To assist teachers in facilitating online safety, digital literacy and web awareness, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment licenses three resources from Canada’s leader in digital literacy, Mediasmarts:

• Passport to the internet. This resource is intended for Grade 4-8 students. Its five modules focus on social networking and privacy; tricks of the trade of online advertisers; authentication skills and judging reliability through a mock search engine; safe and wise web surfing; and ethical use of messaging services.
• MyWorld. This resource is intended for high school students. Its four chapters aim to teach authenticating online information; managing your reputation and privacy online; dealing with online relationships; and acting ethically online.
• Web Awareness Workshop Series. This resource is intended for adults who need to “keep ahead of kids on prevailing internet issues.” The self-directed and group delivery learning tools offer teachers a comprehensive program on safety, privacy, marketing, cyberbullying, and evaluation of online information.

To learn more about the NWT’s use of our Mediasmarts subscription, please see http://mediasmarts-k12-nwt.wikispaces.com/home.