MEDINFO 31 NOTES

LESSON 2 – Evolution from Traditional Media to New Media

Humans are social beings who want and need to communicate with each other. According to the
pioneering research of Dr. Kathryn Barnand, founder of the Center for Infant Mental Health and Development
at the University of Washington, even infants try to communicate with their caregivers using non-verbal cues.
Like babies, early humans only needed to communicate with people within a small circle so sounds and gestures
were enough. Humans eventually learned to speak, although scientists have not yet agreed on a theory on how
exactly this happened.

THE EVOLUTION OF TRADITIONAL MEDIA TO NEW MEDIA

Any form of mass communication available before the
Traditional Media advent of digital media. This includes television, radio,
newspapers, books, and magazines.
New media are forms of media that are native to
New Media computers, computational and relying on computers for re-
distribution.

HOW HAS MEDIA EVOLVED THROUGH TIMES?

1.Pre-Industrial Age ▪ Main medium of communication was through oral language
(before 1700) ▪ People discovered fire, developed paper from plants, and
forged weapons and tools with stone, bronze, copper and
iron

CLAY TABLETS IN
CAVE PAINTINGS (35,000 BC) MESOPOTAMIA (2400 BC)

PRINTING PRESS
CODEX (MAYAN REGION) USING WOOD BLOCKS

ACTA DIURNA IN ROME (130BC)

PAPYRUS IN EGYPT (2500 BC)

2.Industrial Age (1700s ▪ Marked the use of iron and steel commonly for industrial
to 1930s) purposes.
▪ During this age, new energy sources were used including fuel
and motive power like coal, the steam engine, electricity,
petroleum and combustion engine.
 Example Forms of Media:
▪ Newspaper- - publication usually issued daily, weekly, or at
other regular times that provides news, views, features, and
other information of public interest and that often carries
advertising.
▪ Telegraph (1830s) – developed by Samuel Morse, worked by
transmitting electrical signals over a wire laid between
stations. Used a code that assigned a set of dots and dashes
to each letter of the English alphabet and allowed simple
transmission of complex messages across telegraph lines.
▪ Telephone (1876) – by Alexander Graham Bell, a
telecommunications device that permits two or more users to
conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be
heard directly
▪ Motion picture photography/projection – William Kennedy
Laurie Dickson and his employer, Thomas Edison, developed
one of the first motion-picture cameras, the Kinetograph, in
1891 and a motion picture camera and a peephole viewing
device called the Kinetoscope in 1893.
▪ Printing press for mass production (1900) – invented by the
German, Johannes Gutenberg, is a machine by which text and
images are transferred from movable type to paper or other
media by means of ink.

TELEPHONE (1876) TYPEWRITER(1800)

PRINTING PRESS FOR MASS PRODUCTION

MOTION PICTURES

TELEGRAPH

3. Electronic Age (1930s-▪ The invention of the transistor ushered in the electronic age.
1980s) ▪ 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.
Example Forms of Media:
▪ Television (1927) – telecommunication medium used for
transmitting moving images in monochrome or in color; the
 electronic delivery of moving images and sound from a
source to a receiver.
Radio – is sound communication by radio waves, usually
through the transmission of music, news, and other types of
programs from single broadcast stations to multitudes of
individual listeners equipped with radio receivers.
- from about 1920 to 1945, radio developed into the first
electronic mass medium, monopolizing “the airwaves”
▪ Computer – device for processing, storing, and displaying
information.

MAINFRAME COMPUTER (LARGE

TELEVISION (1927) ELECTRONIC COMPUTER)

APPLE 1
COMPUTER TRANSISTOR RADIO

APPLE 2 COMPUTER

4.Information Age ▪ The Internet paved the way for faster communication and the
(1980s-now) creation of the social network.
▪ The online world took on a more recognizable form in 1990
when computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the
WorldWideWeb.
▪ 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.
Example Forms of Media
▪ Portable computers- laptops (1980), netbooks (2008), tablets
(1993)
▪ Smart phones (1992)
▪ Wearable Technology
▪ Web browsers:
✓ WorldWideWeb (1989)
✓ Mosaic (1993)
✓ Netscape (1994)
✓ Internet Explorer (1995)
✓ Opera (1996)
✓ Apple Safari (2003)
✓ Mozilla Firefox (2004)
✓ Google Chrome (2008)
Blog sites:
• Links.net (1994)
• Blogspot (1999)
• Wordpress (2003)
Microblogs:
✓ Twitter (2006)
✓ Tumblr (2007)
Search Engines:
• Yahoo! (1994)
• Google (1998)
• Bing
Email/Chat/Video Chat:
• Yahoo! Mail (1997)
• Yahoo! Messenger (1998)
• Skype (2003)
• Gmail (2004)
• Zoom (2011)
• Google Meet (2017)
Social Media
• Friendster (2002)
• Multiply (2003)
• Facebook (2004)
• Instagram (2010)
Video Streaming
• YouTube (2005)
• TikTok (2016)

