Media and Information Literacy: Key Terms (Lessons 1-2)

Vocabulary flashcards covering MIL concepts from Lesson 1 and 2, including models, literacies, typologies, media ages, and roles in society.

SMCR-E Model

A communication model by Rogers and Shoemaker (1971) describing how a sender encodes a message, transmits via a channel, the receiver decodes, producing an effect, with feedback looping the process.

Source

The sender in a communication process who encodes and transmits information.

Encoding

The process of turning ideas into a communicable message.

Message

The information or content chosen by the source to be transmitted.

Channel

The medium used to transmit the message.

Receiver

The person or audience who decodes the message.

Decoding

The process by which the receiver interprets the message.

Effect

The outcome or response produced in the receiver after decoding the message.

Feedback

The receiver’s response that is sent back to the source, restarting the communication loop.

Media Literacy

Ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media to empower citizens to engage with traditional media and new technologies.

Information Literacy

Ability to recognize information needs, locate, evaluate, and effectively communicate information in various formats.

Technology Literacy

Ability to use technological tools responsibly and effectively to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, create, and communicate information.

Subjective

Information based on expert opinion or personal perspective; not necessarily unbiased.

Objective

Unbiased information that aims to be independent of personal views.

Current

Up-to-date or recent information.

Historical

Old information that provides insights and context for comparison.

Factual

Information based on evidence from reliable sources.

Analytical

Information that involves interpretation, analysis, and reasoning.

Scholarly

Information from academic sources reflecting expert study on a subject.

Popular

Information aimed at a general audience, often found in mass media.

Primary

Original sources or first-hand information (e.g., original documents, experiments, firsthand accounts).

Secondary

Information derived from primary sources, providing analysis or restatement.

Tertiary

A compilation or digest of primary and secondary sources (e.g., indexes, abstracts, encyclopedias).

Stable

Information that has existed for a long time and is regularly updated, typically from reputable sources.

Unstable

Transient, time-based information that may disappear or not be updated.

Pre-Historic Age

Era before written language where information was primarily oral; early signs include cave paintings and smoke signals.

Industrial Age

Period of mass production and printing; includes Gutenberg’s printing press and the rise of newspapers, typewriters, and books.

Electronic Age

Era characterized by electronics: transistor radios, televisions, and early computers enabling faster long-distance communication.

New (Information) Age

Digital era marked by the Internet, World Wide Web, digital information, social networks, and mobile devices.

Medium is the Message

McLuhan’s idea that the form of a medium shapes how content is perceived and understood.

Technological Determinism

Theory that technology drives social and cultural change.

Monitoring Function

Media’s role in observing and reporting on events and conditions in society.

Information Function

Media’s role in providing information to the public.

Opinion Function

Media’s role in shaping or presenting public opinion.

Watchdog Role of Journalism

Journalism’s function to scrutinize power and hold institutions accountable.

Channel for Advocacy of Political Viewpoints

Media as a platform to promote and advocate political ideas.

Entertainment

Media’s role to entertain audiences through content.