October is prime time to get students engaged with digital citizenship and media literacy. Digital Citizenship Week and Media Literacy Week occur the last two weeks of the month, bringing together hundreds of organizations across the country for events and activities to celebrate and promote digital citizenship and media literacy in education.

We’ve pulled together a list of relevant and timely KQED resources to engage your students–and yourself–in the powerful skills of media making, media literacy and digital citizenship.

Digital Citizenship Week: October 18-22, 2021

Some of the most important aspects of digital citizenship include being able to evaluate and analyze online information, and engage with others on digital platforms safely and respectfully.

Practice civil discourse

Students can practice critical thinking and civil discourse with KQED Learn Discussions, analyzing video prompts from the Emmy award-winning series Above the Noise and presenting their own evidence-based perspective in a safe and supportive environment. This collection on media and technology can help facilitate discussions with your secondary students on how to analyze and evaluate the media landscape they are awash in everyday.

Identify misinformation and bias

Misinformation is a constant in students’ lives, especially in the current global reality. Empower your students to effectively assess the accuracy and quality of information across media formats, and understand the techniques content creators use to shape their messages, with our free online course Analyzing and Evaluating Media for the Classroom. This six-week, instructor-led course will teach you how to effectively analyze and evaluate media so you are better equipped to teach your students how to do the same. The course starts November 15, so register today!

You can also help your students understand how to spot misinformation and bias with these Above the Noise videos:

• False Equivalence: Are There Some Issues That Don’t Merit a “Both Sides” Approach?
• How Much Can We Trust YouTube for Reliable Information
• Confirmation Bias and Your Brain

Integrating SEL and Digital Citizenship

The ability to analyze, evaluate and create media offers tangible ways to develop Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills. These Above the Noise videos can help students move from self-awareness and accountability to build more empathy for others in their school community. Also check out these daily activities from Common Sense that help students reflect on how their digital lives impact their social and emotional well-being.

DigCitCon2021

We are excited to speak at L.A. Unified’s premier digital citizenship conference for administrators and education leaders. Learn more about this event and come to our session, “From Analyzing, to Making and Sharing Media: Practical Approaches to Creating Media Literate Educators and Learners.”

Check out more resources on digital citizenship from the DigCitCommit Coalition.

Media Literacy Week: October 25-29

A key component of media literacy is the ability to create, or “write,” media. We offer many ways that teachers and students can build their media-making skills.

Empower students through media making for an authentic audience

Youth Media Challenges give middle and high school students the opportunity to share their voice beyond the classroom. These standards-aligned projects, for multiple content areas, come with ready-to-use curricular supports for self-directed learning. They are a great alternative to just turning in written work. Check out stand-out student media from last spring and see media literacy and critical thinking skills in action. All submissions are published on our student media showcase and some are featured on public media station broadcasts, like this Perspective, Bad Hair Day.

You can hear directly from a diverse group of young people, who participated in Youth Media Challenges last spring, about what inspires them and their creative process at our event on November 10, I Made This: A Youth Media Celebration. Attend in-person or virtually.

We also host free online workshops year-round to support teachers with implementing challenges and media making. Register for one of our upcoming workshops for If Schools Could Dance (October 27) and Science Documentary (November 2 and 4).

Take your media literacy to the next level

Media literacy and digital citizenship are critical, transferable skills that require development and reinforcement in every subject area. The KQED Media Academy for Educators helps all educators build these skills. Whether you are a classroom teacher, a librarian, an instructional coach, leading an extra-curricular program or any other role where you support young people using media for learning, the Media Academy’s free online courses are for you. And, all courses prepare you to apply for PBS Media Literacy Educator Certification by KQED.

Discover more Media Literacy Week resources and events.