Exploring Digital Media

What your school gets

Everything a teacher needs to teach Exploring Digital Media this year.

In class

16 lessons, ready to teach Each one planned step by step, taught from the board with the same lesson open on each student's device. 9 interactive activities across the course.
Quizzes and assessments A short quiz with every lesson.
Progress and resultsWhat each student has completed, and how they did.
CertificatesFor portfolios, open days and reports home.
Try the first lesson: What the Algorithm Decides You See

On paper

Teacher Resource BookThe whole course laid out for the teacher, lesson by lesson, ready to print.
The sample lesson's pages

The whole books come with the course, in each class's Resources.

The curriculum it covers

Every lesson is mapped to the specification. This course teaches 11 of the 42 outcomes for this class.

NCCA Transition Year Programme Statement (2025)

Personal Growth 4 of 11 outcomes

Being a Learner 5 of 12 outcomes

Civic and Community Engagement 2 of 11 outcomes

Career Exploration 0 of 8 outcomes

See every outcome

Curriculum Area

Outcomes

Personal Growth

P.1 P.2 P.3 P.4 P.5 P.6 P.7 P.8 P.9 P.10 P.11

Being a Learner

B.1 B.2 B.3 B.4 B.5 B.6 B.7 B.8 B.9 B.10 B.11 B.12

Civic and Community Engagement

C.1 C.2 C.3 C.4 C.5 C.6 C.7 C.8 C.9 C.10 C.11

Career Exploration

CE.1 CE.2 CE.3 CE.4 CE.5 CE.6 CE.7 CE.8

Tap any outcome to read it. The coloured ones are taught in this course. The curriculum does not include official reference codes for individual learning outcomes, so we have assigned a code scheme to make it easier to identify and track coverage.

The course, module by module

16 lessons in 4 modules. The lesson marked Sample opens in full.

1 Why This Is In Front of You 3 lessons · about 2 hours

1 What the Algorithm Decides You See Sample lesson Quiz
2 Influencers and Content Creators Quiz
3 AI Chat Tools and Large Language Models Quiz

2 Make It Yourself 7 lessons · about 5 hours

3 Can You Still Believe It? 3 lessons · about 2 hours

11 Spotting Image, Audio and Video Manipulation Quiz
12 Deepfakes and Synthetic Media Quiz
13 For and Against: a Digital Technology Debate Quiz

4 Credit It and Show It 3 lessons · about 2 hours

14 Reference Your Sources Accurately Quiz
15 Make Something of Your Own Quiz
16 Showcase: Show What You Made Quiz

What students learn

A Transition Year module of 16 lessons in which students make digital media rather than read about it. They start with what is in front of them online: why a feed shows them what it does, how an influencer's post is built to sell, and how far to trust an AI chat tool's answer. They find material they are allowed to use and log where it came from, then learn three real browser tools, Canva for images, AudioMass for audio and Snip Studio for video, two lessons each. They use what they have made to spot images, audio and video that were edited or made to mislead, and argue both sides of a question about technology in a class debate. The module ends with crediting and showing: students write complete references, make a short piece of their own from the material they logged and credit every borrowed part, then show one piece at a class showcase, where a classmate reviews it and they act on one note.

The NCCA guidelines give teachers significant flexibility in designing and delivering Transition Year modules, allowing them to tailor them to their school's context and students' needs. This module is designed for an 8 to 10 week rotation of about 11 classroom hours, and can be integrated into the TY programme as a standalone unit or combined with other components. Schools may adapt it, including teaching approaches and school-based assessments such as portfolios or projects, to reflect specific learning priorities and align with the broader aims of the TY Programme Statement.

By the end of the course, students can

Identify and categorise different types of digital media.
Explain the basic functioning of the internet using a narrative of data transmission.
Distinguish between personal and non-personal information and justify the need for online privacy.
Create and evaluate strong passwords based on specified criteria.
Analyse the impact of digital footprints on personal online presence and reputation.

What you'll need

Used in some of the lessons. Students can share in groups of two or three.

AudioMass needs no account Canva account (school email) Chromebook/Laptop/PC Headphones

Build a full TY year around Exploring Digital Media

This module is one of 10 Transition Year modules you can combine into a complete Year-Long TY Digital Skills Programme, shaped around your timetable and the students in front of you.

Run the same pathway for every student, or set different pathways for different groups. Students also get access to the modules they're not doing in class, which is ideal for the keen ones who finish early or want to explore further on their own time.

Prefer a deeper tech focus? Swap in Advanced Coding or Robotics and Automation. Each module is 10 to 16 lessons of 40-60 minutes, leaving room for school events, mid-terms and everything else TY throws at you.

Why TY coordinators choose it

One decision, a year's content

No more stitching resources together every term.

Flexible per class, per student

Run different pathways side by side.

Certificates after each module

Great for TY portfolios, open days and reports home.

Sets students up for Senior Cycle

Broad exposure so they choose subjects with confidence.

Sample Year Plan

ICT + Coding focus

Computer Skills
Gets everyone on a level footing
Introduction to Coding
Real, working projects from week one
Exploring Digital Media
Video, design and storytelling
Exploring Artificial Intelligence
The topic your students keep asking about
Enterprise and Business Basics
A pitch-and-launch project to close out the year