Lesson 1: Introduction to Media and Information Literacy

Table 1. Examples of Communication Medium

Communication Medium How It Works

Person to person interaction using one’s voice as the tool to
Conversation
deliver the message.
One to many interactions using one’s voice as the tool to
Public Speaking deliver the message to a large number of people, at any given
time.
Written messages in whatever form, usually on paper and
Documents/ Letters/ Mails
print.
Messages rendered in the form of paintings, drawings,
Visual Art photography, videos, images, and the like, that conveys
specific emotion, idea or thought.
Physical things such as tarpaulin billboards, posters, in-
Physical Medium package information contained in product packaging, and the
like.
Digital and electronic means to convey messages such as
Digital/ Interactive website or computer application, primarily by the use of
internet.

From the example done for you, a Cellular Mobile Phone with simple call and text features is an
example of a medium of communication, because it allows you to communicate and reach out
to others. However, Smart Phones which are types of mobile phones having the multi-purpose
features of communication, multimedia functionality, wireless communication like Bluetooth and
wi-fi, is an example of both a source of information and a medium of communication. Needless
to say, a smart phone can be used as a medium to communicate to other people from across
the globe, and if loaded with cellular data, can surf the internet hence, a potential source of
information.

Now that we have discussed the interrelationship of media and communication, we will examine
the different concepts that will be used in this subject. We will build your definition on the
following key concepts, as referenced from the Teaching Guide of Media and Information
Literacy formulated by the CHED in collaboration with the Philippine Normal University:

A. Literacy- The ability to identify, D. Information- A broad term that covers

understand, interpret, create, processed data, knowledge derived from
communicate and compute, using printed study, experience, instruction, signals or
and written materials associated with symbols.
varying contexts. Literacy involves a E. Information Literacy- The ability to
continuum of learning, wherein recognize when information is needed,
individuals are able to achieve their and to locate, evaluate, and effectively
goals, develop their knowledge and communicate information in its various
potential, and participate fully in their formats.
community and wider society. F. Technology (Digital) Literacy- The
B. Media- The physical objects used to ability of an individual, either working
communicate with or the mass independently or with others, to
communication through physical objects responsibly, appropriately, and effectively
such as radio, television, computers, film, use technological tools. Using these tools
etc. It also refers to any physical object an individual can access, manage,
used to communicate messages. integrate, evaluate, create and
C. Media Literacy- The ability to access, communicate information.
analyze, evaluate, and create media in a G. Media and Information Literacy- The
variety of forms. It aims to empower essential skills and competencies that
citizens by providing them with the allow individuals to engage with media
competencies (knowledge and skills) and other information providers
necessary to engage with traditional effectively, as well as develop critical
media and new technologies. thinking and life-long learning skills to
socialize and become active citizens.
Part of integrating values to your learning towards becoming a literate in media and information
is an inventory of your media habit, lifestyle and preferences. This means that you will assess
your personal schedule and list down your common online activities and quantify it as to the
number of hours you have spent engaged for the specific activity. The table below shows an
example of a common response.

Table 5. Example of a Weekly Inventory of Media Habit, Lifestyle and Preferences

Number of hours in a week

Media or Information Provider (168 hours/ week)

Youtube 3 hours
Facebook 12 hours
Television, Radio 20 hours
Books 10 hours
Others: pep.ph, google.com 10 hours
TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS/ WEEK 55 hours

Lesson 2: Information Literacy

As a review, we already discussed what Information Literacy is. It is defined as the ability to
recognize when information is needed, and to locate, evaluate, and effectively communicate
information in its various formats. Therefore, it is a set of individual competencies needed to
identify, evaluate and use information in the most ethical, efficient and effective way across all
domains, occupations and professions.

Table 7. Stages/ Elements of Information Literacy

Stage What this stage is about?

