DigitalSmarts
Digital literacy is a vital tool for education, employment and economic participation, civic engagement, and even health and wellness. It reinforces existing inequalities based on socioeconomic status, ethnicity, education, immigration status and gender. Given the importance of digital literacy skills to under-represented populations, MediaSmarts and YWCA Canada have partnered to develop and deliver DigitalSmarts, a digital literacy skills program.
Reality Check: News You Can Use
In this lesson, students consider the meanings of the term “fake news” and learn facts about the news industry that will help them recognize legitimate sources of news. They use an educational computer game to learn how to track a news story to its original source before evaluating its reliability, then practice the same skills “in the wild” with actual news stories.
Is That a Fact?
This is the first lesson in the Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum series, though it can also be delivered independently. In it, students learn the difference between facts and opinions, and distinguish between opinions that are entirely subjective and ones that can be supported by facts. They then learn how to construct and evaluate arguments.
Authentication and citizenship
Being well-informed – and being careful to only share good information – are essential parts of being an active citizen in a democracy. It’s important to think before you share political information with family and friends – especially during an election.
Break the Fake Tip #1: Use fact-checking tools
Sometimes a single search can Break the Fake if a professional fact-checker has already done the work for you.