Rhys Daunic taught a graduate-level course to in-service teachers, Media Literacy in the K-12 Classroom, for Columbia University Teachers College in the Spring of 2013. Below is information from the course website.
Through hands-on workshops and case studies involving teachers’ existing curricula and units of study, this course will explore the way the digital revolution has changed what it means for schools to develop graduates who are capable of lifelong learning, informed and active citizenship, and economic success in a culture and workplace that is increasingly blended with digital media and communication.
Teachers will Identify and internalize within their school culture broadly applicable digital skills and “media literacy” concepts necessary for modern citizenship, identity, and the workforce and build curricula informed by the above that expands and enhances the Common Core Standards with new tools and modes of communication, that are open to continuing cultural shifts.
Teachers will leave each class meeting, and the course as a whole, with strategies, activities, and plans that they can incorporate into their teaching practice immediately with a strategic understanding of how they are expanding and enhancing fundamental curricula to meet the demands of 21st-century society.
Teachers will gain comfort opening accounts and integrating 3rd party, cloud-based, digital tools into their professional practice, and unit planning.
Teachers will learn to find Media Literacy core concepts within the Common Core Standards.
This course will be inquiry-based, gathering students’ prior knowledge, needs, and interests and from that, developing strands of inquiry where small groups of students will collaborate to design and execute classroom productions that incorporate media literacy concepts, digital skills, and common core standards. We will establish a conceptual foundation through a survey of the field and heritage of media literacy, and introduce a range of digital production tools and processes used in K-12 classrooms. Beyond that, readings and support materials will be chosen to support specific directions student projects take.