Media Literacy Matters
How this semester taught me (more) about how hungry students are for media literacy education
Last month, I completed my first semester of teaching since Spring 2023. I have been an adjunct lecturer at Brooklyn College teaching a media literacy course on and off since 2016. Until this last semester, my classes were filled with juniors and seniors who were majoring in media related fields, and it was capped at 20 students. Stepping into teaching this year, I was preparing for a new set up. The media literacy course was now a lower level course open to students in every major at the school (YAY!) and was capped at 30 as opposed to 20 of the previous set up.
So, let’s recap: I was going into teaching media literacy for the first time in four semesters to a larger group of younger students who did not have a background in media. That’s a lot. I can’t lie. I was pretty nervous. As I worked to update my syllabus, I tried to consider all these changes as best I could. But, alas, you can never really prepare for what you don’t know you don’t know, right? Truth is, I thought that 18+ year old students would have somehow come across media literacy at some point in their education and that they would have some basic knowledge I could build on. And while some of them did, the majority of them had no base of knowledge. Here are some comments from their end of semester reflections that are illuminating…
Before this class, I honestly never thought much about media literacy. I just used the internet, watched videos, texted my friends, and that was it. I didn’t know media literacy was even a thing.
I came to this class with zero knowledge about media literacy.
Media literacy is not a term I had thought much about before this class.
Before taking this media literacy class, I had never even heard of the term.
This was probably why the first few classes were filled with surprises I hadn’t anticipated. There were a lot of times that I had to back up and give more foundational information because the concepts I was teaching were new to them.
Some of this could simply be because I had grown used to students who were studying media and had underestimated how much this influenced what they knew coming into my class. Now I was with freshmen who were biology, business, and arts administration majors among other areas of study. However, they still had one major thing in common with every media student I’d ever taught: they were swimming in media and technology. But, unlike media students, they were flying blind.
This semester brought me face to face with the clarity that we are not doing enough to bring media literacy to students in high school, middle school, and elementary school. Now, this isn’t surprising to me. Afterall, I was the Executive Director of the National Association for Media Literacy Education for over 12 years, and our main purpose was to push for media literacy education throughout the life of a student. But it is very different to advocate for this as a non-profit leader and experience it first hand in your classroom.
This semester once again proved to me that EVERYONE needs media literacy education. But it also proved to me that everyone WANTS media literacy education.
The most astounding part of this semester for me was the students’ enthusiasm. Not that my past students were not enthusiastic, but this was different. They were awed. Blown away. The entire semester was one long, “Wait, I didn’t know that! Tell me more!” They were obviously starving for this information. They were interested and engaged in every class. Many times I had to interrupt the conversation because the class was running over.
I’m not saying this to pat myself on the back for my teaching skills but to show you what is possible when we bring media literacy topics into the classroom. Young people are hungry, eager and receptive. Talking about topics like representation, media ownership, conspiracy theories, cancel culture, advertising, “based on a true story” narratives, reality TV, fake news, music, etc. is relevant to their everyday lives. They can leave a media literacy class and have it impact their lives immediately. This is not a unique element of my teaching or my class. Just the act of teaching media literacy can be life changing for students.
Here’s some thoughts about the impact of the course from their end of semester reflections:
I’m grateful for this course because it didn’t just teach me facts; it taught me how to think. And that’s something I’ll take with me for life.
Overall, this class helped me wake up. Media isn’t just entertainment or background noise. It’s shaping how we think, act, and feel.
Whether it’s recognizing bias, understanding representation, or just being more mindful of what I consume and share, I feel more equipped and more aware. I also appreciate how this class didn’t just teach me about media, it helped me understand myself better, too.
This course has helped me become a more thoughtful, critical, and aware media consumer and creator. I no longer see media as just entertainment or background noise—it’s something powerful that affects the way people think and live.
Media literacy has given me tools to be a more thoughtful student, consumer, and communicator in a world that’s constantly shaped by media.
I picked this class because I didn’t know much about media literacy, and I wanted to learn more. I’m glad I did. I don’t think I’ll ever see media the same again.*
In the end, this semester proved to be both the most challenging and the most rewarding of my career. I am so grateful to Brooklyn College for recognizing the importance of media literacy for its students. I am also invigorated and inspired to continue to teach and advocate for this work. It is incredibly impactful, and I’m really proud to be a part of it.
(If you want to see my syllabus, feel free to email me at ciulla@mac.com.)
Quote by Tasawwar Rahman (Tas Rahman is a staff columnist at the Brown Daily Herald writing about issues in higher education.)
*Additional class feedback that shows the power of media literacy education:
I gained an understanding of how some forms of media are created, what kinds of intentions people have when they create media, and how often audiences have completely different reactions to the same media.
I learned many things that I had once overlooked in my everyday life, unaware of how the world of media around me had operated.
It’s a very wide ranged and all encompassing class that really touches on some hot topics of society, while also challenging your mind to think outside of its usual comfort zone.
The class doesn’t tell us to isolate ourselves from a twisted world of media since it wouldn’t be possible in our day and age where we are surrounded by media almost everywhere we go. It teaches us how to navigate and be aware of all the information we consume and is definitely a useful skill everyone should be familiar with in our society.
Before I used social media mainly as a way to keep myself entertained when I was bored. Now I realize how powerful a tool it can be with regard to shaping public opinion.
Media literacy helped me express my ideas more clearly, and it also helped me communicate more thoughtfully and persuasively both online and in person.
Media literacy has also made me more confident in having conversations about misinformation and helping others understand the importance of questioning what we see online.
This class made me realize how important it is to look deeper, especially when I come across something that seems off or even toxic. I need to research and understand what I’m supporting before I blindly go along with it.
It has completely changed the way I view content online—I no longer take things at face value. I’ve learned to dissect media language, such as the choice of words, images, and even music, and ask myself why it was used and what effect it’s trying to have on the audience. This awareness helps me recognize bias, detect misinformation, and make more informed decisions about what I share or believe.
One of the biggest takeaways from this class is that I now approach the media I consume much more thoughtfully and intentionally. Whether I'm scrolling through social media, watching TV, or reading the news, I find myself asking questions I never used to consider: Who made this? What is their goal? What are they trying to get me to think, feel, or do? I've realized that media isn't just entertainment or information—it's carefully crafted content designed to influence how we see the world.
I'm more aware of how my tastes are shaped by trends, algorithms, and the larger culture around me. That awareness has helped me become a more mindful and selective media consumer, rather than just passively taking in content. It's a habit I know will stay with me long after the course is over, because it changes the way I experience the world.
My understanding of media has changed. I used to consume media passively. I would scroll through social media, watch shows or listen to music without thinking much about it. Now, I approach media much more actively. I pause to think about who created it and why. I try to identify any emotional or persuasive techniques being used. I even pay attention to what’s not being said—what perspectives are missing, and whose voices are being left out.