MediaSmarts offers digital literacy workshops to New Brunswick and Manitoba libraries

OTTAWA, July 5. 2016 / CNW / - MediaSmarts, a leading Canadian center for media education and digital literacy, is pleased to announce that French-language libraries in New Brunswick and Manitoba now have free access to its licensed digital literacy program titled The Web and young people. This follows a similar partnership with Quebec libraries, which was launched in May 2015.

All the libraries throughout New Brunswick and the 16 French-language service points of the libraries in Manitoba will now have access to digital literacy tutorials that address a variety of online issues affecting children and youth. The program also includes a training component to educate librarians on these issues. This project, in partnership with the Manitoba Public Library Services Branch and the New Brunswick Public Library Service, is ensuring that library employees in both provinces are trained in digital literacy best practices and are able to do well. serve their communities.

Financial support for the program The Web and young people is offered by Bell under a seven-year funding agreement.

“Libraries are the most natural places to learn about the issues young people face while surfing the web,” says Cathy wing, co-executive director of MediaSmarts. " The program The Web and young people provides an opportunity for librarians to learn how to deal with these issues in their libraries through education and awareness. "

“As community spaces where all members of a community can connect to the digital world, libraries are ideal for bringing organizations and individuals together to acquire important digital literacy skills that teach us how to navigate the world. digital world in a productive and secure way, ”says Trevor Surgenor, Director of the Manitoba Public Library Services Branch.

Sylvie Nadeau, Executive Director of the New Brunswick Public Library Service, thanked MediaSmarts for making this resource accessible to New Brunswick public libraries. “As librarians, we want New Brunswickers to have access to free information, but we also want to make sure the information is safe, reliable and accurate. These workshops will help our employees and customers learn how to use the Internet safely and responsibly, and how to identify the right sources of information on the Web. "

The program The Web and young people includes six tutorials (in English and French) available to librarians online for professional development. Also, they can be presented to the general public in the form of workshops. The program, updated annually, examines a variety of issues relating to youth Internet use, including cyberbullying, online safety, privacy, online marketing, and authentication of information.

Each library will receive credentials, a link to the resource, and an email detailing the date and details of a training webinar on the resource. Public libraries can address their questions about access to the resource to MediaSmarts at licenses@habilomedias.ca.

About MediaSmarts
MediaSmarts is a Canadian non-profit center dedicated to media education and digital literacy. Its goal is to ensure that young people develop critical thinking skills that enable them to use media as active and informed digital citizens. MediaSmarts offers hundreds of media education and digital literacy resources to librarians, parents and educators on its website. MediaSmarts.ca

SOURCE MediaSmarts