KQED Education Media Literacy Framework

The following five elements combine to form KQED Education’s “media literacy framework”. These elements both form the foundation our work is built upon and serve as a guide to support decision making around strategy and tactics for the department. 

1. Our North Star
   KQED elevates diverse youth voices by developing their ability to analyze and evaluate information sources, create media that powerfully communicates their ideas, and share their unique voices with a broad public media audience so that they experience being part of the public conversation and gain readiness for civic life.
   
   
2. Media Literacy Defined
   At the foundation of our work is simply a definition that informs priorities and decisions in any work that we do, i.e. is this thing we are considering doing, promoting or otherwise engaging with a media literacy topic? We have always used NAMLE’s definition as our own: Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create and share media using all forms of communication. 
3. KQED Media Literacy Educator Competencies
   The KQED Media Literacy Educator Competencies describe the knowledge and skills needed to grow as a media creator and media literacy educator. They are organized into 4 categories:

• Analysis and Evaluation address the skills associated with accessing relevant information, analyzing its production, including who produced it and why, and evaluating the quality and accuracy of information presented. 
• Creation addresses the skills connected to creating responsible, ethical media. 
• Sharing addresses the skills connected to sharing media, including understanding copyright and education law around student privacy.
• Implementing Instruction brings these skills into an instructional context and focuses on the ability to design and implement instruction that supports the media literacy skill development of learners. 

KQED Competencies Full Text

1. KQED Education’s Pedagogical Vision

• We are constructivists with a project-based-learning orientation to the way we design learning experiences for both adults and young people. “Constructivism is based on the idea that people actively construct or make their own knowledge, and that reality is determined by your experiences as a learner.” In our case we are most interested in providing experiences that essentially support people in “constructing their public voice”. 
• We adopt a learn-by-doing approach in our professional development, including experimenting with tools and technology such as GenAI, and encourage the same in classrooms through the curriculum we create. 
• We have a strong focus on a variety of benefits associated with publicly sharing stories, viewpoints and information using media that is present at all levels of our work. 
• We do not treat learning to use media making software, including GenAI platforms/tools, as an end in itself but rather as a tool for empowering people to share their voice. Therefore, along with an overview of media production skills, , our PD and classroom curriculum are focused on ensuring access to relevant tools that allow everyone to create and share media that both represents and matters to them. 
• We have a strong preference for free tools and resources so that the skills and experiences we are advocating for are accessible to as many people as possible. 

1. Our World View

• We believe youth voice is a critical—and underrepresented—part of public discourse. Youth voice is our focus, even as technology evolves.
• We believe in intergenerational sharing and that everyone has something to both teach to and learn from others at different stages of life than themselves. 
• We believe individuals benefit tremendously along multiple measures—like confidence, skill level, teamwork—when they are empowered and enabled to create and share stories, viewpoints and information using media that represents both their world and themselves. 
• We believe that media literacy—in all the ways outlined in the previous parts of this framework—is part of a core set of skills that apply to any tool or technology that emerges now and in the future, and are essential in enabling youth to participate meaningfully in public discourse now, and to contribute to their personal, professional and civic communities as they grow into adulthood.