MEDIA AND

INFORMATION
LITERACY
COURSE MATERIAL #1

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 WHAT WILL
YOU LEARN?

This module has been

designed to help you:

• define key concepts

(media, information,
technology literacy,
and media and
information
literacies);

• describe how much

media and
information affect
communication; and

• create an e-portfolio
(personal online

INTRODUCTION TO
page).

MEDIA AND
INFORMATION
LITERACY

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 Dear Learner, WHAT’S
INSIDETHIS
Welcome to Media and Information Literacy!
MODULE?
This course, perhaps more than any other, is of crucial
importance, ever since the pandemic forced us to shift to
 Introduction to Media and
almost fully virtual lives. But pandemic or not, literacy in
using media and information is still a valuable skill as it can Information Literacy
help you discern between truth and mistruth, a difference
 Media and Information
which could change a life, especially yours.
Design Framework
Among other things, this course will help you do the  Five Laws of Media and
following:
• Demonstrate responsible and ethical use of media and Information Literacy
information  Roles and Functions of Media
• Produce media and information content adhering to
standard codes and conventions in a Democratic Society
• Utilize different platforms of Information and
Communications Technology as appropriate and more
effective communication tools
• Participate actively and tactfully in online discussions,
forums, and publications
• Analyze current media and information issues and
developments with a view to improving them in the
context of one’s involvement in the community and the
country at large
• Create media and information content that reflect one’s
engagement with the community and the society
• Evaluate current media and information content and
produce one’s own output reflecting ethical and
intellectual rigor in your work
• Demonstrate awareness of how media codes and
conventions vary among cultures and responds to such
appropriately
• Utilize knowledge of the media habits of people, their
lifestyles, and preferences to improve upon them in one’s
life
• Use media, information, and technology literacy to
empower oneself and others

In other words, this course will help you become smarter

users of media.

Let’s learn together!

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 FOCUS
QUESTIONS

Introduction to
Media and
 What are the differences
between media literacy,
information literacy, and

Information Literacy
technology literacy?

 What is the media and

information design
framework?

 What are the roles and

Media and technology have become increasingly
functions of media in a
indispensable in today’s information age. Apart from all the
democratic society?
necessary reading we have to do to obtain needed
information, we also have to navigate increasingly complex
media and technology platforms. And while life without the
Internet, smartphones, TV, and radio may be bearable, it
hardly seems like a fun life at all, especially for today’s Gen Z
students.

Imagine, for example, that we are living in 1918, the year the
Spanish flu pandemic raged, infecting 500 million people all
over the world. What would lockdown life have been like in
those days, without Internet and cell phones? How wouldwe
be informed and still stay in touch with each other?

Compare that to our situation in 2020. Even though we have

those devices to make our quarantine more bearable, how did
the use of those devices affect the way we live in such
restraints? What did society lose and what did it gain with
regard to media and information?

Those questions may be a bit heavy, but they need to be

asked. And those are exactly the kind of questions that we will
have all throughout this term as we use different media
platforms.

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But before we explore such platforms, let us unpack the KEY POINT
heavy concepts first, courtesy of UNESCO:

• ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, Our media and information literacy
communicate, and compute, using printed and equips us with the necessary skills to
written materials associated with varying
Literacy better navigate an increasingly tech-
contexts.
• involves a continuum of learning, where savvy world.
individuals can achieve their goals, develop their
knowledge and potential, and participate fully in
their community and wider society.

• physical objects used to communicate with, or

the mass communication through physical
objects such as radio, television, computers, Media
film, etc.
• any physical object used to communicate
messages.

Information • a broad term that covers processed data,

knowledge derived from study, experience,
instruction, signals, or symbols.

In other words, we get our information from various media

and whether we do it well or not is a measure of our literacy.

