Presented by K.C. Boyd, Library Media Specialist, District of Columbia Public Schools; Dr. Cathy Collins, Technology Teacher, Sharon Middle School (MA); Molly Roquet, Head Librarian, Redwood Day (CA); Monica Valdes, Social Studies and Film Teacher, and Social Studies Department Chairperson (FL); and Miriam Romais, Director of NewsLit Nation, News Literacy Project
Moderated by Shaelynn Farnsworth, Senior Director of Educator Network Expansion, News Literacy Project
Sponsored by News Literacy Project
Watch the Recording Listen to the Podcast
Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation. Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more.
Today’s information landscape—complete with “fake news,” misinformation and conspiracy theories—has become increasingly difficult to navigate, particularly for students. How can you help students develop the news and media literacy skills they need to identify, analyze and understand credible sources of information? What are best practices in teaching news and media literacy?
In this recorded edWebinar, hear from four of the News Literacy Project’s news literacy ambassadors about the tips and techniques they use to teach news and media literacy. They describe how they engage their students in classroom discussions and activities that develop skills such as identifying credible information, seeking out reliable sources, and thinking critically.
Viewers also learn about the News Literacy Project’s free educator resources for integrating news literacy concepts into the classroom, including the NewsLit Nation forum and educator resources, Checkology® virtual classroom, and the Sift newsletter.
This recorded edWebinar was held in conjunction with the third annual National News Literacy Week (NNLW), held January 24th to 28th, and presented by the News Literacy Project in partnership with The E.W. Scripps Company. NNLW raises awareness of news literacy as an essential life skill and provides educators, students and the public with easy-to-adopt tools and tips for becoming news literate.
This recorded edWebinar is of interest to teachers, librarians, school and district leaders, and education technology leaders of the middle school, high school, and higher education levels.
About the Presenters
K.C. Boyd is currently a library media specialist with the District of Columbia Public Schools. She previously worked as the lead librarian for the East St. Louis School District 189 in East St. Louis, IL, as an area library coordinator for Chicago Public Schools and as a district coordinator for the Mayor Daley Book Club for Middle School Students. She is a second-generation educator and holds master’s degrees in library information science, media communications, and education leadership. The Boss_Librarian Blog documents her work with K-12 students, discusses the effective use of technology in K-12 education, and provides helpful book reviews. Additionally, she is a sought-after and popular keynote speaker and conference presenter at the local, state, and national levels. K.C. currently serves on the executive board for the District of Columbia Library Association and the advisory board for EveryLibrary. She is an active committee member for the American Library Association Chapter Council representing Washington, D.C., American Association of School Librarians Digital Tools, and the Washington Teachers’ Union Equity Collaborative. She is a news literacy ambassador for the News Literacy Project, representing Washington, D.C.
Dr. Cathy Collins has worked as a library media and instructional technology specialist for 23 years at the K-12 level. She is currently serving as a technology specialist at Sharon Middle School, where she teaches engineering & design, media literacy and inventions/innovations courses. She holds a doctorate in education with a specialization in curriculum, leadership, teaching and learning, and additional master’s degrees in education and library Science. Dr. Collins served on the MassCUE Board as PD Chair from 2015-2019. She has published her writing in various journals including EdWeek, Library Media Connection, NEA Today, and Knowledge Quest. She is a 2012 Reynolds High School Journalism Institute Fellow and served as a project consultant for the e-book, Searchlights and Sunglasses: Journalism in the Digital Age. She received a Teachers for Global Classrooms Fellowship from the U.S. Department of State in 2014 and is the recipient of AASL’s Intellectual Freedom Award. She was named an MSLA Super Librarian in 2015. She served on the MA State Science Ambassador Team, ISTE STEM PLN Leadership Team, and was elected in December 2020 to the ISTE Board of Directors. She is passionate about STEM/STEAM and global education. In addition to having coordinated the Chinese Exchange Program at Sharon High School for many years, she has journeyed with students to India, Peru and Tanzania, Africa. She is a news literacy ambassador for the News Literacy Project, representing the Boston area.
Molly June Roquet (she/they) is the head librarian at Redwood Day, an independent K-8 school in Oakland, California. A former public librarian and middle school history teacher, Molly holds a bachelor’s degree in history from San Francisco State University and a master’s degree in library and information science from Wayne State University. They have presented at the American Library Association and California Library Association annual conferences and have written for Computers in Libraries and Information Today magazines. Molly strives to add a critical, anti-racist lens to media and news literacy education. Molly is a news literacy ambassador for the News Literacy Project, representing the San Francisco Bay Area.
Monica Valdes is a Miami social studies teacher with 18 years in education. She is honored to have received numerous teaching recognitions including 2016 WMMS/MDCPS Teacher of the Year, 2007 and 2009 DMS/MDCPS Teacher of the Year, 2008 Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Biscayne Chapter, Outstanding Teacher of American History, and 2007 Miami-Dade Council for the Social Studies Teacher of the Year (Finalist). Monica is also the founder of the (Youth) 2019 West Miami International Film Festival, the (2009-2016) DocMiami International Film Festival, and 2014 Florida Documentary Film Festival Series. She has curated numerous events including photo/art exhibits, author/film-industry Q&As, and expert panels including hundreds of individual film screenings. She is a news literacy ambassador for the News Literacy Project, representing the Miami area.
Miriam Romais is the News Literacy Project’s director of NewsLit Nation, combining her extensive experience as a leader and consultant in the nonprofit world with a lifelong commitment to advocating for equity, education and visual literacy. Before joining NLP in October 2018, she worked with the Center for Photography at Woodstock in Woodstock, New York, on marketing and strategic development projects. She previously spent more than two decades at En Foco Inc., a nonprofit in the Bronx, New York, supporting photographers of Latinx, African and Asian heritage and Native Peoples of the Americas and Pacific. There, she created workshops, exhibitions and grant opportunities for hundreds of artists and served as Executive Director from 2005 to 2014. She also was the publisher/editor of En Foco’s photography journal, Nueva Luz, which during her tenure won three Ippie Awards and received four Lucie Award nominations for photography magazine of the year. Her personal photographic work has been awarded several grants and has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the U.S. and abroad, including El Museo del Barrio, the Museum of the City of New York, and the Smithsonian Institution.
Apart from her work in the arts, she has been involved with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation in curriculum development, and in training hundreds of RiderCoaches and over 2,000 individual motorcyclists. Miriam holds a BFA from Rutgers University/Mason Gross School of the Arts and an MBA from the State University of New York/Empire State College with an advanced certificate in Global Brand Marketing.
About the Moderator
Shaelynn Farnsworth is the News Literacy Project’s senior director of educator network expansion. Shaelynn has over 20 years of experience in education. She spent the first part of her career as a high school English teacher in Conrad, Iowa, where she reimagined teaching and learning in her classroom and became a leader in the convergence between literacy and technology. Shaelynn focused on developing student skills in information consumption, creating innovative ways for students to demonstrate understanding, and inspiring healthy skepticism in the digital age. She was recruited by a regional state education agency in Iowa, where she was a school improvement consultant for seven years. Shaelynn supported districts throughout Iowa in the areas of literacy, technology, AIW, and systemic change. She was a member of the state’s literacy, social studies, and technology leadership teams. Shaelynn holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in English from the University of Northern Iowa.
Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation.
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The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan, national education nonprofit, provides programs and resources for educators and the public to teach, learn and share the abilities needed to be smart, active consumers of news and information and equal and engaged participants in a democracy.
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