Introduction to Media and Information Literacy

Introduction to Media and Information Literacy

• Media and information literacy (MIL) encompasses information and communication literacy and digital literacy.
• MIL empowers citizens to access, retrieve, understand, evaluate, use, create, and share information and media in all formats.
• MIL enables critical, ethical, and effective participation in personal, professional, and societal activities.
• MIL includes information and communication literacy and digital literacy.

What is Communication?

• Communication is the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information, ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
• It aims at a mutual understanding between communicators.

Lesson 1 Learning Objectives

• Define communication and media.
• Identify the two basic types of communication (verbal and nonverbal).
• Identify devices used by people to communicate, store information, and broadcast information across different ages.

Types of Communication

• Nonverbal Communication: Includes signs, symbols, colors, gestures, body language, and facial expressions.
• Verbal Communication: Consists of oral and written communication.

Process of Communication

• Communication involves a sender, message, channel, receiver, feedback, and potential noise/distortion.
• Key elements like productivity, facts, teamwork, strategy, people, ideas, and plan are integral parts of the process.

Transmission Models

• Lasswell's Model (1948): Focuses on "Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?"
• Shannon-Weaver's Model (1948): Illustrates communication as a process with a sender, encoder, channel, decoder, receiver, and potential noise.

Examples

• A political candidate giving a speech at a rally shows how a message travels from a communicator, through a specific channel, to an audience.
• A teacher giving instructions in a classroom illustrates the communication process with a sender, channel, receiver, and potentially noise factors.
• A phone call between two friends highlights the typical communication flow with senders, a channel (phone), and a receiver.

Reception Model (Osgood-Schramm Model, 1954)

• Communicators encode and decode messages, while interpreters shape understanding. The model is cyclical, highlighting the ongoing exchange of information.

Picture Analysis

• Visual cues can significantly affect the interpretation of messages. Visuals can impact understanding as well as convey bias.

Terms to Understand

• Media Literacy: The ability to analyze, evaluate, and produce communication in various media forms.
• Information Literacy: The ability to locate, assess, effectively use, and share information.
• Technology/Digital Literacy: Skills needed to use digital tools, networks, and communication tools for managing and creating information.