Serbia: MIL training for teachers

The Novi Sad School of Journalism, a SEENPM member, conducts a state-accredited training program in MIL for teachers of primary and secondary schools.

The Novi Sad School of Journalism was among the first in Serbia to implement seminars for professional improvement of primary and secondary school teachers between 2006 and 2015. The seminars were officially accredited by the state and attended by some 300 teachers. The teachers were trained to educate children about media literacy within a course they already teach (above all: mother tangue, civic education, informatics, sociology, arts).

As of 2016, the Novi Sad School of Journalism realizes the need for a broader application of media in teaching. The new program „Reading Media – Understanding Information – Media & Information Literacy“ fosters the introduction of interactive methods in teaching and developing competencies for the analysis and use of media for educational purposes.

The key goal of this state accredited program is to strengthen professional capacities of teachers in primary and secondary schools to incorporate media in the educative process. The teachers attend the Novi Sad School of Journalism seminars in cities where there is enough interest or in Novi Sad. The School currently cooperates with primary and secondary schools throughout Serbia.

The task of the program is to train the participants for the application of mass-media content in teaching and extracurricular activities, and for selective and critical use of media products, as well as for the art of communicating within mass culture.

The basic premise of the program is that media literacy is not an isolated knowledge. Instead, it connects knowledge studied in courses of mother tongue, sociology, history, psychology, visual arts, civic education, informatics…

The seminar trainers are experts in media, communications, and pedagogy. Mentorship is provided during and after the seminars.

The topics that the seminars cover:

  1. 21st century society – society of knowledge: multimediatization, informatization
  2. Change of the educational paradigm (traditional vs. contemporary teaching)
  3. Literacy and new forms of literacy in the digital age
  4. Communication as a key concept in networked society
  5. Media: types of media, language of media, the power of media, children and media
  6. Children as creators of media messages: consumers and prosumers

Contact person for those interested in attending the seminars: Tijana Femić Bumbić tijana@novinarska-škola.org.rs