THE MEDIA AND THE LITERACIES:

MEDIA LITERACY, INFORMATION LITERACY,

DIGITAL LITERACY
Article author : Tibor Koltay
Szent Istvn University, Jszberny, 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.
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

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. &
diffe.

Media literacy

Information literacy

Requires analytic skills

Requires analytic skills

Critical evaluation to the

media messages

Critical evaluation

New media doesnt but

media lit. can improve
traditional print lit. skills

Sometimes based on
traditional conceptions

Disputable valid
(not sure)

Interpret complex
communicative situations

No attempt

Soft applied discipline

Commercial communication
(advertising)

Not found

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 :
New
or
Transformed
into
Singular modes

Multiple
meanings.
meanings

Consumers and producers

People are regarded as receivers but not senders of

messages.
NOW, content creation is easier than ever,
ever because the
same technology can easily be used to send and
receive, thus many are already content producers.
producers
The web began to develop as a global forum for
conversations and there is explosive growth in online
publishing,
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