Content Standard: The Learners demonstrates understanding of media and information

literacy(MIL) and MIL related concepts. 

Performance Standard: The learner organizes a creative and interactive symposium for the
community focusing on being a media and information literate individual.
Most Essential Learning Competencies:
At the end of the lesson, each student should be able to:
1.  Identify the similarities and differences between and among media literacy, information
literacy, and technology literacy
2. Describe how communication is influenced by media and information

Introduction to Media and Information Literacy

In this lesson, you will learn how conveying information evolved from writing it down using pen
and paper to uploading photos and videos online. You will also understand why media and
information literacy skills are important to achieve effective communication and learning.

IMPORTANCE OF LITERACY

There is no doubt that literacy is a fundamental tool to achieve success and further career
opportunities and, on a whole, improve the quality of life individual and communities they live
in. Having the skills to communicate, read, and write is vital for social and economic
development. It allows individuals to expand their knowledge and understanding of society.

Literacy is not simply the ability to read and write, but rather the ability to use these skills and
communicate effectively. In modern society and our globalized world, literacy is far more
diverse that simply reading a book and understanding what we have read. Digital literacy, for
example, is the ability to understand and use information across multiple formats from
computers to the internet and cellphones.

The teacher’s goal is to make sure that the student will understand the lessons taught in the
classroom. Not everyone processes information and learning in a similar manner, so teacher
applies different learning strategies, such as watching films, listening to musicals scores, or
reading articles from a magazine, to communicate the lesson clearly. In this way, the students
easily understand the topic.

What is Literacy?
Literacy is not simply the ability to read and write, but rather the ability to use these skills and
communicate effectively. In modern society and our globalized world, literacy is far more
diverse that simply reading a book and understanding what we have read

IMPORTANCE OF LITERACY
The teacher’s goal is to make sure that the student will understand the lessons taught in the
classroom. Not everyone processes information and learning in a similar manner, so teacher
applies different learning strategies, such as watching films, listening to musicals scores, or
reading articles from a magazine, to communicate the lesson clearly. In this way, the students
easily understand the topic.

Media Literacy
As centuries passed, a variety of information can now be accessed, not only by reading books,
but also through the use of different forms of media and the technology that are on hand.

Media literacy encompasses the practices that allow people to access, critically evaluate, and
create or manipulate media. The word media refers to the different means of communication,
such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet.

Importance of Media Literacy

Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in a variety of forms.
The benefits of media literacy for students are multiple. First and foremost, media literacy helps
students become wiser consumers of media as well as responsible producers of their own
media. Along those same lines, teaching media literacy helps to foster critical thinking in
students. This type of thinking can eventually become second nature, which will help them in
many areas as they grow older. The focus is more on strengthening process skills, not content
knowledge.

In a larger context, media literacy also fosters the skills that help people work together in
collaboration because it encourages respectful discourse and builds citizenship skills.

Media literacy will continue to play a key role in creating a new generation that can retain
critical thinking skills in the midst of a media blizzard. It’s an area where teachers who learn
about media literacy can have a profound impact.

How Information is Transmitted?

With or without modern technology, people communicate orally. Through the spoken
language, one person can express what he wants to say to another person.

But what if two people do not speak the same language? 

A language barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to refer to linguistic barriers to

communication, i.e. the difficulties in communication experienced by people or groups
originally speaking different languages, or even dialects in some cases.

People exchange messages or information through writing. When the system of writing and
alphabet was not yet invented, thoughts and ideas were expressed through symbols and
drawings

Using the best form of technology possible, such as computers and tablets, it is now easier to
discover many things because information is readily on the World Wide Web or simply web.
The web allows users across the globe to navigate different websites and access information
using the Internet.

What is Information Literacy?

Information pertains to a specific data acquired for a specific purpose. Gathering information or

data depends upon person’s need.

Information Literacy – is the skill that allows a person to recognize when information is needed
and how he will be able to access, locate, evaluate, and use it effectively.

