Media and Girls

They have ads of how you should dress and what you should look like and this and that, and then they say, 'but respect people for what they choose to be like.' Okay, so which do we do first?" 

Kelsey, 16, quoted in Girl Talk

MediaSmarts launches new program to teach Canadian youth to act ethically online

Ottawa, ON (October 1, 2013) – In recognition of Cyber Security Month, MediaSmarts—a Canadian centre for digital and media literacy—has launched a series of digital citizenship resources. Stay on the Path: Teaching Kids to be Safe and Ethical Online is a new program for parents and teachers to teach young people to be ethical online citizens.

Outcome Chart - Ontario - Geography CGO4M: Spatial Technologies in Action

This chart contains media-related learning outcomes from Ontario, Curriculum for Geography CGO4M: Spatial Technologies in Action, with links to supporting resources on the MediaSmarts site.

Outcome Chart - Manitoba - Career Development 12: Full Credit

This chart contains media-related learning outcomes from Manitoba, Curriculum for Career Development 12: Full Credit, with links to supporting resources on the MediaSmarts site.

A laptop in every pot

The old saying that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer applies to cyberspace, too: these maps comparing router and population density show that the developing world has a long way to go to catch up to North America, Western Europe and Japan when it comes to getting online. The One Laptop Per Child project aims to change all that, designing, constructing and distributing Internet-ready laptops to children in developing countries.

Responding to Plagiarism

While youth actively participate in copying, with 95 percent of students in a 2017 survey admitting to participating in some sort of cheating,[i] they have trouble seeing their acts of plagiarism as having a victim. Ultimately, if nobody is hurt then we are unlikely to feel empathy and without that it’s hard to see something as being morally wrong.

Marketing to Teens: Alternate Ads

In this lesson students look at less obvious methods used by advertisers to reach consumers. Students first learn about “soft sell” ads that don’t make specific claims about a product. They then consider reasons why companies choose to use them over hard sell techniques. They will then focus specifically on why various companies might choose to use soft sell techniques as subtle forms of advertising in groups.

Outcome Chart - Ontario - Geography CGG3O: Travel and Tourism: A Geographic Perspective

This chart contains media-related learning outcomes from Ontario, Curriculum for Geography CGG3O: Travel and Tourism: A Geographic Perspective, with links to supporting resources on the MediaSmarts site.

Outcome Chart - Alberta - Knowledge and Employability Social Studies Grade 10

This outcome chart contains Media literacy learning expectations from the Alberta social studies curriculum, with links to supporting resources on the MediaSmarts site.