The PBS Media Literacy Educator Certification and micro-credential program sunsetted on
June 1, 2025
KQED remains fully committed to supporting media literacy education through free courses and workshops for teachers and youth media curriculum for classrooms.
What Does This Mean for Me?
Build your skills and implement them with students
- Take free KQED Teach courses and earn a certificate of completion--and even graduate units--at your own pace.
- Join a live, online workshop for hands-on, high-energy learning.
- Apply your learning with the Youth Media Challenge curriculum.
Share badges or certification that you have earned
- All earned micro-credentials and Certification badges are valid in perpetuity. See this FAQ for more information on sharing your digital badges.
- If you want to be recognized for your achievements, consider applying to become a KQED Media Literacy Innovator.
Certification
From 2017-2025, educators were awarded PBS Media Literacy Educator Certification for demonstrating mastery with
- Evaluating, creating, and sharing media effectively to support their own learning
- Designing and implementing instruction and assessing student learning of these same skills
Certified educators received a digital badge and letter of recognition from PBS.
Micro-credentials
Educators earned competency-based micro-credentials to validate their media literacy skills in the following topics:
- Assessing Student Media
- Creating a Code of Conduct
- Critically Analyzing Media
- Evaluating Online Information
- Evaluating Online Tools for Classroom Use
- Implementing Media Projects: in Early Childhood or in Upper Grades
- Making Media for Classroom Use: Audio & Video
- Making Media for Classroom Use: Images, Graphics & Interactives
Earning all eight media literacy micro-credentials resulted in Certification.
"The additional learning I completed in order to earn this certification, and the strategies I constructed to enact lessons toward this certification, have already strengthened my practice. I am also now a recognized leader in my school community for media-based instruction and assessment."
—High School English Teacher
"I work with K-2 teachers and students in my district. This certification has made me more aware of all aspects of media literacy and the importance of modeling these literacies to the teachers and students I work with."
—Technology Integration Specialist
“The process of becoming certified changed the way I teach science and engineering.”
—High School Chemistry and Biology Teacher
"I now feel more confident about using the skills I've learned to not only help my students become digitally literate but help others at my site."
—Kindergarten Teacher
2022 Media Literate Media Award
2020 Badging & Credentialing finalist
2019 Award of Excellence
Got questions?
We're here for you. Check out our Frequently Asked Questions or email [email protected]. Find out about our district supports here.
About KQED
KQED is a nonprofit, public media station and NPR and PBS member station based in San Francisco that offers award-winning education resources and services free to educators nationwide. KQED Teach is a collection of professional development courses that empower educators to teach media literacy, make media for the classroom and lead media-making projects with students in K-12.