Congratulations to local middle school STEM teacher Mariana Garcia Serrato for being selected as a 2020 PBS Digital Innovator All-Star.
Mariana puts digital citizenship, student voice and media literacy at the center of her science and engineering classes at the AdVENTURE STEM Program at Herman Intermediate School in San Jose, CA. “I love helping students think critically about the media they are exposed to every day,” she says. When my students are able to interpret media and how it affects them, they’re better able to make their own decisions about the media messages they receive.”
Mariana was the first educator in the country to earn PBS Media Literacy Educator Certification by KQED. But even before certification was an option, Mariana was a media literacy leader. She has been a KQED Media Literacy Innovator since 2017. As a teacher ambassador, she has provided invaluable guidance to other educators at conferences and workshops, lending her authentic voice and teacher experience to presentations and often represents KQED. She also helped design KQED Learn and KQED’s Engineering for Good curriculum as a lead pilot teacher for both resources.
Educators are nominated for the PBS Digital Innovator All-Star program by their local PBS station. To be considered for nomination by KQED, local educators must first join the KQED Media Literacy Innovator teacher ambassador program. As a highly engaged member of the KQED Media Literacy Innovator community, Mariana was a natural choice for this year’s nomination to the PBS Digital Innovator All-Star program.
The KQED Media Literacy Innovator program is open to educators from around the county. Though applications are closed for the 2020-2021 school year, you can get started building your media literacy skills and credentials now by signing up for a KQED Media Academy course or applying for micro-credentials towards PBS Media Literacy Educator Certification.
Keep up with Mariana and the great work she does by following her on Twitter @MarianaGSerrato, and meet all of the 2020 PBS Digital Innovator All-Stars here.