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Family Online Rules - Tip Sheet

MediaSmarts’ research has shown that kids with household rules about Internet use are less likely to do things like post their contact information, visit gambling sites, seek out online pornography and talk to strangers online. Having a family agreement or set of rules for using the Internet is also a great way for parents and kids to work together on how to be safe, wise and responsible online.

First Do No Harm: How to be an active witness - Tip Sheet

Did you know? Two-thirds of Canadian students have helped someone who was being picked on online. When you see or hear bad things happening online, you have a lot of power to make things better – or worse. Sometimes it’s hard to know the right thing to do, so ask yourself these questions:

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.

Getting the Goods on Science and Health – Tip Sheet

Here are three tips to help you find good information about health and science topics.

Help! Someone shared a photo of me without my consent! – Tip Sheet

You can start by asking the person who shared it to take it down or stop sharing it. Kids report that this works more often than not! Ask the service or platform where it was shared to take it down.

Helping kids cope with media coverage of war and traumatic events

The intense media coverage that accompanies traumatic events, such as war, acts of terrorism and natural disasters, can be very disturbing for children and teens. Certain young people are particularly vulnerable and some can be seriously distressed simply by watching TV replays of such events. Parents, educators, health practitioners and others who work with kids can help to lessen anxieties arising from the coverage of catastrophic events.

How to discourage plagiarism

Somewhat surprisingly, it’s not only struggling students who plagiarize: indeed, it may be students who are under pressure to achieve who are more likely to engage in the subtler (and harder to detect) forms of plagiarism1. Researchers have identified three situations where this is most likely: when students are under pressure (such as when work must be done with a tight deadline, or a work is particularly important for their grades); when students are not interested in the work; and when students feel that the assignment is unfair to the point where they have no hope of success without cheating2.

How to push back against hate online

Most kids see hate and prejudice online, and most of them say it's important to do something about it. But whether you've seen a video that's full of racist conspiracy theories or have just seen a friend share an offensive meme, it can be hard to know what to do about it.

How to search the internet effectively

Search Engines Internet search engines are a big part of how we find things online. You can get the most out of them by learning how they work, and how to use them quickly and effectively.