Television - Overview
Most of us have happy memories of watching television with our families when we were young. But what was once a simple shared pastime has become an increasingly complex—and sometimes problematic part of modern family life.
Most of us have happy memories of watching television with our families when we were young. But what was once a simple shared pastime has become an increasingly complex—and sometimes problematic part of modern family life.
Media components are found in all three goals of the Saskatchewan Arts Education curriculum: Creative/Productive, Critical/Responsive strand and Cultural/Historical.
When my kids saw the TikTok app icon on my phone, both of them had the same reaction: “WHAT? Why are you on TikTok?” While I thought it was because they wanted to tell me I was too old for the app, it was more that they really didn’t understand the appeal since they aren’t current users (for now).
Recently, my youngest got a new phone that has data and the ability to text anyone. We’ve been texting with my eldest for some time now too. But after years of communicating this way, it finally happened: We, the parents, were invited into a family group chat.
Not many words have had a rise as meteoric as the term “algorithm.” Once only familiar to mathematicians or computer scientists, today algorithms are the subject of warnings from scholars and activists, protested by students whose future lives and careers are increasingly determined by algorithmic decision-making, personified and catered to by would-be YouTube stars, and seen as the almost magical element that is vital to the success of newer platforms such as TikTok.
Many curricular expectations in Ontario Business courses relate to media and digital literacy. The following excerpt from Business Studies, Grades 9 and 10 (2006) detail how media and digital literacy have been integrated into the curriculum:
Introduction:
“Media analysis is a critical literacy strategy in which commercial media works are examined for the purpose of “decoding” the work – that is, determining the purpose, intended audience, mood, and message of the work, and the techniques used to create it. Through media analysis, students evaluate everyday media, maintaining a critical distance and resisting manipulation by media producers, and they learn about media techniques that they can then use to create or enhance their own works. Key concepts of media analysis include recognition that media construct reality, have commercial implications, contain ideological and value messages, and have social and political implications.”
The Ontario Canadian and World Studies curriculum includes expecations that incorporate media and digital literacy skills. The document Canadian and World Studies (2013) includes a section that demonstrates the complementary relationship between the critical thinking of media education and Canadian and World Studies:
The Ontario Canadian and World Studies curriculum covers topics that pertain to media education. The Canadian and world studies program encompasses five subjects: economics, geography, history, law, and politics; all subjects that encompass media education themes. The grade eleven and twelve curriculum document, Canadian and World Studies, include the following goal: