The good, the bad, and the pirates!

This morning we had a great introductory lesson to media literacy.  We started by defining media literacy, and then focused in on thinking about the internet.  We brainstormed good things and not so good things, and added our ideas to a Popplet.  I was quite impressed by what students already knew.

Next, we played Privacy Pirates, which taught us lots of ways to keep our personal information safe online.  The class was pretty smart about talking to a trusted adult if they weren’t sure about something online, but I think it surprised some of them that what you post online could be there forever, or copied by someone and shared another way.  The game has different questions each time you play, so this may be one you’d like to play again as a family.

Media Literacy Week

This week is media literacy week in Canada.  In Division 7 we will be talking about all the amazing things you can do online, as well as potential problems.  We will be learning how to protect our privacy online.  Stay tuned for updates about what we are doing!

This week is a good chance to have a conversation with your child about online safety.  MediaSmarts has some fantastic resources for parents.  I found these great documents about internet safety tips for 5-7 year olds and 8-10 year olds.  What stood out for me was how important it is for parents to be involved in and aware of children’s online activities.  That will be an important message we focus on this week: “If you see something that makes you uncomfortable or aren’t sure if you should do something online, ask a grownup you trust.”