This exciting 4-hour masterclass is made up of 4 sessions.

Sessions 1 and 2

Facing the challenge and reveling in the possibilities for modernizing learning is at the core of this masterclass. How can we prepare our students be confident self-navigating learners? How do we move our students from simply having digital access to becoming digitally literate? How do we cultivate discerning media critics? Creative media makers? What are the possibilties for connecting our learners as global citizens?

The challenge is the development of the three 21st century literacies: digital, media, and global directly into our day-to-day learning experiences. These literacies and specific innovation design challenges need integration in curriculum planning, assessment design and teaching approaches for primary, secondary, and tertiary learners. In these first two sessions of the masterclass, Dr. Jacobs will engage in practical steps in how to upgrade curriculum and teaching practice with a focus on integrating digital literacy strategies, criteria for selecting applications and tools, and the development of a clearinghouse, We will examine how to help our learners to be media savvy, first in terms of strategies for them to sifti through the flood of media that they must confront to determine what is factual and what is not. We will focus on effectively critiquing media products to ensure a better sense of quality but also ensure the creation of better media products as media makers. You will leave with strategies, resources, and actions to take in your curriculum, assessment and lesson planning.

Sessions 3 and 4

How can we cultivate globally connected learners by opening the portals to our classroom? How do we shift curriculum design to investigate “right-now” issues that affect the lives of students but also broaden their view of the world?

Building in our work in the first two sessions, we will focus on expanding opportunties the perspectives of our learners to become active global citizens. Whether learning more about the people on the other side of the world or the other side of their town, the goal is identify common concerns and approaches to addressing challenges and problems. We want to make global understanding an excieting and expansive prospect for them. Dr. Jacobs will explore specific instructional approaches to increasing global competence and share examples of curriculummodels.

Based on her four book series with Solution Tree, Contemporary Perspectives on the New Literacies Heidi will focus on how to make the transition from dated practices to a dynamic approach with your faculty. Participants will leave with a clear sense of how to elevate the content of their curriculum to be modern and responsive through upgradingto contemporary genre: issues, problems, themes and case studies. This upgrading method and has proven exceptionally motivational to our students at all ages. Not only do we want to increase global, digital and media proficiencies in our learners but we need to do it for ourselves as professionals, thus Dr. Jacobs will share strategies for professional development for your consideration.

Proposed outcomes participants will leave with:

• Engage in strategies to map “innovation” directly into K-12 curriculum plans with an eye to designing learning experiences and assessments as evidence.
• Develop strategies for replacing dated content with modern and refreshed issues, problems, themes, and topics.
• Examine a digital learning clearinghouse to select specific applications to employ to REPLACE dated curriculum and formative assessments.
• Identify and employ strategies to develop critical media responses to contemporary formats from internet based searches, film, television.
• Identify key media creation tools for updating student products and practice with those tools.
• Learn how to create collaborative media rubrics with students to improve the quality of their new media products.
• Consider four global competencies to be cultivated in learners and identify how to globalize the curriculum through specific programs and strategic interactions via classroom partnerships.
• Develop a personalized digital portfolio of resources tailored to the participant’s needs.