Saskatchewan Government committed to teaching students to be safe and ethical online

Ottawa, ON (July 7, 2014) – MediaSmarts is pleased to announce that the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education has licensed its series of digital literacy resources for all teachers and classrooms in the province.

“Our latest national survey of Canadian students, Young Canadians in a Wired World, shows that schools are an important source of digital literacy education, with almost half of students relying on teachers to learn about online issues,” says Cathy Wing Co-Executive Director of MediaSmarts. “Our digital literacy resources will give Saskatchewan teachers the tools they need to teach students how to navigate their online environments safely and ethically.”

The series of resources includes the Passport to the Internet and MyWorld classroom tutorials which use simulations of kids’ favourite online environments and activities to teach them about important topics like online safety, cyberbullying, protecting their privacy and authenticating online information. Educators also have access to the Web Awareness Workshop Series, which helps K-12 teachers understand and address these key issues.

“A key component of Saskatchewan’s Action Plan to Address Bullying and Cyberbullying is to ensure that all students have the tools and knowledge they need to develop appropriate and responsible online behaviour,” said Saskatchewan Education Minister Don Morgan. “We are pleased to partner with MediaSmarts to provide educators with resources they can use to help keep students safe online.”

The two year licence agreement will make the series of award-winning, interactive resources available to approximately 167,000 students in 771 schools across the province.

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MediaSmarts is a Canadian not-for-profit centre for digital and media literacy. Its vision is that young people have the critical thinking skills to engage with media as active and informed digital citizens. mediasmarts.ca @mediasmarts

Contact:
Maya Shoucair, Communications Officer, MediaSmarts
613-224-7721, ext. 231, mshoucair@mediasmarts.ca
mediasmarts.ca @mediasmarts