UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Twenty-seven educators from central and northern Pennsylvania school districts are participating in the 2024-25 WPSU Education Ambassador program. The goal of the program is to provide resources to the ambassadors that will enhance their skillset as stewards of media literacy, integrating it into their classrooms. The program offers educators in-person and virtual training, professional development and peer-to-peer networking opportunities.
Kate Hoffman is an English teacher in the State College Area School District in Centre County and attended the in-person training session this fall.
“I am planning to offer a semester-long media literacy course in the Delta Program next year, so this training was foundational for me to begin thinking about structuring that class and the elements needed to create strong curriculum,” Hoffman said.
Ambassadors begin learning in October with a full day of in-person training at WPSU, followed by virtual trainings and resource sharing opportunities throughout the school year as they lead engagement activities in their communities and schools.
Matt Jordan, associate professor and head of the Department of Film Production and Media Studies in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, was one of the guest speakers for the in-person training. Jordan walked the cohort through the five components of media literacy: access, analyze, evaluate, create and act. He then applied it by taking educators through a case study of a narrative featured in the news.
“The idea that there is ‘pollution in the media ecosystem’ was a metaphor I hadn't considered before, and it opened my eyes to a new way of framing how we consider the news sources around us,” Hoffman said.
Another guest speaker, WPSU News Director Emily Reddy, shared insight on how to create a radio news story.
“She talked about how to add texture to a news story with background noises and the scene. I'd like to eventually add a podcasting unit to one of my classes, so that was super helpful,” Hoffman added.
Another educator participating in the WPSU Education Ambassador program is Morgan Fogel, a middle school librarian in the Keystone Central School District in Clinton County. She said media literacy is a large focus of her curriculum.
“The WPSU Education Ambassador training felt so relevant to my curriculum and what I am teaching my students. I received a countless number of resources related to media literacy and felt much more prepared,” Fogel said. “I am halfway through a new media literacy unit with my 7th and 8th graders and have incorporated many resources and materials from the training into that unit using lesson plans, videos and activities from PBS.”
Ashley Kline is the assistant principal at South St. Marys Street Elementary School in Elk County. She said the experience is aiding her work in serving as a resource for teachers.
“I have been able to share information that I gained at the training with numerous people in our district at different levels including a 5th grade teacher who was trying to incorporate current events into her lessons based on student questions but also wanted to teach her students how to tell whether their media was from a reliable source,” Kline said. “The networking at the training was my absolute favorite part. It was evident that effort was put into getting everyone to interact, and it became so valuable. I still stay in contact with people that I met at the training.”
Sarah Hamilton, education program manager for WPSU, leads the WPSU Education Ambassador program.
“We are so excited to launch this program and be able to really individualize the support and resources we can provide to educators across our region,” Hamilton said. “Registration to join next year’s cohort will open in Spring 2025, we are looking forward to continuing this program and encourage formal and in-formal educators to consider applying.”
Visit WPSU online to learn more about the WPSU Education Ambassador program and to meet the educators who are part of the 2024-25 cohort.
WPSU-TV, a Pennsylvania Public Service (PBS) member station, serves 24 counties in central Pennsylvania and reaches 515,000 households, and WPSU-FM is accessible to more than 450,000 listeners in 13 counties. The public media station also includes WPSU Digital Studios, which offers original web series that explore science, arts, and culture.
WPSU is a service of Penn State Outreach.