However, literacy is a trickier thing since there are many

kinds of it. For example:

ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in a Media

variety of forms
Literacy
aims to empower citizens by providing them with the
competencies (knowledge and skills) necessary to engage
with traditional media and new technologies

Information ability to recognize when information is needed, and to

Literacy locate, evaluate, and effectively communicate
information in its various formats.

ability of an individual, either working independently or

with others, to responsibly, appropriately, and effectively Technology
use technological tools Literacy
using these tools an individual can access, manage,
integrate, evaluate, create, and communicate information

Media and essential skills and competencies that allow individuals

to engage with media and other information providers
Information effectively, as well as develop critical thinking and life-
Literacy long learning skills to socialize and become active
citizens

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 Which of these concepts did you get right in your
understanding? What other information, if any, do you still
have to add to your existing knowledge?

If you find that your idea is rather far out in left field, don’t
worry. We have the whole term to negotiate the gray areas
between each kind of literacy. Also, information is often fluid
and dynamic, and we must also constantly adapt our skills
and knowledge base to accommodate new ones.

BRIEFER

Traditionally, media are source of

credible information in which
contents are provided through an
editorial process determined by
journalistic values and where
editorial accountability can be
attributed to an organization or a
legal person. In more recent years,
the term ‘media’ is often used to
include new online media.

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 LEARNING ACTIVITY

List three (3) online activities that you do every day. Discern
how you use media literacy, information literacy, and
technology literacy in these activities.

The first one is already done for you.

Online Media Information Technology

Activities Literacy Literacy Literacy
Sending As platform Content Tools (mobile,
an online (text, email, (appropriateness, computers,
message etc.) tone, etc.) etc.)

Great! You might not have known it when you were doing
those things, but you were practicing your literacy skills
already. Now, based on your samples, answer the questions
below in 2-3 sentences.
1. How are media literacy, information literacy, and
technology literacy similar in terms of form? In terms
of use?
2. How do media literacy, information literacy, and
technology literacy differ in terms of form? In terms of
use?

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Media and KEY POINT

Information Design The media and information design

framework is a basic step in exercising

Framework
media and information literacy by
helping you send an appropriate
message properly.

So, what makes an individual literate in media and

information? How do we know if we are indeed savvy
in these things?

These questions might help.

The first three components of target audience,

sender/author, and purpose are quite familiar to you
already. After all, they are the basic components of any
message we deliver. Our course, Media and Information
Literacy, focuses on the last three: key content, form/style,
and medium/format.

You use your information literacy in dealing with the

facts about a certain subject. Media literacy comes into
play when you consider how to present that information
and what the possible effect to the audience may be by
choosing that form or style of presentation. Finally, using
your chosen platform or medium will require a
considerable amount of technological literacy.

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Say you are a journalist tasked to write an informative
article on the medical (sender/author) knowledge
available on COVID-19. Your purpose is information
dissemination for general consumption, but most
especially for indigenous people living in rural areas
(target audience). Since the information you gathered
abound with technical terms that lay people may not
understand, you then tailor-fit your article down to its
key content: what is the core topic, and what are the
most important facts that you need to get across and that
needs to be received?

After deciding on those, your options now are on form or

style. Of course, you will publish your article in the dailies
and their online sites for maximum coverage
(medium/format). But is this enough? How about using
social media networks? What about the language you use
in your article? Does it need to be translated to the
community’s mother tongue? Maybe you could also use an
infographic to go with your article, so that information
can be seen in a more visual (and therefore
more memorable) way.

As McLuhan (1964) puts it memorably, “The medium is

the message.” How you say things is as important as, if
not more important than, what you say.

Canadian communications thinker Marshall

McLuhan.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:
Marshall_McLuhan.jpg

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 LEARNING ACTIVITY
To Post or Not to Post?
Say you have a friend who was a victim of online bullying.
Your friend asked you for advice on whether to post about
it to warn others.
Use these components and guide questions to determine
the specifics of your post.

Target Audience:
Sender/Author:
Purpose:
Key Content:
Form/Style:
Medium/Format:

Now that you’ve decided on those details, of coursethere

are bigger questions to ask.
1. Is the post still worth it, considering that in baring
details of your friend’s life they also lose some
measure of their privacy? Why or why not?
2. What could be the effects to both parties,
considering that the platform you chose is the
Internet?

Decisions like these are never easy, especially since the

web has dark areas, but being aware of the possible
consequences can help you in what course to take.

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 And since we have already been given the Media and Information
Design framework as a basic tool to go back to, it would also be
well to be aware of the Five Laws of Media and Information
Literacy, as suggested by UNESCO.

