Toronto Star Media Literacy Event: Presenter/Speaker Bios
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Author Joyce Grant has spent more than 15 years helping young people and educators develop media literacy and critical thinking skills to help them navigate the media and what they see and read online.
In 2023, she was awarded the Press Freedom Teaching Award by Global Youth and News Media in France, for her work helping to educate young people about media literacy and “fake news.” She is a co-founder of TeachingKidsNews.com, a website that makes news accessible to young people. She holds a journalism degree and she presents to students and educators about journalism and media literacy. She also tackles the subject in her award-winning book, “Can You Believe It? How to Spot Fake News and Find the Facts.” Joyce will talk about the importance of journalism in today’s increasingly divisive world. And she will introduce you to her multi-pronged approach to helping young people spot misinformation, find good sources and understand the importance of journalism today. |
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Nicole MacIntyre is the Editor-in-chief of the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest daily newspaper. She joined the paper in 2021 as a managing editor then the deputy editor, returning nearly two decades after she was part of the Star’s esteemed one-year internship program that has launched many of the country’s top journalists.
Previously, Nicole served as the deputy national editor and Toronto editor at the Globe and Mail, where she oversaw the paper’s award-winning coverage of health, education, regional politics, and breaking news. She was honored with the company’s top leadership award for her role guiding the newsroom through the pandemic. In the early years of her career, Nicole was an enterprising reporter covering crime and municipal politics in several of Ontario’s largest metro newsrooms. Nicole has a Master of Journalism from Western University. She lives in Toronto with her two children. |
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Jonathan Tilly is an accomplished educator with over 20 years of experience teaching across
primary, junior, and intermediate divisions. His passion for teaching is rooted in the belief in every child’s ability to learn, grow, and discover their incredible potential. From early on, the desire to guide students in this way has fuelled his enthusiasm for media literacy. This commitment to fostering critical thinking and informed citizenship led Jonathan to co-found Teaching Kids News in 2010, a news website dedicated to providing age-appropriate news articles for children along with context and reflections to allow for deeper and more significant connections. Through this initiative, he has played a vital role in helping young learners engage with current events and develop a well-rounded understanding of the world around them. Jonathan will discuss the need for teaching and learning media literacy in the classrooms of today. The conversation will begin with an exploration of how media literacy education has changed and evolved in the last twenty years and then offer insights to where it may be going. With this context in place, the conversation will shift to the challenges that are confronted when teaching media literacy, different approaches and strategies to overcome these obstacles, and the steps required to achieve the final aim: for all students to become a savvy and thoughtful consumer of all media. |
A big thank you to our sponsors for supporting media literacy in Ontario schools.
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