MediaSmarts launches comprehensive digital literacy framework for Canadian schools

The framework Use, Understand and Create: A Digital Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools (Kindergarten to 8^e year) is a cross-cutting program aimed at supporting teachers by providing them with a wide range of tools to give students the knowledge they need for the digital age.

The framework Use, understand and create Provides teachers with access to free digital literacy resources for the classroom, based on the expectations of their provincial or territorial curriculum. It is based on research conducted by MediaSmarts and contained in a new report released yesterday, entitled Defining digital literacy policy and practice in the Canadian education landscape, which provides a detailed assessment of the current state of digital literacy education in Canada. “Through our research, we were able to see how digital literacy fits in all Canadian curricula, which has helped us to create a practical curriculum for teachers so that they can provide even the youngest students, the skills necessary for today's digital world, ”says Jane Tallim, co-executive director of MediaSmarts, the organization behind the resource.

The framework Use, understand and create includes over 50 interactive lessons and games, organized by grade, from kindergarten to grade 8^e year (2^e secondary), which respect six key aspects of digital literacy:

• Discovery and verification: Search and authentication ranks first among the digital literacy skills students most want to learn: Students will better understand the Internet as a valuable source of information while recognizing the many pitfalls of online information.
• Ethics and empathy: L'interactivity is one of the key characteristics of digital media. Students will learn to recognize 'empathy traps' that might prevent them from empathizing with others online and how to deal with their own emotions when communicating online.
• Privacy and Security: Students will learn skills to actively manage their online privacy, deciding what to share and with whom to share, while remembering that it is never entirely possible to control who will see content. that they display.
• Digital health: Students will learn strategies for balancing screen time and offline time, accessing information about physical and mental health and healthy sexuality, and dealing with virtual representations of gender, diversity and body image.
• Consumer awareness: Many advertisements target children online, and the most popular sites are often heavily marketed. Students will learn to recognize, deconstruct, and respond to online marketing, and understand when their privacy is violated.
• Community mobilization: Digital media provide unique opportunities for young people to engage, speak out and drive change both online and offline. Students will understand how digital citizenship gives them not only responsibilities, but also rights.

To explore the framework and download a copy of the Digital Literacy Education in Canada report, visit http://habilomedias.ca/ressources-pédagogiques/cadre-de-littératie-numérique.