1. A Media Education Foundation Gets Students off on the
Right Foot
Sometimes after graduating from high school, we may not have the credentials we
need to attend the program of our choice. If this is the case for you and your area of
interest lies in pursuing a career in communications and media industries, Centennial
College’s media education foundation program, known as Communications and
Media Foundations, may be the answer.
This one year/two-semester offering was designed as an academic pathway for those
needing the credentials to attend programs that will lead to careers in fields such as
advertising, journalism or broadcasting and film. More specifically, upon completion of
the 13 courses within the communication program, students will not only have a solid
base (with skills for basic communications, media knowledge, terminology and English
language development) but they will also receive an automatic acceptance into their
media or communications program of choice from three-year Advertising,
Broadcasting and Film and Journalism.
Applicants to the communication program are required to posses at
minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent, or
have mature applicant status (19 years or older). In addition, it should be
noted that students must complete the Centennial College English skills
assessment before registering for this program. A minimum score of 130 or
131 is required to begin.
Once they are accepted, their media education foundation begins with
courses such as: Media Theory Workplace and Issues (introduces ideas and
research that will help students to understand the structure of Canada’s broadcasting
industry and the issues and trends facing it); Tools and Processes for Communicators
(introduces the School of Communications environment, and teaches the use of many
tools available to them in a systematic and intelligent way); Essential English Skills
(upgrades students’ language skills in reading, vocabulary acquisition, writing,
speaking and listening to college level); as well as Introduction to Media, Success
Skills, Developing Communications Portfolio Skills, Exploring Digital Culture, and
more.
As a result of these courses and the guidance of their instructors, communication
program graduates walk away with the skills to: create and maintain a forum in social
media networks using rich media applications; apply theoretical principles to produce
practical, focused written communications and media solutions; use appropriate
vocabulary, terminology, basic numeracy and communicative strategies necessary in
the communications and media environment; apply developed English language skills
to a presentation portfolio; write and present in basic narrative formats for a variety
of media platforms; and apply knowledge of communications and media workplaces,