LECTURE IN MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY

Literacy: The ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written
materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning, wherein individuals are
able to achieve their goals, develop their knowledge and potential, and participate fully in their community and
wider society.

Media: The physical objects used to communicate with, or the mass communication through physical objects such as
radio, television, computers, film, etc. It also refers to any physical object used to communicate messages.

Media Literacy: The ability to access, analyse, evaluate, and create media in a variety of forms. It aims to empower citizens
by providing them with the competencies (knowledge and skills) necessary to engage with traditional media and
new technologies.

Information: A broad term that covers processed data, knowledge derived from study, experience, instruction, signals or
symbols.

Information Literacy: The ability to recognize when information is needed, and to locate, evaluate, and effectively
communicate information in its various formats.

Technology Literacy: The ability of an individual, either working independently or with others, to responsibly,
appropriately, and effectively use technological tools. Using these tools an individual can access, manage,
integrate, evaluate, create and communicate information.

Media and Information Literacy: The essential skills and competencies that allow individuals to engage with media and
other information providers effectively, as well as develop critical thinking and life-long learning skills to socialize
and become active citizens.

Evolution of Media

Pre-Industrial Age (Before 1700s) - People discovered fire, developed paper from plants, and forged weapons and tools
with stone, bronze, copper and iron.

Examples: • Cave paintings (35,000 BC) • Clay tablets in Mesopotamia (2400 BC) • Papyrus in Egypt (2500 BC)
• Acta Diurna in Rome (130 BC) • Dibao in China (2nd Century) • Codex in the Mayan region (5th
Century) • Printing press using wood blocks (220 AD)

Industrial Age (1700s-1930s) - People used the power of steam, developed machine tools, established iron production,
and the manufacturing of various products (including books through the printing press).

Examples: • Printing press for mass production (19th century) • Newspaper- The London Gazette (1640) •
Typewriter (1800) Telephone (1876) • Motion picture photography/projection (1890) • Commercial
motion pictures (1913) • Motion picture with sound (1926) • Telegraph • Punch cards

Electronic Age (1930s-1980s) - The invention of the transistor ushered in the electronic age. People harnessed the power
of transistors that led to the transistor radio, electronic circuits, and the early computers. In this age, long
distance communication became more efficient.

Examples: • Transistor Radio • Television (1941) • Large electronic computers- i.e. EDSAC (1949) and UNIVAC 1
(1951) • Mainframe computers - i.e. IBM 704 (1960) • Personal computers - i.e. HewlettPackard
9100A (1968), Apple 1 (1976) • OHP, LCD projectors

Information Age (1900s-2000s) - The Internet paved the way for faster communication and the creation of the social
network. People advanced the use of microelectronics with the invention of personal computers, mobile
devices, and wearable technology. Moreover, voice, image, sound and data are digitalized. We are now living
in the information age.

Examples: • Web browsers: Mosaic (1993), Internet Explorer (1995) • Blogs: Blogspot (1999), LiveJournal (1999),
Wordpress (2003) •Social networks: Friendster (2002), Multiply (2003), Facebook (2004)
• Microblogs: Twitter (2006), Tumblr (2007) • Video: YouTube (2005) • Augmented Reality / Virtual
Reality • Video chat: Skype (2003), Google Hangouts (2013) • Search Engines: Google (1996), Yahoo
(1995) • Portable computers- laptops (1980), netbooks (2008), tablets (1993) • Smart phones
• Wearable technology • Cloud and Big Data

STAGE/ELEMENTS OF INFORMATION LITERACY

1. Identifying/recognizing information needs

2. Determining sources of information.
3. Citing or searching for information.
4. Analysing and evaluating the quality of information
5. Organizing, storing or archiving information
6. Using information in an ethical, efficient and effective way
7. Creating and communicating new knowledge

