Module, media information literacy, media literacy, information literacy, technology literacy

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Media and
Information Literacy
Quarter 1 – Module 2 (Week 2)
Introduction to Media
and Information Literacy

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INTRODUCTORY MESSAGE
Communication is an innate human process and an inescapable fact of life. It can be simple as having a
face-to-face conversation between two people, or it can be complex like communicating to a large group of
audience using various media. Today, communication plays a more important function especially in the age of
information and technological progression. As such, we, as beings inherently born to communicate, must have
a full understanding of the important role of each element in the communication process to achieve
effectiveness in sending or disseminating information.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
For the learners:
To be guided in achieving the objectives of this module, do the following:
1. Read and follow instructions carefully.
2. Answer the pretest before going through the lessons.
3. Take note and record points for clarification.
4. Compare your answers against the key to answers found at the end of the module.
5. Do the activities and fully understand each lesson.
6. Answer the self-check to monitor what you learned in each lesson.
7. Answer the posttest after you have gone over all the lessons.
This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:
What I Need to Know? This will give you an idea of the skills or competencies
you are expected to learn in the module
What I Know? This part includes an activity that aims to check what you already
know about the lesson to take. If you get all the answers correct, you
may decide to skip this module.
What’s in? This is a brief drill or review to help you link the current lesson with
the previous one.
What’s New? In this portion, the new lesson will be introduced to you in various
ways such as a story, a song, a poem, a problem opener, an activity or
situation.
What is it? This section provides a brief discussion of the lesson. This aims to help
you discover and understand new concepts and skills.

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What’s more? This comprises activities for independent practice to solidify your
understanding and skills of the topic.
What I Have Learned? This includes questions or blank sentence or blank
sentence/paragraph to be filled into process what you learned from
the lesson.
What I Can Do? This section provides an activity which will help you transfer your new
knowledge or skill into real life situations or concern.
Assessment This is a task which aims to evaluate your level of mastery in achieving
the learning competency
Additional Activities In this portion, another activity will be given to you to enrich your
knowledge or skill of the lesson learned. This also tends retention of
the learned concepts.
The following are some reminders in using this module:
1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the module. Use a separate
sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not hesitate to consult your
teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are not alone.

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Lesson 2: Media Literacy, Information
Literacy, and Technology Literacy
What I Need to Know
Learning objectives
In this lesson, you will:
1. Identify the similarities and differences of media literacy, information literacy, and technology
literacy (MIL11/12IMIL-IIIa-2);
2. Understand and value the concept of Media and Information Literacy as a whole; and
3. Define the key concepts (media, information, technology literacy, and media and information
literacies)
What I Know
Pretest
Direction: Determine whether the statements are true or false. Write your answers on a separate sheet
of paper.
_________ 1. Social media goes back to some of the earliest internet technologies and
even predates the internet.
___________ 2. There has been a huge rise in creativity among the public since the advent
of social media.
___________ 3. Microsoft and Apple are two examples of how open-source companies can
become global leaders in their industries.
___________ 4. E-mail is the most popular online communication technology.
___________ 5. There is growing evidence that heavy multitaskers—people who have
multiple screens open at once and who are heavy users of social media—show less ability
to concentrate and remember things than light multitaskers.
___________ 6. The tools and technologies that are available to journalists today have
changed the basic principles of journalism.
___________ 7. All news outlets need trained journalists with high standards.
___________ 8. Technology makes it more difficult to keep up with news today than in the
past because it is difficult to keep up with all the information.
___________ 9. People usually stick to only one trusted news source to get all of their news.
___________ 10. Most news topics, regardless of the source, hold similar interest levels to
everyone, no matter their age, socioeconomic status or political leanings.
___________ 11. Most Americans use four to five devices to keep up with the news.
___________ 12. Consumers turn to digital or printed newspapers more than any other
news source for most news.
___________ 13. An American Press Institute study found that tech-savvy people use
traditional media far less than anyone else.
___________ 14. Using a metered pay model, The New York Times circulation revenue has
now surpassed its advertising revenue.
___________ 15. The best storytellers are those who give audiences a unique experience.

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In the previous lesson, you have learned that communication is a process of sharing and
conveying messages or information from a source to a receiver through and by communication
channels, media tools, contexts, and cultures. Media and information is the core of communication
and thus, a vital part of it.
As explained earlier, media serves as both the source and a channel. Information is the content
that we share during communication. Thus, the importance of communication, media, and information
makes it essential for you to be skilled and knowledgeable in the access and use of each of these. This is
where media, information, and technology literacy comes in. But before we go further, let’s try to
evaluate how much you know about internet media tools.
What’s New
Activity 2.1
Activity 2.1: How well do I Know the New Media?
Inside this box are logos and icons of new media channels and applications. Take a look at these
icons and answer the questions that follow in the next page.
Questions for Activity 2.1
1. How many can you name from the logos inside the box?
2. Explain briefly the uses of those that you can name.
3. Which among these websites and applications do you deem useful and credible in terms of
creating, obtaining, and sharing content?
What is It
Discussion
The activity you just did is one way of evaluating your level of media and information literacy –
knowing what media tools these are, why they are used, how they are used, and how credible they
are.
Let’s kick off this discussion with the definition of the word literacy. UNESCO defines literacy as
the “ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, and compute, using printed and
written materials associated with varying contexts.” Literacy involves a wide range of learning, wherein
individuals able to develop their knowledge and skills, achieve their goals, and participate fully in their
community and wider society. 18

