OTTAWA, March 31, 2016 /CNW/ - To help young people make informed decisions when going online, MediaSmarts, Canada's centre for digital and media literacy, has launched a new educational game, Click if You Agree. The game teaches teens and preteens the skills they need to read and understand the legal policies on websites and in software they use.
Legal documents like privacy policies (which deal with personal data use and sharing) and terms of use (which provide detailed conditions for use and are sometimes called terms of service) can be daunting, even for adults. By glossing over these documents, the user is at risk of agreeing to obligations or use of their private details that they may not be comfortable with.
"Our research has continually found that the websites, apps and online games used by young Canadians are overwhelmingly commercial, so they need to know exactly what they're consenting to when they sign up to socialize and play," says Jane Tallim, Co-Executive Director of MediaSmarts. "Without realizing it, kids could be giving away photos, locations and other sensitive private data."
Click if You Agree takes players through various online scenarios where they need to find relevant information in privacy policies and terms of use documents in order to decide what to do. Based on standard policies and terms and written in legal-sounding language, these documents teach students how to scan for and spot the information that matters to them. The scenarios reflect common online environments popular with teens: an online multiplayer game, a music store, a photo application and a social media site.
Click if You Agree works on desktop, laptop and tablets making it a useful tool for homes and classrooms. Aimed at 12- to 14-year-olds, the game can be played at home with parents -- who may also need help sharpening their skills in understanding these common, dense documents. Teachers can see how Click if You Agree fits into their lesson plans using curriculum charts contained in an accompanying Teachers' Guide.
To play Click if You Agree and other education games, you can visit MediaSmarts.ca, or contact [email protected]. This project has been funded by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC).
About MediaSmarts
MediaSmarts is a Canadian not-for-profit centre for digital and media literacy. Its vision is that young people have the critical thinking skills to engage with media as active and informed digital citizens. MediaSmarts offers hundreds of digital and media literacy resources for teachers, parents and educators on its website, mediasmarts.ca. @mediasmarts
SOURCE MediaSmarts
Alex Hosselet, Marketing and Communications Manager, MediaSmarts, 613-224-7721, ext. 231, [email protected]
Share this article