Ethical Use of Information

Plagiarism: Using other people’s words and ideas without clearly acknowledging the source of the information • Common
Knowledge: Facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be widely known.
• Common Knowledge: Facts that can be found in numerous places and are likely to be widely known.
Example: John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960. This is generally known
information. You do not need to document this fact
• Interpretation: You must document facts that are not generally known, or ideas that interpret facts. Example:
Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever to have played the game. This idea is not a fact but an
interpretation or an opinion. You need to cite the source.
• Quotation: Using someone’s words directly. When you use a direct quote, place the passage between quotation
marks, and document the source according to a standard documenting style. Example: According to John Smith
in The New York Times, “37% of all children under the age of 10 live below the poverty line”. You need to cite
the source.
• Paraphrase: Using someone’s ideas, but rephrasing them in your own words. Although you will use your own words
to paraphrase, you must still acknowledge and cite the source of the information.

a. Plagiarism has legal implications. While ideas themselves are not copyrightable, the artistic expression of an idea
automatically falls under copyright when it is created. Under fair use, small parts may be copied without
permission from the copyright holder. However, even under fair use - in which you can use some parts of the
material for academic or non-profit purposes - you must attribute the original source. What is considered fair
use is rather subjective and can vary from country to country.

b. Strategies in Avoiding Plagiarism

• Submit your own work for publication. You need to cite even your own work.
• Put quotation marks around everything that comes directly from the text and cite the source.
• Paraphrase, but be sure that you are not simply rearranging or replacing a few words and cite the source.
• Keep a source journal, a notepad, or note cards- annotated bibliographies can be especially beneficial
• Use the style manual in properly citing sources
• Get help from the writing center or library .

Print, Broadcast, and Digital (New) Media

Print Media - media consisting of paper and ink, reproduced in a printing process that is traditionally mechanical.
Broadcast Media - media such as radio and television that reach target audiences using airwaves as the transmission
medium.
New Media - content organized and distributed on digital platforms.

Reliability of information - Information is said to be reliable if it can be verified and evaluated. Others refer to the
trustworthiness of the source in evaluating the reliability of information.

Accuracy of information - Accuracy refers to the closeness of the report to the actual data. Measurement of accuracy
varies, depending on the type of information being evaluated. Forecasts are said to be accurate if the report is
similar to the actual data. Financial information is considered accurate if the values are correct, properly classified,
and presented • Value of information - Information is said to be of value if it aids the user in making or improving
decisions.

Authority of the source - Much of the information we gather daily do not come from a primary source but are passed on
through secondary sources such as writers, reporters, and the like. Sources with an established expertise on the
subject matter are considered as having sound authority on the subject.

Timeliness - Reliability, accuracy, and value of information may vary based on the time it was produced or acquired. While
a piece of information may have been found accurate, reliable, and valuable during the time it was produced, it may
become irrelevant and inaccurate with the passing of time (thus making it less valuable). Other information may be
timeless, proven to be the same in reliability, accuracy, and value throughout history.

Mind Mapping
Indigenous - native; local; originating or produced naturally in a particular region.
Indigenous knowledge - knowledge that is unique to a specific culture or society; most often it is not written down.
Indigenous communication - transmission of information through local channels or forms. It is a means by which culture
is preserved, handed down, and adapted.
Indigenous media and information - original information created by a local group of people. This also refers to content
about indigenous peoples that may be distributed through dominant forms of media or through forms of
communication unique to their people group.

Importance of indigenous media and information.

 Popular media cannot reach some rural areas. While print, broadcast, and new media have a wide reach, there are
still areas that these forms of media have not reached.
 Indigenous media and information are highly credible because they are near the source and are seldom circulated
for profit.
 Indigenous media are channels for change, education, and development because of its direct access to local channels.
 Ignoring indigenous media and information can result in development and education programs that are irrelevant
and ineffective.

Forms of indigenous media and their local examples:

a. Folk or traditional media
b. Gatherings and social organisations
c. Direct observation
d. Records - may be written, carved, or oral
e. Oral instruction