Media literacy is a topic that comes up often these days. But, what does it actually mean? What counts as media? What does it entail? How can we teach students the skills needed to digest media critically?

There is a Crash Course for that!

Click through the embedded video below or find the full playlist here.

Crash Course is a YouTube channel that was started by John Green and his brother Hank Green. (Yes, it’s that John Green.) These educational videos are free to watch, though if you are inspired to donate to their patreon it is appreciated. The videos span topics from history to science to economics. And, now they’ve added media literacy! The host of the media literacy videos is Jay Smooth. He guides viewers through twelve videos on media literacy past, present, and future. If you’re looking for just the skills portion skip to video number eleven, but all of them are worth watching. You can show these videos in class, embed them in your Sakai site, or even just mention them to students who are looking for some clarification when working toward understanding media.

Visit the Durham Tech Library’s Evaluating News Sources libguide for more resources on media and information literacy.