Introduction to Media & Information Literacy

Media/Medium - way of communication/sending or receiving messages or any kinds of information

Types:

• Print (Books, letters, magazines, newspapers)

• Electronic (e-mails, audio, video messages, & video platforms)

Categorization of Media

1. Textual/Print - Books, letters, magazines, newspapers

2. Visual - Video, images, drawings, posters

3. Digital - Articles, Messages, online platform

4. Sound - Mp3, music, Podcasts, Radio

Literacy - ability to read/write/understand facts or information

Pros & Cons of Media

Pros

• Entertainment

• Communication

• Spread of Information

• Enhances creativity/productivity

Cons

• Addiction

• Distraction

• Excessive Use

• Spread of False Information

Types of Information

• Verbal - messages, audio, anything spoken or written in language

• Non-verbal - sign language, body language, hand gestures, emotions, anything not directly spoken or written in words.

Applications of Technology

• Medicine

• Education

• Communication

• Household Automation

• Tracking & Navigation

• Finance

• Advertisement

• Entertainment

Communication Process

Sender - Guy send message he wants someone to understand

Encoding - Puts it into a transferrable form

Message - Message

Channel - Medium through which the message moves through (words or letters)

Decoding - Receiver processes message

Receiver - Person intended to receive message

Feedback - response to the message, a confirmation of understanding

Noise - interference that prevents the message from being understood fully

Context - background or situation in which the message is sent

SIFT Strategy by Michael Caufield

• Stop

• Investigate source

• Find better coverage

• Trace claims

Algorithm - set of computer instructions to complete a task - to return unique results based on some unique factors such as your geographic location, search history, and the level of detail in you query.

Trust Indicators are elements or symbols that indicate to a website visitor that the website is trustworthy and credible.

1. Best Practices

2. Journalist Information

3. Label News, analysis, opinions

4. Citations and References

5. Methods

6. Locally Sourced

7. Diverse Voices

8. Actionable Feedback

Key concepts in producing media

1. Production

2. Language

3. Representation

4. Audience

Information Literacy & Technology Literacy

Information is composed of facts; it is the context of messages that are delivered through different media including mobile phones, computers, and radios.

Information vs Knowledge

Information is

• composed of facts;

• resides in the messages;

• and gives something to the person to interpret.

Knowledge is

• structured, organized

• resides in a person’s mind

• and reflects that which already been interpreted by person.

Therefore knowledge is a product of a human mind processing information.

Key Concepts of Information Literacy

• Credibility

• Authenticity

• Relevance

Tech Literacy

• Hardware Literacy - How to operate, use, & repair electronic components & devices.

• Software Literacy - How to use, make, modify or operate software.

• Application Literacy - How to apply software use ie how to make it useful.

Evolution of Traditional to New Media

Prehistoric Age (1.5 MYA - 1,200 BCE)

Stone Ages - 1.5 MYA - 3,300 BCE

Media was primarily in the form of cave paintings, these were paintings made by prehistoric humans that consisted of the events or activities during their lives, such as hunting, feasts, family, or their own handprints. These ancient cavemen also did not have a form of writing systems or the technology to write or carve letters, this is why they relied on paintings instead. They also did not have the time for actual languages to evolve yet, and instead relied on grunts as a form of communication

Bronze Age - 3,300 BCE - 1,200 BCE

Humans during the bronze age would develop complex writing systems (Cuneiform or Hieroglyphics) and languages and use stone tablets as a form of communication. This would be known as the writing revolution.

Industrial Age (1760 - 1844 CE)

People during this period before the invention of the telegraph, used letters delivered by trained pigeons to transport messages across vast distances, this was a slow but reliable method of communication because pigeons always returned to their sender or what they saw as a home. Mass media was widely available to everyone in the form of newspapers, and was affordable to mass produce due to industrial factories able to produce vast amounts of newspapers for the public.

Electronic Age (1844 - 1980s)

The telegraph was invented by Samuel Morse in 1844, and came into widespread use as a form of point-to-point communication. Then the radio was invented later on, which allowed for people to communicate with several people at the same time, this would be later known as the broadcasting, which was used to bring news, music, and other forms of entertainment. 

The creation of radio broadcasting would pave the way for the use of television, which further enhanced the capabilities of media transportation, now people or organizations could broadcast, and people would actually be able to see it with their own eyes, instead of just listening to people’s descriptions. The television was still used for news and music, but it could now be used to deliver films, plays, sports, and tv programs to people’s homes.

Information Age (1980s - Now)

The creation of the Internet was led by the US Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Project Administration, who sought to create a universal network that could connect several computers to each other to transfer information. On New Year’s Day, 1983, the internet was created, revolutionizing human communication and media sharing forever. The creation of the internet allowed for computers to transfer data & information without the use of a physical medium like a CD or floppy disk.

The internet paved the way for the creation of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee, which enabled internet users to access information in a user-friendly way without being a specialist in IT or hobbyists. This eventually led to the first social media platforms during the early 2000s, combined with the emergence of smartphones, allowed users to create and share content easily, unlike television or radio broadcasting, which required specialized and expensive equipment, as well as licenses to broadcast.

Democracy in Media

Democracy is based on two fundamental principles:

• Sovereignty of the People

• Free exchange of Ideas

The media’s function is twofold:

• Inform the citizenry

• Scrutinize those who govern