Resources for Parents - Video Games

Meaning and action in games

At its core, a game is constructed from several essential components: a defined Goal (the end state players are trying to reach), Rules (the formal structure establishing what can and cannot be done), Obstacles (elements preventing easy goal achievement) and a Core Dynamic, "the main action of a game, what the player does most of the time in order to reach their goal(s)."[1]

10 Tiny Ways You Can Make the World a Better Place Today

Today is Pink Shirt Day, a national initiative to end bullying both offline and online. Since 2007, Canadians have been donning pink shirts to show their commitment to ending bullying in all forms.

Lights, Camera, Action! Making Media in the Classroom, Made Easy

Matthew Johnson

For nearly thirty years, Canadian teachers have been at the forefront of getting students online and preparing them to use networked technologies safely, productively and responsibly. Many young Canadians have their first experiences with the internet in their classrooms and school libraries. Over the past decade, though, while digital tools have come to provide new opportunities for creating and distributing digital content, MediaSmarts’ research shows that most Canadian teachers aren’t making media in the classroom.

Getting the Rules Right

When screens started being part of our daily lives – not just for work, but for entertainment, communication, and news – we parents had to do some serious thinking. What would the rules be? How would we govern these new devices? What were the best choices?

Interactive Media - Introduction

Interactive media, such as games and social media, use many of the same "rules of notice" as visual and video media, but also use “rules of action” that both allow users to make choices but also limit and influence those choices.