PORTABLE LAPTOP (1980) TABLET (1993)

FRIENDSTER (2002) MOSAIC (1993)

 GOOGLE (1997) INTERNET EXPLORER

SKYPE (2003) FACEBOOK (2004)

TWITTER (2007) SMARTPHONES

WEARABLE TECHNOLOGIES

LESSON 3 – Information Literacy

Information can be classified into types and providers.
 Types of Information
1. Scholarly Information
- Scholarly information is information drawn from the research of field experts. An EXPERT is
someone whose credentials are recognized by practitioners of a particular field. (Expert: a
person who has a comprehensive an authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area)
- The Central Connecticut State Universities advise that when learning about a topic, one must
rely most on scholarly sources because they are created by experts whose works have been
peer-reviewed before being made public. (PEER REVIEW is a process where one’s
findings/research is evaluated by fellow experts.)
- Opposite of this is Entertainment/Popular Information
The University of Melbourne defines 'Scholarly Information' as having Four Dimensions:
 a) Published information and collections used by our scholars to inform their
learning, teaching and research. Published information and collections may be in
many formats and may or may not be provided through the University. The term
‘scholarly information’ also refers to other primary sources typically collected by
a library, museum or archive: for example, letters, financial documents,
mementos and other contents of personal and business archives.
b) Materials created for learning and teaching purposes. These could include, for
example, course notes, presentation slides, customized ‘packs’ of selected
readings for a particular subject, audio and video versions of lectures, and a range
of digital objects that can be stored in a learning management system and reused
in different ways and at different times.
c) Information created in the course of research activities. Examples of such
information are numerical data collected from scientific instrumentation and
laboratory work; information collected from surveys, interviews and other social
studies; records of meetings and conversations between collaboration partners;
models, plans or images created in the course of design, architectural or
ethnographic research.
d) Research outputs. Such as papers, chapters, monographs, articles, letters,
presentations, demonstrations and speeches, processed research data and
visualizations of large datasets can be considered under this category

2. Entertainment/Popular Information
- Information meant for the general population. A journalist, staff writer, or content
producer may use some entertaining hooks in order to catch attention or to be easily
understood.
- It may be derived from a discussion of other people’s work.
3. Professional/Trade Information
- Typically discuss topics or practical application related to a certain field or profession
- Contains jargons/uses language familiar to the profession
- Includes current news about trends about a specific industry presented to experts and
enthusiasts by someone with knowledge in the field. Professional/trade journals do not
have to be peer-reviewed to be published but they are exposed to a higher level of
scrutiny from people with knowledge in that field.
4. Opinion
- A viewpoint, judgement, or statement that is not conclusive. Opinions on a specific matter
vary from person to person.
- An intelligent opinion is an argument for a conclusion based on an analysis of verifiable
facts and reliable information.
Scholarly Sources Entertainment/Popular Sources Professional or Trade Sources Opinion
Academic books; Completed Cosmopolitan; Newsweek; Advertising Age; Education Week; Essays; Item
Theses; History of Britain; Life of Dr. National Geographic Magazine; Supply and Demand Chain reviews
Examples
Jose Rizal; Time Magazine Executive; Health Insurance
Underwriter Magazine
Scholars, researchers and students General audience, all readers Other members of the profession or Anyone
Audience
trade
Scholars, researchers, and experts Reporters, usually not experts on Members of the profession or Anyone
in the field of study the subject trade, specialized journalists, or
Author's credentials in the field are Authors may not have special technical writers
Authors
established (e.g., institutional qualifications for writing article; Credentials are usually not provided
affiliation, maybe degrees) credentials are usually not
provided
 Sources cited in footnotes and/or
Bibliography/ bibliography
References Usually extensive list of references
Field-specific language/jargon;
Language requires reader to be previously
informed about field.
To report results of original
research, experimentation or
analysis
Purpose
Dense text-based pages
May contain complicated graphs or
charts
Appearance
Usually will not include color glossy
pages or photographs
Very little advertising, if any
Sources are not cited or cited
informally
No reference list provided
Written in everyday language
accessible to any general reader
Provide broad, general
information and entertainment
Secondary but not "original"
research (the author didn’t
conduct the actual lab work,
math, or theoretical analysis.)
Attractive appearance – colorful
Advertisements
Heavily illustrated
Glossy paper
Documentation of sources is not None
required, though sometimes brief
bibliographies of further readings
are included
Include jargon and terms that are Simple Language
commonly used in the profession or
trade
Provide practical information for To present
members of a profession or viewpoint or
industry, including topics like news, persuade
trends, products, and research
summaries
Moderate number of May come in
advertisements targeted to the different forms
interests of the members of a
profession, industry, or organization

