Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Are you curious about Instagram?

Just ran across another article on the MediaSmarts site by blogger Andrea Tomkins.


If you have heard of it but have not used it and are curious this is a good place to start educating yourself. Simply put, Instagram is a photography app for smart phones that allows one to both edit and share the photos. Andrea writes in her article about the basics of Instagram use and rules they have in their household about using the app. She also provides a link to A Parents' Guide to Instagram, which provides much more detail about Instagram and online sharing in general. MediaSmarts joined forces with Instagram and ConnectSafely to produce the guide.

Media Literacy Week in Canada and US

"Media Literacy Week is November 3-7. Co-hosted by MediaSmarts and the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, the official theme “Youth & Social Networking: Creative, Connected, and Collaborative” will encourage adults to work with young people to explore the opportunities that social networking tools provide for contributing positively to society and building digital skills for the future."

 Above is the opening paragraph in MediaSmarts blogger Andrea Tomkins' article titled "Sharing Social Media as a Family."  It's definitely a different media world out there these days for all, but especially for those of us who have children who are "millenials" and grandchildren who are "digital natives." Ms. Tomkins share a lot of insights into parenting and mentoring younger people in the ways of social media. She suggests having family accounts to such media favorites as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube as good ways to get young people used to using these communication options properly and safely.

More resources are available on the Media Literacy Week website. They include a tip sheet put together by MediaSmarts and Facebook about sharing online, activities for classroom use, and suggestions for things parents and kids can do at home to become more media literate together.