How young people engage with news
While young people use and engage with news differently from older generations, they continue to value concepts such as trustworthiness and fairness.

While young people use and engage with news differently from older generations, they continue to value concepts such as trustworthiness and fairness.

November 2, 2009, Toronto - The Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) and the Media Awareness Network (MNet) have collaborated on an informative Tip Sheet for Parents and Gamers just in time for Media Literacy Week.
Video and computer games have become a basic part of kids' lives. According to ESAC's 2009 Essential Facts about the Canadian computer and video game industry, 57 per cent of kids aged 6-12 and 42 per cent of teens aged 13-17 play video games a few days per week.

Using social media in the classroom isn’t a complex feat, even though it may seem that way. What I think is a great idea is to instill social media literacy in students by crafting assignments around Twitter, Pinterest or Tumblr, for example. I’ve compiled a list of four tips to help you do just that:

Research shows that only a third of parents have discussed gambling with their children, perhaps because parents are generally unaware of their kids’ participation in these sorts of activities. It’s important to talk about it, though: research has found that family members' views about gambling are a major influence on how likely youth are to gamble.

A few years ago, I mostly stopped using filters on my Instagram photos and stories. I had been using ones that weren’t intentionally changing the way I looked - or at least, I wasn’t trying too hard for that. I was selecting ones that bettered my lighting or made me look less tired.

In this lesson, students learn about the history of film editing and how shot composition, juxtaposition of images and the use of rhythm and repetition in film editing can affect the emotional impact of a film. Students begin by watching a video on the basics of film editing and answering questions to aid their comprehension. They then view and analyze a slideshow demonstrating basic ways in which the "building blocks" of film editing can affect a film's emotional impact, and discuss how this can affect a film's rating. Finally, students create their own film and/or storyboard, using the editing techniques they've learned to produce different emotional effects with the same collection of shots.

In this lesson, students are introduced to Earth Day and the theme of “Green Cities”. After listening to a short presentation on the concept of a “green city” and elements that constitute a green city (e.g. renewable energy sources such as solar panels, more energy-efficient buildings, recycling programs, cleaner air and water) students participate in an activity where they count the number of parks on a map of their city or neighbourhood. Maps are then analyzed as a medium as students discuss how they are created, things they can and can’t show, and their effectiveness at communicating environmental information.

Skill Descriptor:
Analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative data to construct explanations and conclusions.
Achievement Indicators: