Teacher CPD · Secondary Schools

Teaching the Junior Cycle Digital Media Literacy Short Course

This course equips educators to deliver the Junior Cycle Digital Media Literacy Short Course through structured modules. It covers the curriculum landscape, critical evaluation of sources and AI-generated content, practical media production, identity and wellbeing, student project supervision, cross-curricular integration, and year planning, fostering confident teaching aligned with NCCA specifications.
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Enrol now — course content opens on 1 Jul 2026. We'll email you that morning with access details.
€79
Enrolment per teacher
What's included
  • Self paced
  • Online course
  • Step-by-step lessons
  • Certificate from Coding Ireland

Explore the Course

Two lessons that establish three things: an honest map of where you are starting from (the confidence audit); a working understanding of what the JC DML Short Course requires of students (and therefore of you); and a productive mindset for delivering an unusually wide subject without pretending to be an expert across all of it.

Welcome, Confidence Audit and the Lead Learner Mindset Beginner
The JC DML Short Course — Four Strands, One CBA, 100 Hours Beginner

Critical evaluation is the spine of DML — Strand 2 of the spec, with strong overlaps into Strand 3. This module gives you frameworks and worked examples for teaching real critical evaluation: source evaluation, the spec-explicit distinction between misinformation and disinformation, algorithmic curation and bias, and the new layer of generative AI content.

Source Evaluation, Misinformation Vs Disinformation, and Algorithmic Curation Beginner
Ai-generated Content — a New Critical Literacy Beginner

Two lessons that cover the practical and the personal sides of DML: practical creation (including the spec's specific digital montage activity, LO 3.8), and the rights / responsibilities / wellbeing thread that runs across Strands 1 and 4, including the spec's specific class-charter activity (LO 1.7) and the role of Coimisiún na Meán as the Irish regulator (LO 4.3).

Audio, Video, Visual Production and the Digital Montage Beginner
Identity, Rights, the Charter, and Digital Wellbeing Beginner

The JC DML Short Course has one Classroom-Based Assessment, called the Student Project. It is a significant piece of work in a digital format of the student's choice, completed toward the end of the course, demonstrating engagement with learning outcomes across the strands. It is reported on the JCPA and judged using the NCCA Features of Quality. Three lessons cover: reading the Features of Quality fluently, coaching cross-strand topic choice and scoping, and supervising / judging the project plus the SLAR meeting (held 'where feasible' per the specification).

The Student Project and the Features of Quality Beginner
Coaching the Student Project — Cross-strand Topic Choice and Scoping Beginner
Supervising, Judging, and the SLAR Meeting Beginner

JC DML rarely sits on its own — it overlaps naturally with English (text analysis, persuasive writing), SPHE (wellbeing, identity, relationships), Art (visual literacy, design), and Religious Education (ethics, identity, community). This module closes the course by treating those overlaps as opportunities and by synthesising everything into the participant's year plan and final reflection.

Cross-curricular Integration and Whole-school Digital Citizenship Beginner
Your Year Plan and Final Reflection Beginner

Two lessons that establish three things: an honest map of where you are starting from (the confidence audit); a working understanding of what the JC DML Short Course requires of students (and therefore of you); and a productive mindset for delivering an unusually wide subject without pretending to be an expert across all of it.

Welcome, Confidence Audit and the Lead Learner Mindset Beginner
The JC DML Short Course — Four Strands, One CBA, 100 Hours Beginner

Critical evaluation is the spine of DML — Strand 2 of the spec, with strong overlaps into Strand 3. This module gives you frameworks and worked examples for teaching real critical evaluation: source evaluation, the spec-explicit distinction between misinformation and disinformation, algorithmic curation and bias, and the new layer of generative AI content.

Source Evaluation, Misinformation Vs Disinformation, and Algorithmic Curation Beginner
Ai-generated Content — a New Critical Literacy Beginner

Two lessons that cover the practical and the personal sides of DML: practical creation (including the spec's specific digital montage activity, LO 3.8), and the rights / responsibilities / wellbeing thread that runs across Strands 1 and 4, including the spec's specific class-charter activity (LO 1.7) and the role of Coimisiún na Meán as the Irish regulator (LO 4.3).

Audio, Video, Visual Production and the Digital Montage Beginner
Identity, Rights, the Charter, and Digital Wellbeing Beginner

The JC DML Short Course has one Classroom-Based Assessment, called the Student Project. It is a significant piece of work in a digital format of the student's choice, completed toward the end of the course, demonstrating engagement with learning outcomes across the strands. It is reported on the JCPA and judged using the NCCA Features of Quality. Three lessons cover: reading the Features of Quality fluently, coaching cross-strand topic choice and scoping, and supervising / judging the project plus the SLAR meeting (held 'where feasible' per the specification).

The Student Project and the Features of Quality Beginner
Coaching the Student Project — Cross-strand Topic Choice and Scoping Beginner
Supervising, Judging, and the SLAR Meeting Beginner

JC DML rarely sits on its own — it overlaps naturally with English (text analysis, persuasive writing), SPHE (wellbeing, identity, relationships), Art (visual literacy, design), and Religious Education (ethics, identity, community). This module closes the course by treating those overlaps as opportunities and by synthesising everything into the participant's year plan and final reflection.

Cross-curricular Integration and Whole-school Digital Citizenship Beginner
Your Year Plan and Final Reflection Beginner

What You'll Learn

Learning Goals

  1. Develop confidence and a lead learner mindset for teaching Junior Cycle Digital Media Literacy.
  2. Apply frameworks to critically evaluate digital sources, misinformation, and AI-generated content.
  3. Design practical production tasks and teach identity, rights, and digital wellbeing in engaging ways.
  4. Coach students through the Student Project CBA, ensuring cross-strand integration and quality assessment.
  5. Integrate DML across the curriculum and create a comprehensive year plan for implementation.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply frameworks for evaluating digital media sources, distinguishing misinformation from disinformation, and analysing algorithmic biases in student feeds.
  2. Design and deliver lessons on generative AI content evaluation, including mental models for LLM production and structured discussions of advantages and disadvantages.
  3. Plan and facilitate practical digital media production activities using free or low-cost tools, incorporating intention-before-polish tasks and digital montage exercises.
  4. Guide students through the Student Project CBA by selecting cross-strand topics, scoping projects for feasibility, and applying Features of Quality for supervision and assessment.
  5. Develop a year-long JC DML plan integrating cross-curricular links with subjects like English and SPHE, while fostering whole-school digital citizenship.

Ready to start this course?

Enrol today and learn at your own pace.

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