Media & Information Literacy – Comprehensive Study Notes (Lessons 1–4)

LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION
• Method of using language, symbols, or manners to share information or opinions.
• Exchange of information & expression of thoughts/notions leading to understanding.

• BASIC TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
• Non-verbal Communication
– Signs – Symbols – Colors – Gestures – Body Language – Facial Expression
• Verbal Communication
– Oral – Written

• TERMS
• Media – communication tools that give information.
• Information – knowledge or data gathered through experience or research.

• MEDIA & INFORMATION INFLUENCE ON COMMUNICATION

  1. Vital role in globalization.

  2. Shape modern culture; tools for sharing information/ideas/content.

  3. Social media enables connection, interaction, communication despite distance.

  4. Builds & strengthens existing relationships; makes new friends worldwide.

  5. Reduces communication barriers; technology grows → media a vital daily social-interaction tool.

• THREATS OF MEDIA
• Misinformation/Fake news • Cyberbullying • Scamming • Hate-posting • Identity stealing • Addiction • Destroys interpersonal relationships

• THREE TYPES OF LITERACY
• Media Literacy – reading, analyzing, evaluating & producing communication in different media forms.
• Information Literacy – knowing when information is required & ability to find/analyze/evaluate/communicate/use it in various formats.
• Technology Literacy – knowing how to use technology, tools, networks to find/create/evaluate/use information.

• WHY MEDIA & INFORMATION LITERACY (MIL)?
• Recognizes roles of media & info sources for individual/society.
• Promotes right to communicate & express.
• Evaluates sources, medium, audience of messages.
• Empowers critical thinking, informed choices, community building, & key skills.

• MIL SKILLS
• Improved critical thinking & lifelong learning.

• INFORMATION LITERACY COMPONENTS
• Meaning & delivery • Location & access • Evaluation & organization • Uses • Ethical communication/usage

• TECHNOLOGY LITERACY COMPONENTS
• Communication • Innovation • Collaboration • Information & research fluency • Processes & concepts of technology

LESSON 2: EVOLUTION OF TRADITIONAL TO NEW MEDIA

• MEDIA – means of communication (newspapers, radio, TV, Internet).

• FOUR AGES IN MEDIA HISTORY

  1. Pre-Industrial Age (Before 1700s)
    – 4.5 million yrs ago: discovery of fire, paper from plants, weapons.
    – Stone/metal tools for hunting & rock art (petroglyphs, pictographs) → earliest traditional media.

  2. Industrial Age (1700s–1930s)
    – Industrial revolution (GB); machines (steam engine, power loom).
    – Mass production; telegraph enables long-distance communication.

  3. Electronic Age (1930s–1980s)
    – Harnessed electricity; invention of transistor radio & television.
    – Transistors used in radios, circuits, early computers; air access to communication.

  4. Information Age / Digital Age (1990s–2000s)
    – World Wide Web via Internet; faster communication via social networks.
    – Microelectronics → laptops, netbooks, mobile phones, wearables.

• MEDIA DEVICES ACROSS AGES
• Pre-Industrial: Cave paintings (35 000 BC), Clay tablets, Papyrus, Acta Diurna, Dibao, Mayan Codex, Wood-block printing.
• Industrial: Printing press (19th c.), The London Gazette (1640), Typewriter (1800), Telephone (1876), Telegraph, Motion pictures, Punch cards.
• Electronic: Transistor radio, TV (1941), Large computers (EDSAC 1949, UNIVAC 1 1951), Mainframes (IBM 704 1960), PCs (HP 9100A 1968, Apple I 1976), OHP/LCD projectors.
• Information: Web browsers (Mosaic 1993, IE 1995), Blogs, Social media (Friendster 2002 → Facebook 2004), Microblogs (Twitter 2006), YouTube 2005, AR/VR, Video chat (Skype 2003), Search engines (Google 1996), Portable computers, Smartphones, Wearables, Cloud & Big Data.

• NORMS – standards of expected behavior (respect elders, education, marriage, gender roles).

• NORM DEVELOPMENT & MEDIA EXPOSURE
• Starts at home → expands globally via social media; exposure to diverse norms.

• MEDIA’S EXPANDING INFLUENCE
• Access to formerly restricted ideas; online deliberation challenges conventions.

• SOCIAL CHANGE EXAMPLES
• Women ’s-rights organizations, LGBTQ+ advocacy, emerging equal-opportunity norms.

