With all this talk about Media, Media Literacy, and Digital Literacy there can easily be some confusion towards what media actually is, how to learn about it, and how to use it properly and safely.
Back when I was in elementary school, we did not have half of the technology that students have today. We had slide projectors, flip phones (if we were lucky), AOL dial-up internet, MSN Messenger as our form of texting or communicating with friends after school, and a computer lab at school which we were only allotted one day a week to use. Time sure have changed...
We are now living in the 21st century which is media and technology driven, making it difficult to keep up with the many trends and uses of various media tools that are being created world wide. Before diving into what these trends and uses are, we all need to make sure that we truly understand what media means and how to educate ourselves properly on the use of it.
Here is a quick video that simply defines what media really is!
What is media anyway?
So, as the video says Media is the various channels of communications between a person and their intended audience. When you're sitting at home on your couch watching a TV show and a commercial comes on and advertises a new movie that you REALLY want to go watch when it comes out, is the media doing it's job in advertising that movie in order to get viewers. When you're watching TV, reading the newspaper, listening to the radio, or surfing the web, you are using all different types of media! Media is a tool that shapes our perception of what is real. Media is very smart!
In order to use media in a proper and safe way, you need to do your research and see which shows and movies are appropriate to watch, which websites are safe to surf, and how to tell if the information your looking up is real/safe or not. Never hesitate to ask a parent, teacher, or guardian questions about anything you are unsure of. If they do not think that the website or information your looking as is appropriate, then it's not!
Here's a nice little video to show you that even though something might look awesome on the internet, it's not always real!
E-Safety!
Make sure that you listen to your teachers in class when they are teaching you about media literacy and internet safety, and always take a step back and make sure that what you're going to click on isn't a virus or someone pretending to be someone they're not! Media safety is the number one thing to know and learn about for any Media users.
BE MEDIA SMART!!!