Let us remember these key phrases:

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 Taking off from those key phrases, we have the following roles
and functions of media in a democratic society:

Channel  Provides opportunities for people to communicate,

share ideas, speculate, tell stories, and give information

 Exposes corrupt practices of the government and private Watchdog

sector, creating a space where governance is challenged or
scrutinized by the governed

 Acts as a gateway of information for societal

consumption.
Resource
 Also becomes a keeper of memories of the
Center
community, preserver of heritage, and source of
academic knowledge.

 Bridges the digital divide through its diverse sources or

formats
Advocate

We perform all these roles and functions in our social media

accounts. Your Facebook wall and feed, for instance, are very
powerful things. You use those to post something on your friend’s
timeline or comment on a post, or simply to send a message
(channel). When you share posts from online entities of
institutions, say the FB page of the city you are in, for
announcements regarding cancellation of classes, or for
promotional tourism videos, your feed acts as a resource center.
Or, when you comment on your city’s FB page because of its late
announcement, and other non-transparent public transactions,
your feed now becomes a watchdog. And though sometimes your
data allocation runs out and you are forced to continue using free
data, even the limited features that you can use still allow you to
somehow bridge the digital divide (advocate).

You’ll notice, although we may not all be media practitioners, we

are already exercising these roles as users of media. It behooves
us, therefore, to use these roles and functions wisely.

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 LEARNING ACTIVITY

Look back at the Laws of Media and Information Literacy

outlined by UNESCO along with the roles and functions of the
media.

Which of the law/s correspond with which role/s?

Law 3

Law 2 Law 4

Law 1 Law 5

That’s good! Now that you were able to identify those

associations, let’s consider our own communities.

1. Which of these functions/roles and or law/s are not fully

practiced in your community?
2. What do you think could be the reasons for those?

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 LEARNING OUTPUT

For this learning output, you are going to create the first part of
your e-portfolio: a media and information literacy blog. This blog
must have at least three posts about what you have learned in this
lesson. Here are some questions and rubric that may guide you in
creating your blog posts.

1. What was your perception of media before this lesson?

What is your view of media now?
2. What is the most relevant function of media to you? Why?
3. Recall a recent situation wherein media and information
literacy could have been useful and how.

Don’t forget to make an introduction of your personal online page

in the homepage. Have fun blogging!

To use the Creative Commons

License, you can put this
statement in the footer of your
page.

“Title of E-Portfolio” by “Your

Name” is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License.

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 Here are some additional resources that can help you
learn more about the lesson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHAApvHZ6XE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FwCUCquFsE

Practice makes for proficiency!

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 SUMMARY

What are the differences betweenmedia

literacy, information literacy, and
technology literacy?
Media, information, and technology literacy are different
skills which can and should be used simultaneously.
Media is an empowering form of technology which we
need to use responsibly and appropriately especially in
engaging with its different platforms, all the while
forwarding an agenda where information can be
accessed, located, evaluated, and effectively and
ethically communicated to audiences.

What is the media and information

design framework?
The Media and Information Design Framework is a basic
step in exercising media and information literacy by
helping you send an appropriate message properly.

What are the roles and functions of

media in a democratic society?
KEY TERMS
The media serves as channel, watchdog, resource
center, and an advocate. These are the roles and
functions of media in a democratic society. Advocate
Channel
Information Literacy
Literacy
Media Literacy
Resource Center
Technology Literacy
UNESCO
Watchdog

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 References

Commission on Higher Education. (2016.) Media and Information Literacy: Teaching Guide for
Senior High School. Quezon City.

McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. McGraw-Hill. Canada.

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. (2017). “Five Laws of Media and
Information Literacy.” Retrieved July 23, 2020 from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-
and-information/media-development/media-literacy/five-laws-of-mil/

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. (2020). Media Information
Literacy for Teachers. Retrieved July 23, 2020 from http://unesco.mil-for-teachers.unaoc.org/

CONTRIBUTORS
Justine Danielle R. Gabuni

Maryan Joy C. Lopez

Renelyn O. Manacho

Ma. Carmie Flor I. Ortego