Importance of Information Literacy

Information Literacy lets you distinguish which among the sources of information are relevant.
This allows the individual to discover where to get information, such as visiting the library or
going online to make a research.
What is Technology Literacy?

Technology is the sum of techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in the production of
goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation.

Technology Literacy is the ability to acquire relevant information and use modern-day tools to
get, manage, apply, evaluate, create and communicate information.

Importance of Technology Literacy

Students nowadays are very lucky because they can easily access information using modern day
technology. In this modern time, technology is associated with machines, equipment, device, or
any invention that show advancement in scientific knowledge, engineering, and computer
concepts.

Media then and Now

Nothing exist in a vacuum. All things on this earth had a process of evolution. Nothing is also
created or manufactured at random, for each and every creation was borne out of a need to fill
a gap or to improve on an existing condition.

Such is the case for media. The gadget you are holding in your hand might not be there had it
not been for the entrepreneurial, artistic, mathematic, or scientific acumen of certain
individuals who aimed to serve humanity in their own unique and humble way.

Every new thing has a beginning. It always important to look back at history in order to
understand how things work in the present. This relevance is also needed in order for us to look
at what is yet to come in the future. Who knows, maybe the next inventor of the latest state-of-
the-art media gadget could be you - like you!
Brief History of Media

Ever since the first human beings evolved on planet Earth., communicating with each other is
one of the most essential and immediate need that they had to learn, develop, and master. This
is to convey information they want to share and get the information they also need. And
whenever there's a need for information and communication, we now know that certain kinds
of media should also be present in order to help facilitate this basic human need

Milestone in Media Evolution

According to McLuhan, we need to focus on our everyday experience of technology. He divided
all human history into four periods- a tribal age, literate age, print age and an electronic age. 
Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980), Canadian professor of literature and culture, developed a
theory of media and human development claiming that "the medium is the message."
 Four Periods:

·         The Tribal Age: An Acoustic Era- In tribal age, senses were used. It was more on hearing
because it allows you to be more aware of your surroundings. You only could see one direction.
You are not able to notice the other things that surround you if sense of sight is more
dominant. The means of communication is through ears.

      The Age of Literacy: A Visual Point of View- Sounds were turned into visible objects that
suddenly eyes became most apparent and most used among senses. The means of
communication is through writing that allows you to comprehend information longer than just
hearing it. The phonetic alphabet paved the way for the people to be freed from tribal and be
an independent.
  

      The Print Age: Prototype of the Industrial Revolution- the printing press made visual
dependence widespread as Johannes Gutenberg invented movable printing press. The printing
press made the mass production of print media possible. Printing press became the extension
of phonetic literacy and the era got back on using the eyes for comprehension. However, they
are being isolated as they gained knowledge.
    

     The Electronic Age: The Rise of Global Village- The rise of electronic media where the printed
world lost its bearings. It became worldwide tool. Electronic media are widely used and now
relevant to everyone’s lives. Everyone could gain knowledge even without the ability to read
and write. because we can depend on other senses. The people became a one tribe again, a
global village.

·The digital age: Rewiring the Global Village- The more upgraded version of media wherein it
became a necessity for every one of us. Mobile Phones’ popularity has been immense.
According to McLuhan, people are now free from isolation. He described the global village as
where "humans can no longer live in isolation, but rather will always be connected by
continuous and instantaneous electronic media."
Different Theories of Media Evolution:
The Tribal Age – Acoustic Era

 The primary medium was oral communication

 Dependent on auditory senses
 Ear was the key organ
 Spoken word was more emotionally laden than the written
 Spoken word is immediate and alive
 Hearing is more valuable than seeing
 Hearing and smelling was a crucial ability in the tribal age

