The U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Warsaw Center of Education and Social Innovation and Training (WCIES), and Regional English Language Office in Tallinn are inviting secondary and primary school teachers of English to participate in the MOOC Camp: English for Media Literacy for Educators. This internationally focused program will welcome teachers from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania for learning and exchange.
Description
This is a practical and relevant program that pairs online learning with engaging live discussion over zoom featuring an American English Language teaching specialist.
English for Media Literacy for Educators (EML-E) is an exciting MOOC designed to introduce you to the theory and practice of teaching about media literacy in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom. Through informative videos and practical readings, you will explore approaches for teaching English for media literacy that are not only effective but engaging and enlightening. In the seven weekly Zoom sessions with the facilitator, you will have the opportunity to reflect on your learning in the MOOC, learn how to implement the content, have the opportunity to practice with new educational tech tools and brainstorm and network with like-minded teachers. You will learn theory and strategies necessary for successful media literacy instruction for students of various ages and levels of English proficiency. In the media literacy education context, you will also gain new ideas for teaching students how to analyze, critique and communicate their thoughts in English. In addition, you will gain useful knowledge and resources that you can share with your education colleagues and others who are interested in this critical 21st century skill – media literacy.
Learning Objectives and Learner Outcomes
By the end of the course, you will be able to…
● use media literacy content in your classes
● implement educational technology in your lessons
● use effective approaches and techniques appropriate for all levels of English proficiency to teach media literacy.
● develop appropriate activities for teaching media literacy
● create lessons and a unit plan for teaching media literacy that enhances your current curriculum
● access additional resources, recommended reading, and discussion posts via Canvas platform
This program will be enriched by the support of English Language Specialist (EL Specialist) Marie Katherine van Romburgh, who will guide teachers through this MOOC on the Canvas learning platform. The EL Specialist will conduct live, online workshops reviewing and deepening the participants’ learning each week, giving them more practical techniques and strategies, and answering any questions that participants may have. The EL Specialist will also help the teachers through difficulties they may encounter in the MOOC. The organizers will strive to build a professional learning network among the participants and organizers. After the first several weeks, Mrs. van Romburgh will work with participants in small groups and one-to-one settings on teaching Media Literacy and providing professional development to their colleagues.
Certificates: At the conclusion of the program the participants will receive certificates with details of the completed program. Only those who complete all program tasks and attend 5 of 7 meetings will be presented with certificates.
Opportunity to participate in workshop in Warsaw: After the conclusion of the MOOC camp, a small group of participants will be chosen to travel to Warsaw to participate in a 4-5 intensive workshop focusing on extension practice, professional development, and implementing media literacy in their classes. The workshop will be offered in July 2023.
Dates and Time: This MOOC camp is comprised of 3 parts. Part 1 is taking the MOOC content online through canvas. Part 2 is attending virtual sessions over Zoom to discuss each week’s content from the online course with an American ELT specialist, Marie van Romburgh. Finally, after the first seven weeks, participants will be placed in small groups for practicum work and extension activities. In total this MOOC camp is 13 weeks long (week 1 – opening and orientation, weeks 2-6 work on the course modules, week 7 – closing and evaluation, weeks 8-13 – small group sessions with Mrs. van Romburgh). The live meetings and the MOOC self-paced learning will be a total of about 3-4 hours of work each week.
The program will start on February 20th and conclude on May 8th, 2023. The first 6 virtual sessions will be on Mondays.
● Mondays 17:00 (Warsaw) and 18:00 (Tallinn) for primary and lower secondary teachers.
● Mondays at 19:00 (Warsaw) and 20:00 (Tallinn) for secondary teachers.
Participation: The program has been designed for two groups of 25 teachers.
How to apply? Fill out the attached questionnaire and send by email to mzasunska@eduwarszawa.pl
Application deadline: February 7th, 2023 [APPLICATION in Word]
The MOOC “English for Media Literacy for Educators” (EML-E) is provided by George Mason University, as part of the Online Professional English Network (OPEN) Program. This program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. government, and administered by FHI 360.
Marie van Romburgh is an American educator who has been teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) for over 10 years. Currently Marie works as the ESOL teacher and content course co-teacher at Mauldin High School in Greenville County, South Carolina. Before coming to Greenville, Marie worked at the American Center in Kyiv, Ukraine, for two years. Before that, she worked in Botswana and Myanmar from 2014 – 2017 as an English language fellow. In addition, Marie taught English as a Second Language in the Czech Republic, Costa Rica, South Carolina and California, USA, in addition to conducting teacher training workshops in California and Haiti. Marie received her BA in English literature from the University of South Carolina and her MA in TESOL from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Mrs. van Romburgh specializes in Media Literacy, Content-based language teaching, Computer assisted language learning, and teacher training. Marie’s professional interests include Media Literacy, cooperative learning, and teaching new arrivals to the United States.
