Racial and Cultural Diversity and Canadian Broadcasting Policy
Canada’s Broadcasting Act, last amended in 1991, outlines industry guidelines for portrayal of diversity.
Digital Media Literacy Workshops for the new Ontario Language Curriculum
MediaSmarts is excited to offer two free virtual digital media literacy professional workshops for educators thanks to funding from the Ontario Ministry of Education. These two new professional development workshops were developed to support the updated Grade 1-9 Language Curriculum in Ontario.
USE, UNDERSTAND & ENGAGE: A Digital Media Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools - Overview
USE, UNDERSTAND & ENGAGE provides a road map for teaching digital media literacy skills in Canadian schools. The framework draws on nine framework topics of digital media literacy and provides teachers with supporting lessons and interactive resources that are linked to curriculum outcomes for every province and territory.
Fact Checker
To find out if a story has already been fact-checked, use the search bar below. It’s a custom search engine that lets you search several fact-checkers at once, including: Snopes.com, Agence France Presse Canada, FactCheck.org, Politifact, Washington Post Fact Checker, Associated Press Fact Check, HoaxEye and Les Decrypteurs.
Board of Directors
MediaSmarts is governed by an elected, volunteer Board of Directors.
Online Sexual Predators
The nature of online sexual exploitation is widely misunderstood: “Instead of pedophiles (ie individuals with sexual interests in children) preying on young children, most Internet-initiated sex crimes involve young adults (mostly men) who target and seduce teenagers into sexual encounters.” Similarly, child sexual abuse material is most frequently produced by victims’ family members, with fathers being the single most common perpetrators. Even in cases of sextortion, 60 percent of youth who are victims know the perpetrators offline.
Cyberbullying and the Law
Cyberbullying can be addressed under civil law or criminal law, based on the situation.
Surveillance and algorithmic decision-making
Sociologist and surveillance scholar David Lyon defines surveillance as “any collection and processing of personal data, whether identifiable or not, for the purposes of influencing or managing those whose data have been garnered.”
Intellectual Property Ethics
Some of the most common ethical decisions youth face online revolve around intellectual property, but teaching kids to respect intellectual property can be particularly challenging because they may not see this as an ethical issue.
Cyber Security: Special Issues for Young Children
Children may be particularly at risk online because they’re not always aware of the risks associated with what they’re doing. For that reason, children need close supervision when using digital devices and also need to be taught basic cyber security skills as early as possible.