At the beginning of April children and adults from Ventspils and across Latvia had the opportunity to participate in media literacy lessons of the training cycle “Online Media Literacy Classes for Adults and Children” as part of the “Get Your Facts Straight” project in Latvia.
The training cycle consisted of two lessons. The first one was taught by Doctor of Communication Science and Media Literacy Expert Klinta Ločmele on the topic “Images and videos in (social) media: how to become a professional in their evaluation?”. She told participants what to look for in order to recognize fake messages on the Internet, with a special focus on images and videos. During the lesson, the participants looked at different images to understand better that images can be ambiguous – each can be interpreted differently, but when placed in context, they are given a specific meaning.
The second lesson of the training cycle was taught by actress, radio SWH voice / personality, head of “BM Production” and influencer Ieva Florence – Vīksne. The expert spoke about the topic: “The impact of influencers. Social media marketing – its pros, cons and future”. In the introduction of the lesson, Ieva spoke about influencers and their activities in Latvia. The actress shared her experience of working on social media, creating content and finding partners. The influencer emphasized that today it is important not only to gain as many followers as possible, but to build a connection with the followers of your social media profile and maintain your identity when working with entrepreneurs and sponsors. During the lesson the expert spoke also about responsibility on the Internet and the ability to “filter” information to distinguish false information from true information and how important it is to avoid sharing false information. Participants also learned about the nuances of Instagram marketing and what to consider when creating the image and content of their Instagram account.
At the end of each lesson, participants had the opportunity to complete a test, to check how critically they are able to evaluate information and act wisely in the social media environment. The most active participants of the sessions received awards in recognition of their efforts.
