Developing Media Literacy
In this lesson I'll discuss one of the most important principles for real expertise on the Internet--media and information literacy. Many learners get this confused with media knowledge (how to use a smartphone, computer, video camera, etc.), and although one needs knowledge to have literacy, literacy is much more.
Media and information literacy involves developing an understanding of how humans process information, and how the various forms of media (print, music, graphics, motion pictures, etc.) can be used to transmit ideas. Also, media literacy involves an understanding of how the various forms of media and media-makers can urge, cajole, and manipulate people and their ideas. Media and information literacy is not an add-on--it is an essential survival skill for everyone in the information age.
During this course, we will be spending a fair amount of time developing media knowledge. You will learn a lot about computers and how they can be used to gather, interpret, and transmit information. You may learn how to use video. You may learn how to use digital media to tell a story. All of these skills are important skills for modern digital natives. But skilled users move beyond learning about computers as a goal in-and-of-itself. Learning about computers and software is simply training. You can go to YouTube or your local community education center to get media training. That's hardly college-level work, much less graduate school work. My goal for you is to move beyond simple media training. In this course, I want you to develop the ability to embed your digital life with media and information using skills which truly help you become media literate. Being media literate in today's world is the equivalent of knowing how to read and use a library 20 years ago.
IMPORTANT NOTE!!!
Much of the background information which will help you develop media literacy is covered in the videos we will see in class and in the readings you have been assigned. You should take thorough notes regarding these resources and place these notes in your portfolio. We will talk about each of these resources in class, but even if we don't talk specifically about every key idea, they are crucial resources for which you are responsible! Start right now--take notes on this lesson and study them. Keep up with the readings so you can constructively participate in our class discussions.
Think about ways you and those with whom you work could be shown how to use media knowledge to answer questions that they might have in your professional life. People who are information literate:
Computers and video are information gathering, interpreting, and disseminating tools which must be part of a total information literacy program.
As you work to learn about computers and information technologies during this course, please pay attention to more than simply knowing what software to purchase, button to push or which address to visit. Think about how using these technologies can help you and those with whom you work develop their skills to gather information, solve problems, and communicate their solutions to others. Think of video and computers as tools--just as we use books, pencils, telephones, etc.--think of computers and video as today's digital tools to gather, interpret, and disseminate information.
Internet Lessons version 2.0. Copyright of lessons (C) 2011 by Joseph A. Erickson, All Rights Reserved. Permission Granted for Individual Usage.
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