Media Literacy

A teenage girl types a nasty comment about the friend onto her Facebook page. A boy posts pictures of himself in gang attire. A young student wanders around the Internet, looking for information for a history project and unwittingly stumbles upon racist, illegitimate sites.

These are the kinds of experiences schools address on a daily basis. Any of these incidents could have occurred during the evening on a computer in the student's home. Increasingly, schools are expected to work with students on all aspects of media literacy, no matter where students are engaging with media. From ensuring students understand how to recognize legitimate websites, to making them aware of improper or even illegal uses of the Internet, schools are expected to deal with an ever-expanding menu of media literacy issues.

"Even if it's happening at home, if it's affecting the climate at school then the schools need to take it on," Jan Sippel, Coordinator of Abuse Prevention for the Vancouver School District said.

In an effort to help schools with this challenge, last summer, ERAC established an agreement with Media Awareness Network for its professional development series, "Web Awareness Workshops", and companion in-class resource for secondary students, "Reality Check! Evaluating Online Information". ERAC has made these resources available to ERAC members at no charge; they are available in both English and French.

Lisa Pedrini, Manger of Social Responsibility and Diversity for the Vancouver School District, calls Media Awareness Network the "go-to" resource for teachers in her district. "For me, if anybody says 'Where can I get more information?' I always say, ‘Media Awareness Network’…It’s the go-to source."

Pedrini said she has used the resource to create PowerPoint presentation to use in speaking with parents. Often, she said, students are using the Internet inappropriately at home. By teaching parents more about media literacy, they engage parents as partners in the educational process.

Jan Sippel, Coordinator of Abuse Prevention for the Vancouver School District also sends administrators, teachers and parents to Media Awareness Network. She appreciates that it's Canadian, has useful materials, offers visual appeal and is easy to use. Sippel realizes schools are already expected to provide students with a lot of information outside of the direct curriculum but said schools really have no choice when it comes to media literacy, because it’s so important. "Unfortunately, it's one more thing schools have to take on."