The Age of Literacy – Visual Era

 Words are created with dualism between sight and sound

 Both writer and reader could be detached from the text
 Eyes were the key organ
 Words were no longer immediate and alive
 Put people into “civilized” private attachment
 Required a single focus; proximity became less important
 Phonetic alphabet freed people from tribes
 People became independent learners

The Print Age – Visual Era

 Prototype of Industrial revolution

 Print age was dated to the invention of the movable type mechanical printing press by
Johannes Gutenberg
 Printing press made visual dependence widespread
 Printing press was the ultimate extension of phonetic literacy
 Mass-produced books ushered in the industrial revolution and nationalism, yet
individuals were isolated
 Men could gain knowledge even without being in the center of society

The Electronic Age – Era of Instant Communication

 Instant communication has returned men to a pre-alphabetic oral tradition

 People became a single tribe – a global village
 Constant contact with the world became a daily reality
 All-at-once-ness was people’s state being
 What we feel was more important than what we think
 The electronic media have kept people informed about events across the globe without
having to leave the comfort of their own homes
 What is New about New Media

There are four main categories of new media and all of them share "certain channel similarities
and are approximately differentiated by types use, content, and context," according to
McQuail.

1. Interpersonal communication media. Examples would be telephone, mobile phone, and

e-mail where "content is private and perishable and the relationship established and
reinforced may be more important than the information conveyed."
2. Interactive play media. Video and computer-based games, plus virtual reality devices
compose this category. 
3. Information search media. The Internet and the World Wide Web become repositories
or sources of a vast collection of information that can be accessed real-time despite
geographical location.
4. Collective participatory media. This refers to the use of the internet for "sharing and
exchanging information, ideas, and experiences and developing active (computer-
mediated) personal relationships.

Key characteristics of new media, according to McQuail, include interactivity, social presence
(or sociability), media richness, autonomy, playfulness, privacy, and personalization.

Functions of Communication and Media

Media, whether traditional or new, has a role to play in the proper functioning of a democratic
society such as the Philippines. In order for a democratic society function in an ideal way, media
and communication must fulfill its mandate. According to NcNair, communication and media
function to

1. Inform citizens of what is happening around them (also called the monitoring function);
2. Educate the audience as to the meaning and significance of the "facts";
3. Provide a platform for public political discourse, facilitating the formation of "public
opinion" and feeding that opinion back to the public from whence it came, [including]
the provision of space for the expression of dissent;
4. give publicity to governmental and political institutions (known as the "watchdog" role
of journalism); and
5. serve as a channel for the advocacy of political viewpoints.
6. Media and Government: A Love-Hate Relationship
7. The relationship of media and government is oftentimes adversarial. This normal and
healthy because media, being a "watchdog," keeps everything at bay. Before you can
fully understand the nature of media in the Philippines, familiarize yourself first with the
four theories of the press.
 . Selected Theories on Media and Information

Nowadays, accessing information and communicating with other people are fast and easy
because there are different forms of media we can use. Apart from the inventors who made
high-end gadgets to improve our information and communication technology (ICT), we should
also be grateful to researchers who were proponents of the theories about information and
media. With these theories, our modes of communication have become more efficient and
effective.

1. Media Richness Theory - it also referred to as Information Richness Theory by Richard L.

Draft and Robert H. Lengel (1980). this theory can be used to assess the richness or
multi-function capabilities of specific means of communication, such as phone calls,
video conferences, and e-mails.
2. Information Processing Theory - this theory suggests that humans process information
they receive instead of merely responding to the stimuli.
3. Contingency Theory - it notes that a variable can change behavior and the structure of
an organization in order to complete a task. (Joan Woodward)
4. Media Naturalness Theory - face-to-face communication is the most natural method of
communication. (Nereu "Ned" Kock)
5. Media Synchronization Theory - according to this theory, it is better if people who need
to communicate are all present and available in real time.
6. Channel Expansion Theory - This theory suggest that an individual chooses a type of
media to use for communication based on his experience in handling that type of media
alongside the person he needs to speak with and what their topic is all about.