THE MEDIA AND THE LITERACIES:

MEDIA LITERACY, INFORMATION LITERACY,

DIGITAL LITERACY

Article author : Tibor Koltay

Szent István University, Jászberény, Hungary

Prepared by:
Doaa Mohamed Fathallah
 Outline
• Introduction
• What is LITERACY ?
• Media literacy
• Information literacy
• Digital literacy
• Comparison bet. Media & Information literacy
• Multicultural literacy
• Emerging technology literacy
• Reproduction literacy
• Multimodal literacy
• Consumers and producers
• conclusion
• Video
• Questions
 Introduction
• In Digital era : we are using digital media
• Information : is available in large amounts
through many tools especially digital ones.
• Marshall McLuhan is a famous scientist in the
field of media who said that : “the world has
become a global village“.
• Media influences: perceptions, beliefs and
attitudes.
• Media consumption: depends on user
communication and the availability of digital
products.
 What is LITERACY ?

Literacy is the state of being able to

read and write ( Longman dictionary )

Literacy includes visual , electronic

and digital forms of communication.
 Media literacy
Media literacy is the ability to:
• access the media
• understand
• critically evaluate media content
• create communications / produce messages

• Media literacy cares about how people comprehend,

interpret , analyze and compose media messages.

Example : Facebook , website or blog ……passive or active audience

Egyptian Army (sms) in the revolution
Q
 Media literacy
• Children and youth especially adolescents
exposed to a large amount of media messages
for entertainment through television, internet, music,
movies and videogames.
• Therefore Media literacy plays a role in the
socialization when children and youth exposed to
these messages.

Entertainment leads to socialization

• There is a need to understand the media work and

citizens should know the political, ideological,
economic and cultural dimensions of media.
 Video

Assignment Media Literacy (elementary school intro) .mp4

OR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IysHjKE2D-Y
 Information literacy
Means To :
Recognize when information is needed
Identify
Locate
Think critically
Evaluate
Use information to solve a problem

Note: Ward argument (2006) states that

info. Lit. includes media lit.
Information literacy
 Digital literacy
Includes :
The presentation of information

The evaluation of information

The organization of information

Through :
The usage of digital tools &
digital resources.
Digital literacy
 Comparison
Simil. & Media literacy
diffe.
S Requires analytic skills
S Critical evaluation to the
media messages
D New media doesn’t but
media lit. can improve
traditional print lit. skills
D Disputable valid
(not sure)
D No attempt
Information literacy
Requires analytic skills
Critical evaluation
Sometimes based on
traditional conceptions
Interpret complex
communicative situations
Soft applied discipline

D Commercial communication Not found

(advertising)
D unclear in media lit. Requires technology
mediated
 Multicultural literacy
• Is the ability to
Acknowledge
compare
contrast
appreciate commonalities and differences in
cultural behaviors beliefs and
values, within and between
cultures.

Q
 Emerging technology literacy
• Is the ability to:
adapt
understand
evaluate
make use of the continually emerging innovations in
information technology
make intelligent decisions about the adoption of new tools
& resources.
 Reproduction literacy
Means the creative re-use of existing
materials
(is embedded into digital literacy) .
 Multimodal literacy
promises a synthesis of multiple modes of
communication
Results :
Singular modes Transformed into New or
Multiple
meanings.
 Consumers and producers
• People are regarded as receivers but not senders of
messages.
• NOW, content creation is easier than ever, because the
same technology can easily be used to send and
receive, thus many are already content producers.
• The web began to develop as a global forum for
conversations and there is explosive growth in online
publishing, with an increasing number of writers who are
specialists and non-specialists.
 Conclusion
Finally, The article gave us :

• An overview about 3 main literacies and other

new literacies definitions.

• Similarities and differences between Media &

Information literacies.

• The attention to the blurring line between media

consumers and producers.
 Specific Questions
• What is media literacy?
• What are the other two important literacies?
Information literacy & Digital literacy
• What is the definition of multicultural literacy?
• What are the other literacies mentioned in the article?
Visual literacy, Emerging technology literacy, reproduction
literacy & Multimodal literacy.
• What the web develops in online publishing?
It is recognized that the web began to develop as a global
forum for conversations and we witness an explosive
growth in online publishing, with an increasing number
of writers (Beeson, 2005).
 Discussion Questions
• Do we need media literacy? Why?
• To what extent we have the awareness of
using digital tools & resources?
• Are you a media literate person? & what
skills do you have?
• How can we apply media literacy in our
society? In other words, through what
channels can we aware people of media
literacy?
 Useful Links
• Resources on Media and Media Literacy- University of Michigan,
http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/media.htm

• The George Lucas Educational Foundation - For improving the

K-12 learning process ,
http://www.edutopia.org/
http://www.edutopia.org/media-literacy

• Media Awareness Network,

www.media-awareness.ca

• Association for Media Literacy,

www.aml.ca

• Concerned Children's Advertisers,

www.cca-kids.ca
Any Questions …..