Media Literacy for Older Adults
Project Type
Design Process for Learning
Client
NYU Steinhardt
Project Duration
4 months
Team Role
Researcher & Designer
Background
Media Literacy for Older Adults is a project that was developed in collaboration with three other NYU graduate students as part of our coursework. Our goal was to create a learning experience focused on media literacy and online communication for older adults. Through needs, task, and learner analyses, we designed a curriculum to address the specific needs and challenges of this population. Check out our team's website for a more thorough review of this project.
Phase 1: Research
In order to provide the best educational intervention possible, we conducted research using a survey, interviews, and a literature review.
The results from our survey revealed that this population seems to be in agreement that the spreading of misinformation via social media is an issue. However, many respondents did not express interest in learning how to combat this.
Conversations with our subject matter expert, Dr. Donna McCabe, were especially helpful as we developed our understanding of our target audience. Dr. McCabe's insight along with the results from our survey allowed us to create a persona for our learners.
A literature review helped us identify the most crucial aspects of media literacy and provided context for other similar learning experiences. We then established learning objectives to guide our design process.
Phase 2: Design
From our research, we determined that a 4 week course held in a community center (e.g., library) is the best way to structure our learning experience. The instructor leading the course is provided with detailed lesson plans (click to read) that we developed. Additionally, the course includes a social media component that allows participants to build a learning community that they can engage in beyond the scope of the course.
Graphic illustrating the course's structure.