Find Resources
Managing media with tweens (10-13 years old)
Helping Kids Build Safe and Smart Digital HabitsThere are four main strategies to help kids become resilient to online risks. We can:Curate our kids’ media experiences;Control who can access our kids and their data;
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 aThe comics industry
The comics industry is currently experiencing a period of immense transformation and expansion, marked by surging sales, rapid digital disruption and a dramatic diversification of readership and content. Far from the niche market it was decades ago, today's industry is a global one where new technologies and distribution methods are reshaping how stories are created, circulated and consumed.
e-Parenting Tutorial: Keeping up with your kids' online activities
Ever since Cronus the Titan tried to swallow his son Zeus, parents have feared being supplanted by their children. (It didn't take.) But it's only in the last few generations, as the rate of technological progress has accelerated, that children have grown up in a world significantly different from the one their parents knew, and it's only very recently that parents have seen their surpass them while they were still in the single digits. Thanks to digital media, the world is changing so rapidly today – consider that five years ago there was no Twitter, ten years ago no Facebook and fifteen years ago no Google – that even those of us who spent our childhoods programming our parents' VCRs can feel left behind.Talking to kids about the news
It's important to pay close attention to what children see in the news because studies have shown that kids are more afraid of violence in news coverage than in any other media content. By creating a proper perspective and context for news and current events programs, we can help kids develop the critical thinking skills they need to understand news stories and the news industry.
MediaSmarts and CIRA release cyber security tip sheet for online commerce
MediaSmarts has partnered with the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) to develop the Online Commerce Cyber Security Consumer Tip Sheet – the fourth in a series of tip sheets on cyber security issues.Getting the goods ethically
One of the most common ethical decisions kids face online relates to how they access and use content like music, games and videos. We can help kids make better choices by teaching them about the issue: in one study, one-quarter of young people said that they would stop accessing content illegally if it was more clear what was legal and what wasn’t.Managing Media: Back to School Tips for Parents
he beginning of another school year is here, and as it does many parents are beginning to wonder how they can help their kids ease out of summertime media habits. In addition to having to establish new rules for media use, parents may also face a barrage of requests and questions from their kids regarding digital technology, such as: Am I old enough to have a cell phone? Can I bring it to school? How about my iPod? What about Facebook or Twitter – all my friends are on them, I need to use them to talk about my homework!