Category Archives: media literacy

MediaSmarts Tip Sheet – Helping Kids Cope With Media Coverage of War and Traumatic Events

As the Israel-Hamas conflict rages on, it is so important to equip ourselves with ways to support our children.  This tip sheet, created by MediaSmarts, a Canadian non-profit focusing on Media Literacy and Digital Citizenship, offers parents and teachers some invaluable suggestions. Tip Sheet – Helping Kids Cope With Media Coverage of War and Traumatic … Continue reading MediaSmarts Tip Sheet – Helping Kids Cope With Media Coverage of War and Traumatic Events

Everything You Need to Know About ChatGPT – Written by ChatGPT

What Is Chat GPT, How Does it Work, and How Can It Be Used to Cheat? Chat GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a large language model developed by OpenAI that uses machine learning algorithms to generate human-like text. It is trained on a vast amount of data and can generate text that is grammatically correct, … Continue reading Everything You Need to Know About ChatGPT – Written by ChatGPT

The News Literacy Project’s Checkology Program

I wanted to take a moment to highlight an incredible program for our students that is available online.  I have been both impressed and amazed by the work that The News Literacy Project is doing to help build critical thinking skills in students.  The News Literacy Project is a non-profit and nonpartisan organization that is … Continue reading The News Literacy Project’s Checkology Program

Learning to Assess Information Credibility with my Favourite Tree Octopus

A Fun Lesson for our grades 3-5 students Each student will need a device for this activity.  You will share the link to the following site with your students. https://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/   Teachers will then need to print the web evaluation checklist.  Click the button on the upper right hand corner ‘pop out’.  Only print page 1.  … Continue reading Learning to Assess Information Credibility with my Favourite Tree Octopus

The Sad Little Fact – Being a Fact-Finder in the Age of Misinformation

A fake fact is otherwise known as MISINFORMATION… Misinformation is ‘false or inaccurate information, especially that which is deliberately intended to deceive.’ Where do we hear this misinformation?  Unfortunately, the online world is absolutely full of it.  From youtube videos, to tiktok, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media, people are bombarded with fake facts and … Continue reading The Sad Little Fact – Being a Fact-Finder in the Age of Misinformation

Life Hacks That Seem Impossible Likely Are

There has been a rise in the past year of viral video ‘life hacks’ or ‘kitchen hacks’ depicting recipes or experiments that create impossible results.  These videos have kids rushing to try out these sometimes dangerous experiments thinking that incredible things will happen, only to be left disappointed that it didn’t work for them. What’s … Continue reading Life Hacks That Seem Impossible Likely Are

Seeing Should Not Always Mean Believing… Especially Online!

Here is a picture that’s been floating around online.  It is a photo of a Sea-Rex. What is your first reaction when you see this picture?  Do you think it’s real or fake?  Why?  What are some of the reasons you think people might post a photo like this online?  This is actually a photoshopped … Continue reading Seeing Should Not Always Mean Believing… Especially Online!