Emotions, meetings and know-how. The first Tuleviku Meedia Media Literacy Conference

Teachers who have previously participated in Tuleviku Meedia projects and have successfully taught media literacy spoke at the conference.

MTÜ Tuleviku Meedia founder Julia Rodina combined several topics in her presentation: sources and methods of teaching media literacy, useful technological tools and the importance of psychological well-being in the context of media literacy and the teaching profession.

"Working with educators is very inspiring for me and every time I try to offer teachers many useful sources that can make it easier for them to prepare for media literacy lessons and inspire them to discover new things for themselves and their students. Each time I am delighted and proud of the success of the participants in our projects. Even those for whom media literacy was previously an uncharted area are successfully incorporating it into their lessons. Several teachers have created and are already implementing their own media projects in their schools," said Julia Rodina.

A presentation on her methods and know-how of teaching media literacy was presented by Jelena Moissejeva, Tallinna Õismäe Vene Lütseumi teacher and head of the Estonian Union of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature. Her presentation was entitled "You won't believe it!!! Teaching the course "Media and its influence" is easy and students will be interested if you do it this way..." And, unlike traditional clickbait, the content did not deceive! Jelena Moissejeva showed participants a huge library of sources, methodological materials and ready-made assignments that can be immediately applied in lessons.Alina Serkutan, a teacher at the Tallinna Juudi Kool and Haabersti Vene Gümnaasium, spoke about the most successful lessons of her course, showing examples and results. Among other things, Alina Serkutan combines the topics of media literacy, advertising, design and their impact, and video news shooting in her classes. According to her, the students' response was very positive, as it allowed them to use new knowledge, creativity and modern technologies. During the lessons, students created their own advertising of their brands and goods, including slogans and packaging design. Alina Serkutan also successfully used the discussion format on journalism and social media in her lessons.Marija Dragunova from Toila Gümnaasium told about how she introduces elements of media literacy into her Russian as a foreign language lessons, including how she works with bilingual students. Her students developed, for example, the topic of an interview and even created an animated film using new vocabulary and media literacy skills. Marija Dragunova has also suggested her pupils the topics of irony and ethics in media. She emphasises that it is very effective to use and discuss with students fresh examples from the media - journalistic materials of various genres and formats.

Valentina Marcinkeviciene, a teacher at Eurogümnaasium and author of the Facebook blog ValentinaEsitleb.ee, presented her findings. Her talk was divided into theoretical teaching methods and practical ones, which she applies in grades from 9 to 12. Valentina Marcinkeviciene uses many new methods and offers students many options for practical work, including outside the school. For example, in Fotografiska museum and collecting information about outdoor advertising in the city. Valentina pays special attention to new media and media art in her course. For example, one of the results was the photo exhibition "Touch": after visiting modern photo exhibitions, pupils were invited to see philosophical moments of life and take allegorical photos, giving the image a title as well.

The conference programme ended with a master class by psychologist and art-therapist Maria Shulman, who told how to take care of one's psychological well-being and prevent professional burnout. It is no secret that burnout and stress are pressing problems for teachers. Thanks to Maria Shulman's master class, the participants were able to analyse their resources, reflect and understand how to become more psychologically resilient.


More than 30 teachers from Tallinn, Harjumaa and Ida-Virumaa came to listen to their colleagues and share their experiences on 30 March, 2024.

"I wanted our conference to be not only a source of useful knowledge, but also inspiration, because teachers need to communicate with colleagues and feel a sense of community. I am very grateful to the teachers for their participation, for coming with an open heart, and for helping to create an atmosphere of warmth and co-operation," said Julia Rodina, founder of MTÜ Tuleviku Meedia.