When it comes to digital wellbeing, one of the most important things is to establish an ongoing conversation with your children about their online lives. There is no one size fits all; every family can develop strategies that work best for them. But having access to a wide range of tools can help you adapt those strategies at every stage of your kids’ journey. Here are some of the key principles for those conversations:
Internet & Mobile
Generative AI is a new and evolving technology. It has many productive uses like acting as a research aid for homework or an assistant when planning an event. But like most technology that came before, generative AI can also be used for harmful purposes; for instance, it can be used to create fake websites, voice recordings, videos, images, and social media posts that mislead, embarrass or hurt people. What used to require a lot of technical skill to create, can now be done easily: most people who make fake content use widely-available AI tools.
In this lesson, students learn what makes something an ad and how to distinguish advertisements from reviews, focusing on the key concepts of genre, tropes, bias, disclosure, and framing. Students begin by viewing and analyzing a video to prompt critical questions about the creator’s intent and visual style, then delve into the advertising genre by learning about its essential elements, like the presence of a product and brand. Students examine the differences between the “ad” and “review” genre and also use companion reading skills to evaluate the reliability and potential bias of a source by searching for undisclosed "brand deal" or "sponsored" content. Finally, students create two media pieces about the same product—one crafted as a persuasive ad and the other as an honest review—to demonstrate their ability to apply the genre elements and tropes learned throughout the lesson.
The Building Better Tech Habits workshop offers parents and guardians actionable strategies for managing screen time, with a focus on the understanding that digital well-being solutions are not one-size-fits-all. The workshop addresses both the opportunities and challenges that digital technology presents to youth and adults alike, and provides a comprehensive and informed perspective on digital well-being.
Grades: 6-12
Duration: 60 to 90 minutes, plus extension activities
Author: MediaSmarts and TELUS
Learning goals:
Key concepts/big ideas:
Grades: 7-9
Duration: 1.5 - 2 hours
Author: MediaSmarts and TELUS
Learning goals
Key concepts/big ideas:
Students will understand that Interactions through digital media can have a real impact:
- Conversations with chatbots can have emotional effects and affect what we think and believe
Digital media experiences are shaped by the tools we use:
You can train the algorithms on social networks and video sites to show you more of what you want, and less of what you don’t want. Here are some tips:
This tip sheet will give you some tips for building a healthier relationship with social media so you can avoid the comparison trap and feel better about yourself online.
Understand How the 'Comparison Trap' Works
Here are a few things about social media that make us more likely to compare ourselves to others:
Here are some tips to develop a healthier relationship with technology:
Have you ever seen a photo or video online that seemed too good to be true? With today's technology, it's getting harder and harder to tell what's real and what's fake, especially with things called deepfakes.