Identifying/ recognizing information needs
1 The realization that there arises a need or a problem exists that requires information,
for its satisfactory resolution.
Determining sources of information
2 Know how to determine if the needed information exists, and to source out from
varied avenues.
Citing or searching for information
3
Know how to find needed information, to give credits to the source of the information.
Analyzing and evaluating the quality of information
Know how to fully understand found information, or know where to go for help if
4
needed to understand, and to assess the accuracy and reliability of the information
acquired.
Organizing, storing or archiving information
Know how to preserve, store, reuse, record and archive information for future use,
5
or to dispose of information no longer needed, and safeguard information that should
be protected.
Using information in an ethical, efficient and effective way
6
Know how to utilize information to solve problem, make decision, or meet need.
Creating and communicating new knowledge
7 Know how to communicate and present information to others in appropriate, usable
formats/ mediums.
Take note that the concept is appropriately divided into stages as to one cannot proceed with
the next step, unless the initial step is not satisfied. It can be considered as elements, since
each one must be exhibited in an individual if we consider a one as information literate.

In the table from the previous page, let us just consider a situation relevant to your experience
as SHS student, particularly your task on your subject in Practical Research. First thing that you
need to do is to look for a specific need, a problem that needs resolution (Stage 1) which will
serve as the moving reason for your research. Let’s just say you want to look into students’
reading comprehension. Stage 2 requires that you must determine if there are available
materials for your references, whether they be in hard or soft copies, digital or otherwise.
Definitely, once you have determined your information sources, like the internet, books,
journals, and the like, you must cite these sources appropriately in order to not be charged with
plagiarism. Stage 4 is all about analyzing and evaluating which from the varied information
available are relevant to your research topic, and which are not valuable enough for use. This
stage requires a full understanding of the topic or need that you need to resolve. Stage 5
requires knowledge as to the preservation and storage of the information that you have
acquired. You may store these on a flash drive, or maybe print or photocopy the information for
your reference. Stage 6 is all about the proper way of using the information that you have
acquired that will be beneficial to a large number of people. The ethical and legal side of using
referenced materials then comes into question. Finally, you will have to decide then as to the
manner of communicating the information to the vast majority of the people. Definitely as an
output of your Practical Research, you need to have this printed and bounded before submitting
to your teacher.

Summary
1. Communication is broadly defined as the imparting and exchanging of
information.
2. There are different communication mediums, common examples are
Conversation, Public Speaking, Documents/ Letters/ Mails, Visual Art, Physical
Medium, Digital/ Interactive. Each one of these mediums works differently in
conveying messages and information, but with the main purpose of communicating
information to others.
3. Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and
compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.
Literacy involves a continuum of learning, wherein individuals are able to achieve
their goals, develop their knowledge and potential, and participate fully in their
community and wider society.
4. Media are the physical objects used to communicate with or the mass
communication through physical objects such as radio, television, computers, film,
etc. It also refers to any physical object used to communicate messages.
5. Media Literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in a
variety of forms. It aims to empower citizens by providing them with the
competencies (knowledge and skills) necessary to engage with traditional media
and new technologies.
6. Information- A broad term that covers processed data, knowledge derived from
study, experience, instruction, signals or symbols.
7. Information Literacy- The ability to recognize when information is needed, and to
locate, evaluate, and effectively communicate information in its various formats.
8. Technology (Digital) Literacy- The ability of an individual, either working
independently or with others, to responsibly, appropriately, and effectively use
technological tools. Using these tools an individual can access, manage, integrate,
evaluate, create and communicate information.
9. Media and Information Literacy- The skills and competencies that allow
individuals to engage with media and other information providers effectively, as well
as develop critical thinking and life-long learning skills to socialize and become
active citizens.
10. The Stages/ Elements of Information Literacy are:
Stage 1- Identifying/ recognizing information needs
Stage 2- Determining sources of information
Stage 3- Citing or searching for information
Stage 4- Analyzing and evaluating the quality of information
Stage 5- Organizing, storing or archiving information
Stage 6- Using information in an ethical, efficient and effective way
Stage 7- Creating and communicating new knowledge
11. The Stages/ Elements of Information Literacy are divided into stages as to one cannot
proceed with the next step, unless the initial step is not satisfied. It can also be
considered elements, because each one must be exhibited in an individual if we are to
consider one an information literate.