New Micro-credentials Provide Path to PBS Media Literacy Educator Certification

PBS and KQED offer a set of free media literacy micro-credentials that validate media literacy skills and classroom implementation practices. These competency-based micro-credentials provide the pathway to earning certification as a PBS Certified Media Literacy Educator. Read on to learn more, or get started here.

We are well past the time when literacy means the ability to read and write on paper or a screen. According to NAMLE, to be literate today means to have the skills to “access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication.”

To reach this goal, teachers themselves must be able to read, write and share media, as well as effectively support their students in achieving these skills.

A certification for educators in all grades, all subjects.

“Media literacy is not taught in one lesson or even one unit. It is a series of small steps that takes the students on a journey of empowerment to become active citizens in the digital world.”
--Mariana Garcia Serrano, Science and Engineering teacher,
PBS Certified Media Literacy Educator

We created the free PBS Media Literacy Educator Certification by KQED to address this need by

1. recognizing and promoting the educators who possess and apply these skills already.
2. providing a clear pathway, through coursework and other instructional resources, to educators who need or desire support.

If you are an educator who believes that media literacy is a critical skill set for you and you students, this certification will demonstrate your expertise in teaching students to produce media that matters and think critically about their role as media consumers.

Want to learn more about certification and micro-credentials? Register for our informational webinar on March 19 at 4pm PDT.

How it works.

To achieve PBS Media Literacy Educator Certification, educators demonstrate their competency through earning eight micro-credentials from KQED and PBS. Micro-credentials are a form of competency-based recognition that validate an educator’s professional learning. Each micro-credential in the set addresses key competencies associated with reading, writing, sharing and teaching with media. Micro-credentials can be earned as stand-alone badges of recognition or added together to achieve certification.

These micro-credentials are free via the Digital Promise platform. An educator chooses a micro-credential and submits evidence showcasing their media literacy teaching abilities. KQED (the issuing organization) then reviews the evidence and determines whether it meets the requirements of the scoring guide and rubric for that particular skill. If it does, then the educator receives the micro-credential in the form of a digital badge that’s linked to the submitted evidence. This badge can be shared in email footers, on professional profiles and on social networks.

There are nine micro-credentials in the set. Educators seeking certification need to complete eight out of these nine, choosing either the early childhood or upper grades version of the  “Implementing Media Projects” badge.

The amount of time it takes to earn any of these micro-credentials depends on the particular topic and an educator’s previous experience with the skill addressed in that micro-credential. KQED Teach and PBS TeacherLine offer free online courses that support teacher learning in each of the micro-credential topic areas (see the complete list of related courses).

Once an educator earns all eight micro-credentials, they are automatically granted PBS Media Literacy Educator Certification. As a certified PBS Media Literacy Educator, they will receive

• A certificate and digital badge you can use to showcase your media literacy mastery.
• A letter from PBS announcing your certification sent to your school or district.
• Thought leadership opportunities facilitated by PBS and local PBS stations, including a chance to lead virtual and in-person PD events.

PBS Media Literacy Educator Certification by KQED demonstrates your skills as an educator in using multiple forms of media and communication. The micro-credentials from KQED and PBS allow you to showcase your media literacy teaching abilities along the way.

Make your skills known. Get started with micro-credentials.