Tag Archive for: safety

Develop your child’s media literacy skills – Internet + Media Mini-edu Session

/in , /by

Today’s lesson, and the final for the Internet + Media series, focuses on media literacy.

Media literacy means being able to see, review and think about the media a person is watching or reading – to understand what the message of the media is. Media is everywhere: TV shows, advertisements, movies, music, video games, magazines and newspapers. Having strong media literacy skills as a child helps to develop the ability to think about what the main message a piece of media is and how the message relates to the child’s world and values.

Consider the following tips to help your child develop media literacy skills:

1)Watch with them

Have a family movie night or tune in with your kids for their Saturday morning cartoons. By watching together, you can see exactly what messages your child is seeing. You can ask questions about what they think they are seeing and how they believe it fits with your family’s values.

2)Let them be the DJ

Let your child pick the radio station or what songs play in the car ride to school. Not only will it give you more of an idea of what kind of music they like, but you can ask questions about what they are listening to. Ask them what the lyrics mean and what the singer is expressing in their song. What does your child like about the song?

3)Encourage them to create their own media

When children are given a chance to create media, they can think more about what goes into the message they are trying to send out. You can guide them to make a magazine, film a short video or create a family TikTok video.

4)Have a conversation about representation

An important skill in media literacy is recognizing who is and who is not represented in a piece of media and how people are portrayed. By asking these questions to your child and having a conversation about representation, it allows for honest conversations about values, diversity and inclusion.

Developing media literacy skills can help strengthen a child’s sense of identity and belonging and have a greater respect for others.

For more information about media literacy, visit mediasmarts.ca for more parent tips about media literacy.

 

 

Gender differences on display in white board exercise

/in /by

photo 1-2

Men are from Mars, women are from Venus, or so the saying goes. But are we really that different? When it comes to safety, the precautions women take to be safe after a fun night out are completely different than men.

This is what two Red Deer College (RDC) third-year BScN students found out after hosting an information and white board exercise at The Forum in RDC on January 30, 2018.

The purpose of the exercise was to raise awareness between the existing gender differences on what people do each and every day to stay safe.

There was great student participation during the white board exercise, said the two RDC students. The exercise allowed the pair to work within the student population, gather data, have meaningful discussions and bring awareness to issues surrounding sexual assault.

Female students indicated they do things like lock their doors, keep their cellphone available, “avoid dark alleys” and “don’t wear revealing clothing,” to be safe. Male students wrote things like use an uber or cab and “appear approachable.”

This event was a precursor to a reflection event planned for International Women’s Day also to be held at RDC. The This is What I Was Wearing When It Happened exhibit will bring awareness to the issue of victim blaming and the stigma surrounding women’s clothing as the reason why they were sexually assaulted.