 Providers of Information
1. Academic Institutions
- Are schools, colleges, and universities that confer academic degrees. They are dedicated
to education and research. Students and faculty members of academic institutions
continually seek knowledge for themselves and for their community.
- Private academic institutions are funded primarily through tuition fees and private
donations. State universities are public academic institutions largely supported by the
government.
2. Government Agencies
- Organizations under the government which are responsible for the administration of a
specific function.
- Examples are PAGASA, informs us about the weather; PHIVOLCS, monitors volcanoes
and earthquake faults; PIA or Philippine Information Agency, keeps Filipinos informed
about the government
3. Private Sector
- Includes business, organizations, and other players in the economy that are not owned
or operated by the government. They provide goods and services for profit.
Competition for the consumers’ support pushes them to continually improve the
products and information that they provide.
- Examples of organizations in the private sector include:
- Sole Proprietors: Designers, Developers, Plumbers, Repairmen
- Partnerships: Dentistry, Legal, Accounting, Tax
- Small and Medium-sized Businesses: Retail, Hospitality, Food, Leisure, Legal
Services
- Large Multinationals: Apple, Tesla, Disney, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo
- Professional/Trade Associations: Canadian Institute of Management, American
Management Association
4. Private Individuals
- Those who do not represent another person, corporation, or group. A private individual
must be motivated to tell the truth, to help, and to do the right thing when giving
information.
5 Components of Information Literacy
The information literate student can:
Identify, Find, Evaluate, Apply, and Acknowledge

1. The information literate student can identify the nature and extent of information needed.

Academic Examples
✓ writing a thesis statement
✓ creating a timeline and plan to complete a research paper
✓ reading background information on a topic before researching
✓ recognizing the difference between a library database and a website
✓ differentiating between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources for
information
Real World Examples
✓ deciding on the destination for next family trip that fits the budget
✓ deciding to search for the most current information available on a
medical procedure
✓ choosing and buying a smartphone with the desired specifications

2. The information literate student can find needed information effectively and efficiently.

Academic Examples
✓ finding an article from the library databases
✓ locating a book on the library shelves by its call number
✓ refining a search strategy to narrow down results in databases and
search engines
✓ choosing keywords and phrases to use in a library catalog search
Real World Examples
✓ locating a website written by a credible botanist to help identify
wildflowers
✓ searching public archives for information on local history
✓ accessing a government website for local crime statistics

3. The information literate student can evaluate information and its sources critically.

Academic Examples
✓ summarizing the main ideas of an article or book
✓ reviewing multiple points of view to construct an opinion
✓ exploring different sources of information (web, books, databases,
primary sources) to understand a topic
✓ analyzing the structure and logic of arguments made in lectures and
speeches
Real World Examples
✓ researching the claims made in a political ad on television
✓ scrutinizing a Wikipedia article for accuracy
✓ checking a website for currency of updates
4. The information literate student can apply information effectively to accomplish a specific
purpose.

Academic Examples
✓ paraphrasing an expert essay to support a position in a persuasive
speech
✓ integrating a direct quotation from a reference book into a research
paper
✓ using images from a database to prepare a group Powerpoint
presentation
Real World Examples
✓ developing a market survey based on gaps identified by reviewing
studies
✓ referencing experts to support a point during a discussion
✓ communicating the findings of a patent search to potential product
investors

5. The information literate student can acknowledge sources of information and the ethical,
legal, and socio-economic issues surrounding information.

Academic Examples
✓ citing an information source in the text of a research paper
✓ creating a works cited page or bibliography
✓ understanding what constitutes plagiarism
✓ utilizing Fair Use and copyright guidelines
Real World Examples
✓ obtaining permission before copying a news story to a blog
✓ giving attribution to a reposted image on a website
✓ recognizing limits and protections of free speech and censorship on
television
✓ downloading legally purchased music