PROV Alberta 2 – canadiansformedialiteracy.org

ALBERTA RESIDENTS

Thank you for supporting this campaign. If you've read what this is all About, and you'd like to send a letter or email to your Ministry of Education and Childcare, below are three letters with suggested wording.

To send email:

Select one of the three suggested letters below. To send an email, click on the link at the end of your chosen letter and it will will pop up a message using your default email already filled in with: your Education minister's email address, a subject line, and the text of the letter. Edit as needed, add your name and postal code, and send. .

Having problems? See FAQ & Troubleshooting

To send postal mail:

Select one of the three suggested letters, copy and paste into a document. Edit, print, and mail to the officials listed under Who to Contact (column to the right). This is definitely more effort but it's also very effective. It signals that you care enough to put a stamp on it.

Finally ...

One letter/email is good. But two or three are better. Ministers' staff track the correspondence they receive and who sends them. They'll take the issue more seriously if you send two or more letters/emails. Even more seriously if you leave a phone message. That's why there are 3 options, so you can send more than one. HINT: 1 per week for 3 weeks would be nice.

And furthermore ...

The gears of government grind slowly. But parents, students, and residents have the means to make timely changes at your own schools. In addition to writing letters, parents can advocate with their Parent Advisory Committees (PAC). School principals are required to attend PAC meetings and the committee can ask principals to raise the issue to the district level PAC. Students can also express concerns and advocate for change.

Option A: emphasis on protection and mental health

Ministry of Education and Childcare

Hon. Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister

Lora Pillipow, Deputy Minister

Subject: Digital Media Literacy in our schools

Dear Honourable Minister and Deputy Minister:

I am asking our province to make digital media literacy a mandatory part of our K – 12 school curriculum. Digital literacy education should be mandatory, not optional, as it is now. Our school system needs to do more if we are to protect young Canadians. We must protect our children’s mental health, give them the tools and critical thinking skills to help them resist online manipulation, bullying, recruitment by extremist groups, and much more.

The Scandinavian countries have done so for decades. Their schools have comprehensive media literacy education programs designed to protect children’s mental health and develop the critical thinking skills they will need as responsible adults.

If we want our children to be equipped to deal with the increasing complexities and dangers of the digital world, the only responsible choice is to make media literacy education mandatory in our schools.

Sincerely,

[ your name, postal code]

Click here to send this email

Option B: Emphasis on difficulties controlling sources of disinformation

Hon. Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister

Lora Pillipow, Deputy Minister

Ministry of Education and Childcare

Subject: Digital Media Literacy learning is essential

Dear Honourable Minister and Deputy Minister:

I am extremely concerned about the influence of online disinformation on Canadian children and young adults. It’s time for our province and our country to make digital media literacy courses mandatory for K – 12. Countries such as Finland, Sweden, and Norway did this long ago; they’re not counting on tech companies to do the right thing and it’s nearly impossible to enforce a ban on social media.

Although our schools teach elements of digital media literacy, these courses are not mandatory and they should be. Disinformation floods our lives, delivered through social networks and Internet channels. It gets worse every day with trolls, bots, and AI-generated disinformation manipulating our children’s thoughts and emotions.

We can’t control the sources of disinformation, but we can give children the skills to discern and resist harmful messages. We can try to make sure the messages don’t land.

Sincerely,

[ your name, postal code]

Click here to send this email

Option C: Emphasis on success in adult life

Hon. Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister

Lora Pillipow, Deputy Minister

Ministry of Education and Childcare

Subject: Digital Media Literacy needs to be a required part of the core curriculum

Dear Honourable Minister and Deputy Minister:

If you believe that our education system has a responsibility to prepare our children for the adult world, then our schools need to make sure they have the digital media literacy skills to navigate that world. In the Scandinavian countries, media literacy courses are a required part of the K – 12 curriculum. Yet in our schools they are optional even as the pace of social and technological change accelerates.

Our schools need to incorporate digital media literacy education as a required and core competency within the school curriculum. This applies not only to students but also teachers, who need support such as continuous professional development and regular updates to teaching tools and resources.

The result will be future generations of adult Canadians who are resilient and knowledgeable, able discern disinformation, able to apply critical thinking to civic engagement.

Sincerely,

[ your name, postal code]