Youth-centered publishing and multimedia training at Tiny Giant Magazine

who are we?
TG Magazine started out as Canadian High News in 1940. Founded by high school student Robert McMichael, TG has been publishing the work of young Canadians for more than 60 years. At TG, we have become expert at developing and producing a variety of educational materials with the participation of and direct input from high school students themselves.

Increasingly, we have taken on more and more co-op students, and our projects have involved more and more youth in communications, publishing, media, teamwork and leadership training. These students learn to run a small business, hands-on.

We have grown from a successful magazine into an online, youth-centered publishing and multimedia training centre with a truly innovative co-op program.

Our goal is to pass on the skills of modern publishing and communications technology to students, to teach them the skills and attitudes involved in running a business, and to develop a mechanism for gathering and publishing their ideas in many media, on a national basis.

This exciting new program combines media and literacy education, information and internet technology, co-op programming, career and post-secondary school articulation, business skills and critical learning in the context of hands-on execution.

what do co-op students learn here?
Each school term, our full-time professional staff and part-time youth coordinators work with up to 6 co-op students from different schools in the Metro Toronto area and in Ottawa. In addition, we work with high school students in other parts of Ontario and from across Canada through our innovative "online" co-op program.

Co-op students create and publish materials, by and for youth, in a variety of formats (print, web, video, audio and CD) for local, regional and national educational and business markets.

Because our educational materials are produced by and for youth, our high school co-op students are an integral part of production work. As they contribute to real final products, co-op students learn:

-- Office Technology skills (photocopier, fax, modem, postage meter and scales)

-- Business skills (phone, mail, correspondence, memos, filing, circulation and distribution)

-- Computer skills (text, photos, graphic design, scanning, drawing, film, databases, video)

-- Reporting skills (research, interviewing, headlines, story leads, quotes)

-- Writing skills (articles, opinion pieces, music, product and video reviews)

-- Editorial skills (reviewing submissions, blocking out an issue, editing, proofing)

-- Visual communication skills (thumbnail sketches, layout, photo shoots, colour, artwork)

-- Internet skills (web site planning & production, web page design, web art, photo, video design & production, email, electronic communities, discussion forums, web chats)

-- Employability skills (teamwork, learning, computation, adaptability, leadership, communication, self-management, computer, problem-solving, interpersonal and initiative)

As they work with each other and with TG staff, co-op students build:
-- self-confidence, maturity and self-esteem
-- teamwork and leadership skills
-- comprehension, analysis, problem-solving, planning skills
-- personal sense of integrity and positive attitudes toward work
-- awareness of the demands, expectations and responsibilities of employment
-- knowledge of entrepreneurship and running a small business
-- knowledge of potential career choices

where are we?
We are located at 23 Isabella St. (between Bloor and Wellesley subways stops), in the heart of downtown Toronto. Or in Ottawa at CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario), 401 Smyth Rd. in the Youth Net portable.

If you'd like more information on how you can participate in TG's Co-operative Education Program, call or write to:
Craig Sweeney
The Students Commission/Tiny Giant Magazine
23 Isabella St.
Toronto, Ontario
M4Y 1M7
Telephone: (416) 597-8297
FAX: (416) 597-0661
craig@tgmag.ca

For Ottawa:
Nishad Khanna
The Students Commission Ottawa Office
Telephone: (613) 737-7600 ext.2764
nish@tgmag.ca

Our co-op program is almost as old as the organization itself, check out this long list of students who have helped us over the years.