Developing and Implementing a Trauma- and Violence-Informed Approach in Digital Media Literacy Education.
This Resource Spotlight was presented on March 27, 2025.
In this Resource Spotlight presenters from MediaSmarts- Canada's centre for digital media literacy- share key learnings and best practices in implementing a trauma-informed lens in digital media literacy education and facilitation. The presenters guide participants through the trauma- and violence-informed facilitation handbook developed as part of the Resilience through DigitalSmarts program. The handbook provides a guide to trauma- and violence-informed facilitation practices with a focus on online facilitation and program delivery. While the handbook is grounded in the context of digital media literacy education for survivors of technology-facilitated violence and abuse, it is useful for a wide range of projects, organizations, and individuals who want to introduce a trauma-informed approach in their program facilitation. Centering a trauma-informed lens was a new endeavour for MediaSmarts and the presenters will share what they have learned with those who find themselves in a similar place.
Recording
Learning Objectives
Following this Resource Spotlight, participants will:
- Gain an understanding of a trauma- and violence-informed approach to digital media literacy education and program facilitation.
- Consider ways to incorporate a trauma- and violence-informed approach in their own programs and facilitation practices.
- Identify immediate practical tools in trauma-informed facilitation for before, during, and after program facilitation.
Speakers
Dr. Kara Brisson-Boivin (She/Her) is the Director of Research for MediaSmarts- Canada's centre for digital media literacy. Kara is responsible for the planning, methodology, implementation, and dissemination of key findings from original MediaSmarts’ research studies as well as evaluations of MediaSmarts’ programs. She also holds an appointment as an Adjunct Research Professor in the Sociology and Anthropology Department at Carleton University. Kara brings to MediaSmarts extensive publication experience in academic journals, magazines, news op-eds and research blogs; and a background in presenting research to key stakeholders on parliamentary committees, at academic conferences, invited talks, panels, keynote addresses, and in media interviews. She works with partners across academia, industry, government, and community organizations on online issues including digital wellbeing, digital citizenship, digital equity and inclusion, privacy, hate, activism, and algorithms and artificial intelligence.
Vanessa Turyatunga (She/Her) is a Research and Evaluation Associate at MediaSmarts. She is responsible for supporting the research process: conducting literature reviews, preparing research ethics’ applications, designing mixed-methods studies, designing and conducting internal program evaluation, conducting statistical (quantitative) and thematic (qualitative) analysis of data, writing research reports, and knowledge dissemination. Vanessa holds a master's degree in religious studies from the University of Ottawa and is currently completing her PhD in Anthropology at Carleton University, Ottawa. She brings extensive publication and knowledge mobilization skills, as well as interdisciplinary, community-based and participant-focused research and program coordination experience to the research team. Vanessa's research interests include participatory action research, empowerment-based research methods and trauma- and violence-informed digital media literacy education.
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