Ms. Hill will champion digital and media literacy for the next generation of Canadian parents, teachers and youth
OTTAWA, July 5, 2018 – MediaSmarts, Canada’s centre for digital and media literacy, is excited to announce Kathryn Ann Hill as its next Executive Director. She replaces Cathy Wing and Jane Tallim, who are retiring from their roles as co-executive directors after more than 25 years of service to the organization.
Teachers can play a critical role in educating their students about AI, even if they aren’t experts on it. By addressing AI in ways that are designed to build students’ skills and teach them about the pitfalls of relying too much on it, teachers can help build the next generation of citizens who are empowered with the skills necessary to succeed in a world infused with AI technology.
Research has found that these things are most likely to be scary to children:
Time spent using devices is one of parents’ top concerns when it comes to their kids’ digital lives – and is the number one source of conflict between parents and children relating to technology use. It’s tempting for parents to act authoritatively and lay down the law on the number of hours their kids can spend on the computer, but in order to effectively address excessive use, there needs to be an active, voluntary commitment on the part of the young person to control their behaviour. Otherwise, kids will just find ways to work around their parents and be left to their own devices once they’re old enough to leave the house.
Outcome Chart - Saskatchewan - Social Studies 20 (Grade 11)
This lesson introduces students to the ways in which commercial apps and websites collect personal information from kids and to the issues surrounding children and privacy on the Internet. Students begin by considering how comfortable they would be with people knowing various things about them, and then watch and discuss a video which explains how targeted advertising works. They then explore the idea of targeted advertising through a class exercise in which Prince Charming tries to target Cinderella with an ad for glass slippers, and then analyze how their own personal information might be used to target them with ads. In the second part of the lesson, students are introduced to privacy policies and how they are rated by the website Terms of Service, Didn’t Read. They read and analyze the site’s rating for a popular app and then learn ways to limit data collection. In an extension activity, students are introduced to the idea of “dark patterns” and imagine how the Wicked Queen might use them to convince Snow White to accept “poison” cookies.
October 28, 2011 (Ottawa) – To mark Cyber Security Awareness Month, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) and Media Awareness Network (MNet) launched a new teaching unit to help students develop safe and secure online practices.
While studies show Canadian youth are more tech savvy than older Internet users, they are also more likely to take security risks online. Winning the Cyber Security Game aims to give students in grades 5-8 tools and strategies to mitigate and prevent negative online experiences.
It’s important to note that there is no single profile of a child who bullies. While some fit the traditional image of someone who is generally aggressive and has poor impulse control, others may be very sensitive to social nuances and are able to use that understanding against their targets. Others may be motivated simply by boredom.
Canada is a highly connected country: 96 percent of us have access to the internet. As technologies have improved to allow corporations, law enforcement and others to gather information and monitor activities online, media reports about violations or breaches of privacy are more and more frequent.
This outcome chart contains media-related learning outcomes from the Ontario, Grade 11 Healthy Active Living curriculum, with links to supporting resources on the MediaSmarts site.