Reality Check
This public awareness program, created in partnership between MediaSmarts and the Facebook Canadian Election Integrity Initiative, focuses on authentication of online information.
Quebec Competencies Chart - Getting the Toothpaste Back into the Tube: A Lesson on Online Information
Level: Grades 6 to 8
Lesson Length: 2 to 4 hours
Subject Area: Internet & mobile, privacy
Lesson Link: http://mediasmarts.ca/teacher-resources/getting-toothpaste-back-tube-lesson-online-information
Young Canadians Speak Out: A Qualitative Research Project on Privacy and Consent
MediaSmarts conducted focus groups with young Canadians ages 13 to 16 in Ottawa, giving them the chance to consider, discuss and design ways of obtaining consent online that are clear and meaningful to them. As part of the focus groups, youth were asked to share their thoughts on and experiences with current online consent processes. They were then asked to come up with hand-drawn ‘paper prototypes’ of their ideal privacy policies. The findings, highlighted in the report Young Canadians Speak Out: A Qualitative Research Project on Privacy and Consent, offered creative new ideas on how platforms can improve online consent processes – not just for young people, but for everyone – so Canadians can better understand what they’re agreeing to when it comes to their privacy.
Staff
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Quebec Competencies Chart - The Blockbuster Movie
Quebec Competencies Chart - The Blockbuster Movie
Algorithmic Awareness: Conversations with Young Canadians about Artificial Intelligence and Privacy
MediaSmarts conducted focus groups with youth ages 13 to 17 to gain insight into how young Canadians understand the relationships between artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms, privacy, and data protection. Participants played a game prototype designed by MediaSmarts’ education team, and a scaffolded learning experience allowed for in-depth discussion after each of the three phases of gameplay. These conversations highlight that while youth understand and appreciate the benefits of recommendation algorithms, they are troubled by algorithmic data collection and data sharing practices. This research is a call for more algorithmic literacy tools and resources that will give youth the knowledge they need to protect themselves and their information in digital spaces.Health and science misinformation
Though health and science topics are subject to the same kinds of misinformation found everywhere, there are two types that are particularly common in these fields: denialism and snake oil.
Legislation
Internationally, a wide range of legislation has been developed in order to manage and protect individual’s personal information. Canada’s public and private sector are governed separately in terms of privacy protection.
Cyber Security Consumer Tip Sheet: Protecting yourself from Malware
Malware is a general term to describe destructive programs that can harm your computer or any other device that connects to the Internet, including smart phones, mp3 players and tablets.
Changing the World, Online and Off
The classic 1985 science fiction novel Ender's Game is one of several books of that period that foresaw both the advent of the Internet and its eventual importance in society. While certain aspects of its portrayal seem dated – in particular, it more resembles the text-based bulletin board systems of the time than today's graphic Web – one element stands out as being particularly prescient: the use of the Internet to allow youth to participate fully in society. While today's young people aren't using the Internet to take over the world, as the characters in the novel do, they are increasingly using it to change the world, and more and more teachers are using the Internet to bring civic engagement into the classroom.