Build Media Skills to Boost Student Learning in Blended or Virtual Classrooms

Presented by Rachel Collay, High School English Language Arts Educator, Westwood High School (AZ); and Ilana Somasunderam, KQED Program Manager, STEM Professional Learning, KQED Public Media
Hosted by Rachel Roberson, Humanities and News Education Manager, KQED Public Media

Sponsored by KQED Education

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Integrating digital media skills has never been more important to teaching and learning. In this edWebinar, teachers in all grades and subjects, curriculum leaders, and school library/media specialists will hear about the student impact of an audio project in a high school English class. Participants will learn how the project evolved and how to use this model to create media projects with their students. This edWebinar will also introduce a collection of free resources from the KQED Media Academy for Educators that teachers can use in helping their students learn and apply digital media skills to tackle research, communications, presentation, and collaboration skills. Presenters will focus both on using these resources in traditional classroom and distance learning environments.

This edWebinar will be of particular benefit to elementary through high school teachers, librarians, media specialists, and school and district leaders. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.

About the Presenters

Rachel Collay teaches English Language Arts at Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona. A graduate of Arizona State University, she began teaching in the Mesa Public Schools district, working at Shepherd Junior High, and joined Westwood High School in 2006. Rachel completed her master’s degree in English from Northern Arizona University and continues to pursue educational opportunities that enrich her teaching and her students’ experiences. She says, “Teaching poetry, novels, and writing to young adults is such a joy and honor. They have such important ideas to share if we just listen.”

Ilana Somasunderam is an educational leader with experience in designing and facilitating learning in a variety of settings, including nonprofits, public, and charter schools. She brings deep skills in digital media production and creating engaging e-learning experiences to her role at KQED, including experience with program design, evaluation, and improvement. Additionally, Ilana is well-versed in STEM and outdoor education frameworks, holding Clear California Teaching Credentials in biology and chemistry. Ilana earned her B.A. in environmental science from Columbia University and her M.Ed. in educational leadership from High Tech High Graduate School of Education. Ilana also has a background in data analysis and knowledge of learning theory and adult learning principles, both of which enrich her work with KQED Teach and KQED Learn.

About the Host

Rachel Roberson is an experienced educator and curriculum content developer who specializes in curriculum and content development, strategy, and implementation. At KQED, she works to connect classrooms and KQED online education sites, KQED Learn and KQED Teach, by creating humanities curriculum and professional learning content, and supporting product development; champion youth-created media in and out of the classroom, and leading; projects and partnerships focused on educators and classrooms. Rachel is a graduate of Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism and received her California teaching credential in secondary English and social studies from Mills College.

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KQED supports educators in using public media in formal and informal learning environments. With a focus on amplifying youth voice, making media, civic participation, and richer learning, we provide free standards-aligned content and resources educators can trust.