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

4 Sourcing Material You Are Allowed to Use Quiz
5 Editing Images with Canva, Part 1: Crop, Resize and Adjust Quiz
6 Editing Images with Canva, Part 2: Layers, Export and the Honest Edit Quiz
7 Editing Audio with AudioMass, Part 1: Trim and Shape a Clip Quiz
8 Editing Audio with AudioMass, Part 2: Your Voice and the Mix Quiz
9 Editing Video with Snip Studio, Part 1: Import, Sequence and Trim Quiz
10 Editing Video with Snip Studio, Part 2: Transitions, Sound and Export Quiz

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 Showcase: Show What You Made Quiz
16 Make Something of Your Own Quiz

What students learn

This module offers an insightful introduction to the realm of digital media, equipping learners with essential skills for navigating online environments. Through engaging units, students will explore digital tools, internet safety, ethical considerations, and effective web searching, fostering critical thinking and responsible digital citizenship in an increasingly connected world.

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. Our coding and digital skills TY modules are each designed for 8-10 week rotations, typically involving approximately 10 classroom hours of student engagement, which can be integrated into the TY programme as standalone units or combined with other components. Schools may adapt the modules, 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 17 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