New tips and resources on screen time for parents

Kids today are using screens more, earlier, and on a wider variety of devices than ever before, and more and more parents are seeking help in taking control of their children’s screen time.

Elementary Cycle Three

In the Quebec elementary English Language Arts curriculum, representing literacy in different media is a core competency. According to the End-of-Cycle-Outcomes for Cycle Three,

Social Studies

The Nova Scotia social studies curriculum includes expectations that incorporate media education themes. The curriculum document Foundation for the Atlantic Canada English Language Arts Curriculum: Social Studies (1999) includes a section that demonstrates the complementary relationship between media literacy and arts education:

How Do Canadians Get Their News?

If a news consumer reads a headline from The Globe and Mail while searching Google News, is the story from Google or The Globe? What about if a friend posts the story on Facebook; is the story from the friend, Facebook or The Globe? How can the complexities of what is meant by “source” in a converged news environment be accounted for?

Beyond the Screen

Media educator John Pungente's series Beyond the Screen, airing on Bravo!, now has its own Web site, where teachers can find resources and tips on integrating the series into their classrooms. Father John Pungente, a longtime media educator and founding Board member of MNet, planned the series as a follow-up to his acclaimed Scanning the Movies. Like its predecessor, Beyond the Screen is intended as a way of teaching viewers to “read” movies. In Beyond the Screen Pungente uses clips from current movies and interviews with cast and crew to shed light on filmmaking techniques, genre, and theme. The Web site offers showtimes and previews of upcoming episodes and links to teachers' guides. (So far the only guide that's been posted is for Speed Racer, but the guide for The Dark Night should be up shortly; upcoming episodes on Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince should be popular as well.)

Data Defenders: Understanding data collection online

In this lesson, students explore the concepts relating to data collection that are introduced in the educational game Data Defenders. The lesson will underscore for students the idea that their data is valuable and worthy of careful management by analyzing the platforms, applications and websites they use through the lens of the five privacy tools (which address the five principal ways data is collected online) introduced in Data Defenders. Finally, students consider how to apply these tools to their own online activities.

Outcome Chart - British Columbia - Physical and Health Education Grade 10

Big Ideas

• Healthy choices influence, and are influenced by, our physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

Curricular Competencies

Healthy and active living

• Analyze and explain how health messages might influence health and well-being
• Analyze how health-related decisions support the achievement of personal healthy-living goals

Social and community health

Drama 20

Overall Expectations:

CP20.3 Investigate artistic voice and perspectives of the “other”(e.g., marginalized individuals and communities, silenced people in history, powerful figures, celebrities, extraterrestrials, fictional characters) through works of dramatic art.

Specific Expectations:

c. Discuss issues of appropriation of culture, ideas and voice and its connection to respect, integrity, intellectual property and the representation of own and others’ work in drama and theatre.

“Mean girl” stereotype not supported in new national cyberbullying study

Ottawa, ON (March 18, 2014) – New national research indicates that Canadian youth face a range of mean and cruel online behaviours with varying degrees of seriousness and impact – with girls more likely than boys to be the recipients.

Privacy and Bullying

Despite their enthusiastic participation in social media, it’s a mistake to think that young people don’t care about privacy. MediaSmarts’ 2014 study Young Canadians in a Wired World, which surveyed over 5,000 students across Canada on their experiences with and attitudes towards digital media, found that they do have very strong feelings about their privacy, and take significant steps to control it.