Critical media literacy in Canadian classrooms: The re-education of media savvy children

Over the latter half of the 20th century, a number of technological innovations brought about a major shift in the Canadian media environment whereby we have seen traditional media, such as newspapers and radio, eclipsed by ubiquitous, state-of-the-art technologies that are incredibly vivid and burgeoning with interactive potential. New media have appeared while older media have evolved to offer us hundreds of channels and virtually unlimited access to intonation and entertainment. Along with these developments, our acceptance and appetite for media and technology has also shifted. Cable and satellite subscriptions, Internet access, and mobile telephone use have also increased substantially in the last decade. Given what appears to be a vigorous proliferation of media technology, it is hardly surprising that children are becoming remarkably 'media savvy'. Many children today can program a VCR or a mobile phone; they can navigate the Web while "chatting" on-line with friends across the globe; and they can manipulate the most advanced video and computer games, which can be an awkward task for most adults. But trying to keep pace with technology can be a difficult and expensive challenge, particularly as the competitive market for technological goods renders equipment obsolete ever-more rapidly, year by year.