Articles Archive - 2009

Media Literacy Week 2009: Critical thinking for the digital age

Today’s young people use digital media every day in ways that were unimaginable even ten years ago to connect with friends, seek out information and entertainment, and express themselves. Digital media present enormous opportunities and tremendous challenges for this first generation of "digital natives," and they need the appropriate critical thinking skills to understand and get the most out of new media.

It’s not enough to teach young Canadians how to use these technologies. If we want to ensure their well-being and healthy development, and prepare them for the knowledge-based economies of the future, we need to support children and youth in learning the media literacy skills they need for the digital age.

Helping young people become media literate isn’t just the responsibility of educators. Parents, librarians, Guide and Scout leaders, coaches, camp counsellors, paediatricians – anyone and everyone working with children and youth – have a role to play. To facilitate this, Media Awareness Network (MNet) and the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) are partnering to host the fourth annual Media Literacy Week, November 2-6, 2009. Together, MNet and CTF are encouraging Canadians across the country to get involved in media literacy activities in their communities.

This year’s theme – Media Literacy in the Digital Age – emphasizes the multiple literacy skills needed by today’s youth for accessing, evaluating, repurposing, creating and distributing digital media content. How do young people find, evaluate and make sense of online information? Do they understand the issues related to online privacy and marketing? Do they engage appropriately in participatory online communities? Although young people easily acquire the skills to navigate new technologies, they still require adult guidance and mentorship to develop the critical thinking skills they need for active and engaged online citizenship.

MNet and CTF, both long-time supporters of media literacy initiatives in Canada, are working with a diverse group of collaborators to develop and promote a wide-range of media literacy activities for Media Literacy Week, including youth forums, media production workshops, panel discussions, parent information sessions, professional development workshops and conference presentations.

This year’s collaborators include: London Public Library, Pacific Cinémathèque, Concerned Children’s Advertisers, Association for Media Literacy, Canadian Association of Media Education Organizations, McGill University Faculty of Education, Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence, University of Guelph - Media Education Project, National Film Board of Canada, Simon Fraser University, Ontario Library Association, YOUCAN, English Montreal School Board, British Columbia Association for Media Education, The Director's Cut, Lighthouse Media Group, CITIZENshift and REEL CANADA.

There are many ways that collaborators can become involved – from small classroom-based projects to large scale public events.

An example of an engaging school-based activity is the initiative Take 2: The Student's Point of View [http://take2videos.ning.com/]. Sharon Peters, a teacher at The Study, a Montreal-based school for girls, had students in her Grade 10 multimedia class participate in the pilot year of this project, which empowers students to become global citizens through the use of digital media.

Her class was provided with professional high definition footage filmed at a Sudanese refugee camp in Chad, which they used to create meaningful documentaries about the Darfur crisis. To share their work, foster collaboration between students at other participating schools, and receive expert feedback on their videos, students created a social networking site for the project. They also produced weekly podcasts about the Darfur conflict which were posted on the Take 2 Web site. [http://take2videos.org/index.html]

This is but one great example of the many exciting media literacy activities taking place across Canada throughout the year. CTF and MNet are looking for other innovative ideas to feature on the Media Literacy Week Web site and in the electronic bulletin for this event. Contact us at mlw@media-awareness.ca to share ongoing media literacy projects or your ideas and plans for marking the week this November, and we’ll add them to the list of activities and events.

We encourage everyone to mark their calendars now for this year’s Media Literacy Week and plan to get involved. For more information on how you can take part, visit www.medialiteracyweek.ca.

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Media Awareness Network (MNet) is a Canadian not-for-profit centre of expertise in media literacy. Its vision is to ensure children and youth possess the necessary critical thinking skills and tools to understand and actively engage with media. MNet's programs are funded by its public and private sector sponsors and partners, who include: CTVglobemedia • Canwest • TELUS • Canadian Internet Registration Authority • CTV • National Film Board of Canada • Government of Canada.

Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) represents nearly 200,000 Canadian teachers across the country. For nearly 90 years, CTF has advanced the cause of children, defended the rights of teachers and promoted a strong public education system. Further, they have championed the increase and strengthening of the practice of media education in Canadian classrooms.

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