On January 25, the training “Information and Communication Competence of the Teacher of the Ukrainian Language and Literature” was held in ZNU. The event was organized on the basis of the Faculty of Journalism of ZNU with the assistance of the Press, Education and Culture Department of the US Embassy in Ukraine and the South Center for Media Literacy.
To this even were invited teachers of schools in the city of Zaporizhzhia and Zaporizhzhia region. This was the third and final training in the series of methodical training seminars "Formation of media culture of the teacher of Ukrainian language and literature in the conditions of the formation of a new Ukrainian school."
The training began with a seminar-presentation "Social 
Networks: Steps to Safe Use" by media expert Oleksandra Usenko. We discussed two-factor authentication, the dangers of gaming applications in social networks, why you should not log in to various sites using Facebook etc.
There were several interactive games on the awareness of what a person feels in the world of multichannel communications, how “bubble filters” work, and what parameters help you to define a fake Instagram account.
Oleksandra Usenko noted: “It is necessary to realize not only the dangers that social networks can hide, but also to use their advantages, for example, as a tool for building your own image. It seems to me that if a teacher respects a student who knows his subject, then the student will be interested in a teacher who is well-versed in social networks that are popular among adolescents and young people. Since this was the third training, we could talk about what knowledge from the previous two classes teachers used in work and personal life. Relevant for teachers were the skills to distinguish facts from judgments, analyze their media field and use the BBC standards to determine the quality of information in the media”.
The second session was devoted to t
he methodological aspects of the teacher’s work in the context of information and communication education; Viktor Kostiuk, Dean of the faculty of journalism, talked with participants about the potential of the Ukrainian language and literature lesson in shaping media literacy and critical thinking of schoolchildren.
During the training they discussed the ability of the teacher to critically analyze information, about difficulties in the process of searching and understanding information in the media.
Viktor Kostiuk shared his impressions about the training and said: “We, as a journalism faculty, which is engaged in the professional training of journalists, like no one feel how important it is to analyze the information presented in the media. Media literacy should be developed not even from school, but from kindergarten, and parents should be involved in this. However, the school is just the place where it can be carried out powerfully and in an organized way. That is why we decided to turn to the teachers. It is very important that the teacher himself possesses the skills of media culture. Teachers of the Ukrainian language and literature, as well as, by the way, teachers of any subject, have many opportunities to do this. Today there are two main ways to introduce media education. The first is the introduction of special courses on media education, but, in my opinion, the second more effective way is the introduction of elements of media literacy into the process of studying each discipline”.
The final stage of the educational event was the presentation of the participants of the course with notes on the lessons and extracurricular activities, questioning the participants in order to learn the impressions of the event and possible suggestions for training and the presentation of certificates of advanced training.
The participant of the training is a teacher of the Ukrainian language and literature, gymnasium № 6 of Zaporizhzhia, Olena Kuznietsova very positively evaluated her participation in the event:
“The training impressions are the best, the organization is top notch. The knowledge we have gained is useful not only for the students, but also for each of the teachers”.
