Here are three tips to make sure you share good information and stop the spread of hoaxes, rumours and scams.
1. Watch for your own bias
One of the hardest things about being a responsible sharer is to be aware of the reasons why you might be more likely to believe something without evidence. Before you share a story, take a few minutes to see whether you’ve fallen into one of these common biases:
In Ontario, media components are included throughout the Healthy Active Living Education curriculum, especially within the Healthy Living Strand:
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:
In Ontario, media components are included throughout the Healthy Active Living Education curriculum, especially within the Substance Use and Abuse and Living Skills Strand:
The Ontario social sciences curriculum includes expectations that incorporate media education themes. The grade curriculum document Social Sciences and Humanities (2013) includes a section that demonstrates the complementary relationship between the critical thinking approach of media education and social sciences:
Career and Technology Studies (CTS) is a complementary program designed for Alberta's secondary school students.
Many curricular expectations in Alberta Ethics courses relate to media and digital literacy. The following excerpts from Ethics A.1 (Junior High) (1985) detail how media and digital literacy have been integrated into the curriculum:
The Northwest Territories has a single curriculum for kindergarten that is based on play-based learning as outlined in the document NWT Right from the Start: Early Childhood Development Framework and Action Plan.
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.