EDUA 5462 Using Journalism-Student Literacy
THIS JUST IN: USING JOURNALISM TO STRENGTHEN STUDENT LITERACY
The landscape of news and media in the 21st century has dramatically changed. Between the ascendancy of online news outlets, blogs, and social media and the decline of traditional print newspapers, today’s students experience the world much differently than any other generation. By providing students with opportunities to study and engage with classic news formats as well as radio, podcasts, and television or online video broadcasts in the classroom, students are better positioned to understand the world around them while increasing listening skills, visual literacy, and proficiency in informative/explanatory writing. Students working to complete a journalistic project acquire skills to meet deadlines, often working quickly and challenging their ability to use grammar and syntax effectively. Moreover, a focus on current journalism gives the teacher an opportunity to address issues and topics in which students are already engaged as the basis of literacy instruction.
This course will provide the teacher with knowledge and strategies to introduce traditional and digital news media into reading and writing curricula. Upon completion of this course, the teacher will be able to create a successful program to help all students parse informational texts for meaning, and write clear, concise journalistic texts on a variety of appropriate topics.