting with participants which has allowed me to improve the interpersonal skills that I can use outside the lab. I have learned to be more responsible and work effectively in a team.

 I will always be grateful for being part of the Verrazzano Honors program, which has provided me with many opportunities. Without Verrazzano, I would have never taken the PSY 100 Verrazzano section with Professor Brooks and would not have been able to be part of her research lab.