Media Education
Media Education is the process of preparing children and adolescents to construct understandings of media messages, such as those delivered by film, advertising, news, comics, documentaries, television, political commercials, video games, the Internet, and other forms of media.
Frequently asked questions:
What is the purpose of the Media Education specialization?
What degrees are available to students who study media education?
What is the difference between Media Education and Educational Media?
Can I earn the degree online?
What courses are included in the specialization?
How do I apply?
How can I learn more?
What is the purpose of the Media Education specialization?
The specialization has been developed for teachers and other professionals in order
- To introduce principles of media education that are based on cognitive theory and research on literacy acquisition and learning
- To support educators in applying those principles to teaching multimodal texts
- To introduce educators to research in media education
- To assist educators in assessing the results of media education
- To assist educators in making connections between traditional literacy and media literacy that support students’ overall growth and development
- To increase educators’ understandings of the various genres of media texts
- To increase teacher awareness of the New Literacy Studies and the concept of multiliteracies
- To support educators in preparing children and adolescents to be critical consumers of media and active participants in democratic processes
What degrees are available to students who study media education?
The Media Education specialization can be included in the degree program of all graduate degrees offered in the School of Teaching and Learning except for the initial teacher certification degrees (i.e. the Masters’ of Education).
What is the difference between Media Education and Educational Media?
Media Education is the study of mass media, mass media texts, media effects, and the development of media literacy. On the other hand, Educational Media is focused on the study and development of instructional media.
Yes. The Media Education specialization is a 12 hour strand of online courses. The courses can be taken in conjunction with other online courses in Educational Technology or Teacher Leadership for School Improvement as part of an online degree.
What courses are included in the specialization?
EDG 6931*: Principles of Media Education is the core course in the Media Education specialization and a prerequisite for the other courses. Students in this course are introduced to media education, various theories of media effects, the concept of available designs in the construction of media texts, and the use of process and conceptual frameworks in media education.
LAE 6861: Technology and Media Literacy focuses on using technology and the internet to teach meaning construction with media texts
EDG 6931*: Teaching Narrative across Media focuses on transmedia narrative (how stories are told across various forms of media—i.e., television, film, comics, video games) and on how multimodal narratives can be used to support students in reading media texts.
EDG 6931*: Teaching Digital Storytelling focuses on the resources and methods for supporting k-12 student productions of multimodal narratives (introduction to film terminology, connecting story productions to media literacy and traditional literacy, and assessing student work).
Contact the School of Teaching and Learning Office of Graduate Studies
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