Alberta
This section comprises a curricular overview, as well as information about professional development for media education.
This section comprises a curricular overview, as well as information about professional development for media education.
Media Education in the English Language Arts Curriculum, Grades 10-12
Media outcomes are integrated throughout the English Language Arts 10-12 curriculum. In addition to including media texts as part of listening and speaking, reading and writing, and viewing and representing outcomes, the curriculum broadens and more clearly defines text and context to reflect media culture.
The following excerpts from English Language Arts (Senior High) (2001) details this broadened definition:
Broadening the Definition of “Text”
The social studies program in Alberta contains expectations that complement the critical thinking approach of media education. The Alberta social studies curriculum states,
In our changing society, students will need to be practised at using a variety of skills and strategies. Students will need to be able to acquire knowledge, to interpret and communicate information, and to solve problems and make decisions. In doing all of this, students require a wide range of critical and creative thinking skills and strategies that they can apply to a variety of situations.
Many curricular expectations in Alberta Social Sciences courses relate to media and digital literacy. The role of the Social Sciences courses in the Alberta curriculum is described as follows on the Alberta Education Social Sciences page:
This section comprises a curricular overview, as well as curriculum charts for Grades K-12 that feature media education outcomes in the Manitoba curriculum, with links to supporting MediaSmarts resources and lessons.
In the 2022 Elementary Physical Education and Wellness curriculum, digital media literacy is represented in several categories of knowledge, skills and procedures and understandings. Students learn about growth and development, safety, nutrition, mental health, healthy relationships and financial literacy.
Many curricular expectations in Alberta Fine Arts courses relate to digital media literacy. The following excerpts from are Fine Arts curriculum document on the LearnAlberta website:
According to the 2023 Elementary English Language Arts and Literature curriculum, “Language is a uniquely structured system that forms the basis for thinking, communicating, and learning.” The curriculum is built around the six strands of language learning: reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and representing, with each strand touching on aspects of digital media literacy. The K-6 curriculum notes that English Language Arts and Literature “[helps] students develop deep understandings of others and themselves, build and strengthen interpersonal relationships, and engage in responsible citizenship,” integrating digital citizenship within citizenship education. To that end, digital media literacy education is integrated into elements of ethical citizenship, critical analysis of literature, differentiation of fact from opinion, access of information, and citation of sources.
Indigenous education is the overarching incorporation of indigenous perspectives across Manitoba’s curriculum. Many curricular expectations in Manitoba Aboriginal Language and Studies courses relate to media and digital literacy. The following excerpt from Current Topics in First Nations, Metis and Inuit Studies (2011) detail how media and digital literacy have been integrated into the curriculum:
What we see – and don’t see – in media affects how we view reality. Media works can be imagined either as mirrors that reflect an audience’s own experience, windows that give them access to experiences they otherwise wouldn’t have known, or in some cases both.