Where no Eagles soar

This winter the Olympics return to Canada for the first time since the Calgary games of 1988. For many people, the most vivid memories of that Olympiad are the colourful stories of some of the less accomplished athletes, such as British ski jumper Michael “Eddie the Eagle” Edwards and the members of the Jamaican bobsled team. It's unlikely, though, that there will be any charming underdogs in this year's Olympiad, as the games become more and more the province of professionals. As audiences and advertising revenues drop, however, will the professionalization of the Games spell their downfall?

Do It Yourself

This is the first in a series of blogs looking at the history and future of Web 2.0. From Facebook pages to viral Barack Obama speeches, the latest boom to hit the media is the rise of user-created content. Services such as Facebook and YouTube have created a new business model: rather than selling content to consumers, as media companies traditionally have done.

Talking to kids about hate in media

Along with images of natural disasters and violence, one all-too-common news item that can be distressing to kids is reports of hate crimes. Seeing or hearing about hate-motivated assaults and vandalism of homes, cemeteries and places of worship in media, can lead to fear and anxiety in young people, especially if they belong to a vulnerable group. In many cases, the effect will be worse because news isn't the only place Canadian kids see hate and racism: almost half see hateful content online at least once a month, and one in six sees it every day.

Reality Check

This public awareness program, created in partnership between MediaSmarts and the Facebook Canadian Election Integrity Initiative, focuses on authentication of online information.

Outcome Chart - Northwest Territories - Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum Grade 4-6

This outcome chart contains media-related learning outcomes from the Northwest Territories - Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum Grade 4-6 curriculum, with links to supporting resources on the MediaSmarts site.

Prince Edward Island - English Language Arts 571A/B (Grade 11)

Reading and Viewing

SCO 5: Use personal strategies after reading to interpret the meaning of text.

Students who have achieved this outcome should be able to:

a. describe personal reactions

b. retell and summarize events and/or information

d. distinguish main ideas and supporting details

e. make text to self, text to text, and text to world connections

h. generate questions for further reflection or research

i. reflect on meaning making-processes

Outcome Chart - Ontario - Challenge and Change in Society 12 HSB4U

Outcome Chart - Ontario - Challenge and Change in Society 12 HSB4U

Supporting healthy media experiences for kids

Factors to keep in mind when prioritizing kids' media health

Children under two should spend as little time with screen devices as possible, except for video-chats with people they know offline and reading e-books with an adult or sibling.

Asking Questions About Media Violence

In January, American Vice-President Joe Biden met with video game industry representatives in the wake of the tragic events at Sandy Hook to discuss the possible relationship between video games and gun violence. Five days later, President Barack Obama asked the United States Congress to fund more research to study the potential link between violence and video games, noting that “We don’t benefit from ignorance”.

How can we judge health and science information?

Probably the most essential factor in accurately and objectively judging health and science information is to understand how science is done.