Today's definition of literacy is more than reading and writing. In order to be functionally literate in our media-saturated world, children and young people—in fact, all of us—have to be able to read the messages that daily inform us, entertain us and sell to us. Media literacy education, therefore, must begin long before children become print literate to prepare them to critically engage with the media they consume.
In Ontario, media components are included in the English as a Second Language curriculum in the Social-Cultural Competence and Media Literacy strand. The document English as a Second Language and English Literacy Development (2007) identifies four overall expectations in this strand:
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:
Career Development 10 “prepares students with broad strokes to prepare for the workplace.”[1] Alongside learning self-assessment and increasing their self-awareness, students will “examine the changing world of work and analyse ways they can be prepared for a future that is constantly evolving.”[2] Financial literacy makes up a large part of this course because students will be introduced to “budgeting, financial decision making and money management strategies…”[3] Career Development 11 carries on from its precursor, by “building on students’ developing personal and financial aw
Various media analysts and researchers argue that media portrayals of male characters fall within a range of stereotypes.
We don’t always hear the clock ticking when we’re online, and young people are no exception. Between doing research for homework, talking with friends, updating social media and playing games, it’s easy to see how kids and teens might lose track of time.
Canadians consider online misinformation one of the most serious threats facing the country, on a par with climate change and ahead of issues such as infectious disease, concerns about the global economy and cybersecurity.
This section comprises a curricular overview, as well as information about professional development for media education.
In 2016, British Columbia rolled out a redesigned English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum, one that is centered on teaching that “questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens”.
In the working guide Journey On: Working Toward Communication and Information Technology Literacy, media-related outcomes are integrated throughout the curriculum.
According to this document: