The impact of stereotyping on young people

Generations of North American children have grown up watching “cowboys and Indians” films and TV shows and reading books such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Little House on the Prairie. Popular films and novels reinforced the notion that Indigenous people existed only in the past—forever chasing buffalo or being chased by the cavalry. These images showed them as destined to remain on the margins of “real” society. Such impressions and childhood beliefs, set at an early age, are often the hardest to shake: as Anishinaabe writer Jesse Wente explains, “In the absence of appropriate representations of Indigenous Peoples in the media, misrepresentations become the accepted ‘truth.’”^[1]

Sharing Social Media as a Family

I think every kid should know how to swim. It’s one of those crucial life skills that must be in everyone’s arsenal. That’s why my husband and I introduced our kids to water at the earliest possible opportunity. First in the bath and the shower (okay, so maybe these are more about hygiene), and then we graduated to sprinklers and inflatable pools, wading pools, beaches, and lakes. As soon as the kids were old enough we signed them up for swimming lessons.

Canada's wired kids: connected, active and younger than ever

Ottawa, November 7, 2005 – Young Canadians are more connected than ever and at a surprisingly early age, seeking new ways to optimize the Internet’s social and educational opportunities, according to new research released today by Media Awareness Network (MNet).

Career and Technology Studies

Career and Technology Studies (CTS) is a complementary program designed for Alberta's secondary school students.

Music 9-12

The Manitoba Curriculum Framework of Outcomes for Music 9-12 (2014) identifies four essential learning areas:

Making (M-M) The learner develops understanding of and facility with language and practices for making music.

Creating (M-CR) The learner generates, develops, and communicates ideas for creating music.

Connecting (M-C) The learner develops understandings about the significance of music by connecting music to diverse contexts.

Digital Skills for Democracy: Assessing online information to make civic choices

In this activity, students :

• think about the importance of making sure they have trustworthy information before they make a decision on a political or electoral issue
• explore a series of scenarios designed to teach five strategies for verifying information: find the original, verify the source, check other information, read factchecking articles, and turn to places you trust 
• reflect on the impact of false and misleading information in politics

Tobacco, alcohol and cannabis

“Advertising has always sold anxiety, and it certainly sells anxiety to the young. It’s always telling them they’re losers unless they’re cool.” (Mark Crispin Miller, The Merchants of Cool, 2000)

New Canadian research reveals that parents need more resources and tools to become digital role models to kids

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, October 22, 2018– Technology is keeping families and households more connected than ever before but parents feel they need more resources to be better digital role models, according to the latest research on digital parenting and the digital well-being of Canadian families released today by MediaSmarts.

Is your screen use creative?

If you’re wondering how to get started making media on your phone, tablet or computer, animation is a great place to start. You can start doing it as a family activity even when kids are very young and they’ll soon be able to do almost everything themselves.