New federal funding gives a boost to digital literacy in Canada

In partnership with MediaSmarts, Hands On Media is excited to announce that our Digital Literacy Training Program for Canadian Educators will be expanded over the next year and a half to reach each and every faculty of education in Canada!

This expanded roll out is part of the Canadian government’s new CanCode program. The government announced last week that it would be investing $50 million over two years to support initiatives providing educational opportunities for coding and digital skills development to Canadian youth from kindergarten to grade 12, as well as initiatives providing teachers with the training and professional development required to introduce such skills in the classroom. In particular, the program aims to equip young people and traditionally underrepresented groups with the skills necessary to prepare for a rapidly changing job market. 

The original pilot program involved the delivery of 11 workshops to faculties of education across Canada. The new funding means that MediaSmarts and Hands On Media will be able to provide digital literacy training to 3,500 new teachers in both English and French, who will in turn reach an estimated 300,000 students. The training is based on MediaSmarts’ innovative Digital Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools, which identifies seven essential aspects of digital literacy and provides important information about each one, as well as model lessons for all grade levels.

You can download a full printable PDF of the Digital Literacy Framework here.

You can also learn more about Hands On Media and the other customizable workshops we offer for students and educators here, or by contacting us directly!