Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Baylor University hosts Passport to Media Literacy event

Joe Riley, left, and Ryan Meetra, center, work the check in table at Baylor University's inaugural Passport to Media Literacy Event on October 2. As they entered, students were asked to complete a survey about their media habits.
Molly-Jo Tilton
/
KWBU
Joe Riley, left, and Ayan Meetra, center, work the check in table at Baylor University's inaugural Passport to Media Literacy Event on October 2. As they entered, students were asked to complete a survey about their media habits.

Waves of students mill about the Moody Library Wednesday afternoon. Drawn by the alure of Dr. Pepper floats, the students take a trip around the world of media literacy.

 The event, called Passport to Media Literacy, was hosted in collaboration with the Baylor Libraries, the Baylor Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media and KWBU. It was the first media literacy event for the department.

 KWBU community engagement coordinator Rachel Velasco says she hopes that the student who attended the event gain new skills to help guide their media consumption.

 "I really hope that they leave with some hard skills that they can look back on and some tools that they can go to to help them evaluate information as I comes in through their life," Velasco said.

As the name of the event suggests, students first collect a passport containing media literacy destinations.

Then they move through different stations representing aspects of media literacy. Stations included topics like the role of journalism and ads in society.and understanding the importance of funding sources.

At each station, students complete an activity or game, like matching news outlets with their funding sources or guessing which pictures are AI generated.

Dr. Alec Tefertiller shows a student how to tell the difference between AI-generated images and a genuine image at the Passport to Media Literacy event on October 2. Some tips he shared include looking at fingers and conducting a reverse image search on Google.
Molly-Jo Tilton
/
KWBU
Dr. Alec Tefertiller shows a student how to tell the difference between AI-generated images and a genuine image at the Passport to Media Literacy event on October 2. Some tips he shared include looking at fingers and conducting a reverse image search on Google.

After completing each activity, the students receive a stamp in their passport and move on to the next station. When their passport is full, they can exchange it for a Dr. Pepper float.

While the floats are delicious, a Baylor student who introduced herself as Caitlin, says the most important part is the skills she learned.

"Honestly, AI kind of freaks me out and I wanted to know more about it," she said. "I learned how to check and see what’s real. If I see something on the internet that’s alarming, I know exactly how to fact check it out."

Molly-Jo_Tilton@Baylor.edu

Molly-Jo, or MJ as her friends know her, joined KWBU in 2024 as the station's Multimedia Reporter. Originally from San Antonio, Tx, she grew up on local TV journalism and knew that when she decided to pursue journalism as a career, she wanted to find a local beat. Molly-Jo graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in May 2024 with a Bachelor's in Journalism. While there she served as the Audio Editor for UT's student paper, The Daily Texan, and worked with The Drag Audio. She also interned for The Texas Standard, where her feature on a San Antonio nonprofit earned her a statewide award for health reporting (and becoming the first intern to do so). When she is not scoping out stories, MJ enjoys reading a good book, hiking or learning new crafts.