HomeMy WebLinkAboutMedia savvy kids are vital to future of democracy OPINION - Toronto Star - 06/01/2018 - Toronto Star - 06/01/20186/1/2018
Media savvy kids are vital to future of democracy I The Star
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r Opinion - Public Editor
Media savvy kids are vital to future
of democracy
By KATHY ENGLISH Public Editor
Fri., June 1, 2o18
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on the media for news and information.
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6/1/2018
Media savvy kids are vital to future of democracy I The Star
Grade 5 students at Silverthorn Public School in Mississauga get ballo
ready for a student vote on Monday. (CIVIX/TWITTER) I
Within the increasingly complex media ecosystem, it is the journalist's job to provide
citizens with fair and accurate information they need to make educated decisions at the
ballot box. And it is the citizen's job to analyze, evaluate and understand the news and
Given this imperative, I am pleased to tell you about a vital new program launched in
Ontario schools this month to help students — our voters of our future — understand the
NewsWise, a national news literacy program for students in Grades 5 to 12, was create
through a partnership between the Canadian Journalism Foundation (full disclosure:
am a CH board member) and CIVIX, a national non-profit that works with elementa
and high school teachers to promote civic education among students. CIVIX also runs
Student Vote, a program that provides opportunities for students to participate in mo
elections during provincial and federal election campaigns. I
NewWise, funded by a $500,000 from Google Canada, has distributed le
grantsson
plans to 2,500 Ontario teachers in recent weeks. Still in its pilot phase, the full program
will be rolled out in advance of the 2019 federal election.
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6/1/2018
Media savvy kids are vital to future of democracy I The Star
"NewsWise lessons explore the relationship between journalism and democracy, help
students to recognize the standards of fact -based journalism, discern fact from opinion,
identify the different types of wrong information that circulate online, and provide tools
and strategies for evaluating the credibility of information on the internet," states a CJF-
CIVIX brief about the new program.
We should not make the mistake of believing that the ease with which our children
manipulate their iPhones and explore new apps means they understand media or they
can discern trustworthy information amid the noise and nonsense of the digital
environment.
"There is a perception that 'digital natives' already know how to use the internet and
everything on it. But there is a significant difference between the ability to use
technology intuitively, and the critical skills required to understand how online
platforms work, and how to determine what information is worth trusting," the program
brief states.
Clearly, our young people need this information. As the NewWise team points out, a
recent Stanford University study of 8,000 middle, high school and college students
indicated a consistent failure in such tasks as distinguishing news from advertising,
identifying the source of a tweeted fact, or recognizing that a website was created for PI
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Certainly more knowledge about the electoral process and the civic function of
journalism is necessary.
As Martin Regg Cohn, the Star's Ontario columnist, wrote in a recent column about thQ,
worsening voter turnout in Ontario and why young people vote less than older citizens:
"The democratic deficit flows from a knowledge deficit."
Cohn cited a Campaign Research poll conducted in March that indicated roughly half of
you people aged 18 to 24 feel they don't have enough information to "make an
informed decision when it's time to vote in a provincial election" — 47 per cent,
compared to 41 per cent who do.
Developed in consultation with news leaders throughout Canada and beyond, NewWise
aims to help students cultivate — from an early age — news consumption habits that
support informed citizenship.
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6/1/2018
Media savvy kids are vital to future of democracy I The Star
Through videos delivered through a Newwise YouTube channel and hands-on exercises,
including learning how to fact -check information and images, NewWise will help
students understand how quality journalism is produced and determine which sources
of information are relia
"One of the most pressing issues facing democracies today is the spread of mis- and
disinformation says Natalie Turvey, CH's executive director. "Being able to determi
what is fact or fiction online is an essential skill of the digital age. I
"NewWise starts int e classroom toequip the next generation of news consumers with
the tools and skills they need to be good citizens and to think critically about what they
see online."
This new program makes good sense in a time when the need for media literacy has
never been greater. We can all benefit from the knowledge and wisdom it offers.
Kathy English is the Star's public editor and based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @kathyenglish
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Media savvy kids are vital to future of democracy I The Star
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