• THEORIES ON MEDIA INFLUENCE
• Arias (2016): Media exerts (1) Individual/direct effects & (2) Social/indirect effects; dissemination shapes beliefs → behaviors; shared knowledge amplifies norm impact.
• Bandura Social Learning Theory (1986): Media acts through educational models transmitting information, values, behaviors; publicly accessible info strengthens shared beliefs.

LESSON 3: TYPES OF MEDIA

• MAJOR CATEGORIES

  1. Print Media 2. Broadcast Media 3. Media Convergence

• PRINT MEDIA
• Paper-and-ink products (books, newspapers, magazines, journals, newsletters, brochures).
• Can be handwritten or mechanically printed; simple, flexible for conveying ideas.
• NOT all text media are print; text may appear on screens.
• Key feature: Typography (arranging visual components of written word—fonts, alignment, optical illusions for readability/meaning).

• VISUAL MEDIA
• Pictures, photos, images, graphics; any medium primarily via sight; includes visuals + text.
• Key feature: Graphic Design – visual communication process organizing information for purpose (inform, persuade, locate, identify, attract, give pleasure).
• Examples:
1. Informational graphics (infographics—graphs, charts, brochures)
2. Cartoons (comic strips, editorial satire)
3. Photography (film/digital; smartphones make it easy & cheap)

• BROADCAST MEDIA
• Uses airwaves: Radio & Television.

• AUDIO MEDIA
• Information delivered via audio/voice recordings; appeals to auditory sense.

• MULTIMEDIA
• Computer-controlled integration of text, graphics, drawings, video, animation, audio; stored/played/displayed/interacted digitally; supports live presentation.
• Devices = electronic equipment that store/play/display; early term “rich media”; “hypermedia” = multimedia with clickable links.

• NEW MEDIA
• Digital platforms integrating emerging technologies (podcasts, AR, video games, blogs, wikis).
• Common features:
– Potentially infinite receivers.
– Customization based on specified categories.

• MEDIA CONVERGENCE (Technological Convergence)
• Merging of equipment & tools to produce/distribute news via digitization & networks.
• Produces/distributes media texts on multiple devices; synergy of communication, computing, content.
• Example: Smartphone combining camera, radio, browser, video, etc.

LESSON 4: SOURCES OF INFORMATION

• LIBRARY – place holding literary/musical/artistic/reference materials for use/lending (not sale).

• FOUR MAJOR LIBRARY TYPES
• School Library – K-12 students, within school, smaller.
• Academic Library – colleges/universities (e.g., UP, PUP, TUP).
• Public Library – open to general public; run by civil-service librarians.
• Special Library – specialized environments (hospitals, museums, military bases, corporations).

• INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE & MEDIA
• Indigenous Knowledge – unique to a specific culture/community (practices, beliefs, innovations).
• Indigenous Communication – local channels preserving culture passed to descendants.
• Forms: Folk/Traditional media (pre-Internet), Gatherings/Social organizations (kinship networks), Direct observations (sensory data), Records (carved/written/oral), Oral instruction (verbal guidance).

• OTHER SOURCES
• Indigenous Media – film, video, music, digital art by/for indigenous peoples.
• Internet – global network connecting millions; instant messaging, worldwide info access.

• EVALUATING ONLINE INFORMATION
• Authorship • Publishing body • Accuracy & verifiability • Currency

• THINGS TO CONSIDER (INFORMATION QUALITY)
• Reliability – trustworthiness; can it be verified?
• Accuracy – closeness to actual data (measurement depends on info type).
• Value – usefulness & decision-making aid.
• Authority – credibility of author, publication, cited sources.

• SKILLS FOR DETERMINING RELIABILITY
• Check author • Check publication/update date • Check citations • Check domain/owner

• CLASSIFICATION OF INFORMATION SOURCES

  1. Primary Sources – original, uninterpreted materials from the time; raw data for research.
    Examples:
    • Artifact – human-made object of archaeological/art interest.
    • Diary – date-organized personal record.
    • Patent – sovereign-granted exclusive rights to an invention.

  2. Secondary Sources – created after primaries; analyze/interpret/evaluate them; not evidence but discussion.
    Examples:
    • Indexes (bibliographies, abstract periodicals).
    • Survey type (reviews, treatises, monographs).
    • Reference type (encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, manuals, critical tables).

  3. Tertiary Sources – collect & organize primary/secondary info; provide background (bibliographies, directories, yearbooks).