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All the definitions and descriptions of media suggest that it is a channel for transmitting
information. With the abundance of media technology nowadays, you are overwhelmed with countless
information from a vast collection of sources. And at times, you may even struggle to distinguish which
among all these information and sources are useful and credible.
But before you begin to identify the information you need and the places to look for it, you
have to be familiar with the nature of information. The UNESCO Media and Information Literacy
Curriculum for Teachers regard information as a “broad term that can cover data, knowledge derived
from study, experience, or instruction, signals, or symbols.” When you use media, information is
referred to as the “knowledge of specific events or situation that has been gathered or received by
communication, intelligence, or newspapers.” Take a look at the table below for the specific definitions
of Media, Information, and Technology Literacy.
Table 1.1. Definition of Media Literacy, Information Literacy, and Technology Literacy
Literacy Definition
Media Literacy 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.
Information Literacy The ability to recognize when information is needed,
and to locate, evaluate, and effectively communicate
information in its various formats.
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.
Media and Information Literacy
UNESCO defines Media and Information Literacy as “a set of competencies that empowers citizens to
access, retrieve, understand, evaluate and use, to create as well as share information and media
content in all formats, using various tools, in a critical, ethical and effective way, in order to participate
and engage in personal, professional and societal activities.” In simpler terms, it is the ability to
effectively and efficiently create, use, comprehend, and share information through any mediated
communication. The ability to navigate the media is a powerful and crucial skill.

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MIL DEFINED
Taking into consideration the definitions in Table 1.1 in the previous page, try to think back to the kinds
of media you spent your time today. Reflect on the following actions and questions:
 Access – What kind of media were you absorbing? How did you get to it?
 Analyze – Where you making sense of its messages? Do you need these information?
 Evaluate – Were you aware that each message was created by someone with their own goals
and opinions?
 Create – When you create media, like a Facebook post or an Instagram story, what is your
responsibility to those who view it?
 Act – What do you do with all that information you just received? Can you access or locate
other credible information sources?
Being media and information literate means being able to know where and how to access sources
of information; to analyze the meaning and importance of information we come across; to evaluate the
value, truthfulness, and credibility of such information; to create, produce, and share media products
knowing fully well your responsibility to your audience. With media and information literacy skills, you
will have the power to think through each of these important questions every time you pick up your
phone, publish a Facebook post, or turn on the TV.
Key Concepts of MIL
Some people might be thinking “I’m a tech-savvy millennial who knows everything there is to
know about the Internet and the media.” However, media and information literacy is more than just
using your phone or browsing the web. You may be tech-savvy but not necessarily media literate. To
better understand this, here are the key concepts of MIL that you need to remember:
1. All media messages are constructed
Messages, as products of media, are created by sources who deliberately or unconsciously
choose the quality and quantity of content they wish to send or disseminate – what to include, what to
leave out, and how to portray such information. These decisions follow the creator’s opinions and

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perspective, either intentional or instinctive, as influenced by their prior knowledge, assumptions, and
biases. Thus, media products are never entirely accurate reflections of the real world. We should ask:
 Who created this media product? What is its purpose?
 What assumptions or beliefs do its creators have that are reflected in the content?
2. Audiences negotiate meaning
Meanings are truly in people. The meaning of any media product is not solely formed by the
source or its creators but a collaboration between them and the audience – which means that the
different audiences may have varied takeaways from the same content. Much like how creators have
their influences in the messages they create, we, as consumers also have our own baggage too which
determines how we react to and interpret messages.
MIL encourages us to understand how individual factors, such as age, gender, race and social status
affect our interpretations of media. We should ask:
 How might different people see this media product differently?
 How does this make you feel, based on how similar or different you are from the people
portrayed in the media product?
3. Media messages have commercial implications
A lot of the media messages that we consume every day are funded by advertisements or
financed by businesses. Thus, some of these content are bound to sell a product or service or make a
profit. For instance, some advertisements come in the guise as informative articles but are actually
luring audiences to buy their product. An example is this article below:
Retrieved from https://news.abs-cbn.com/advertorial/life/12/01/17/tips-and-recipes-from-
fitspirational-celebrities

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Some media organization publish such content under the marketing arm of their websites so as
to make the audiences aware. However, some media outlets do not. Thus it is imperative that we as
consumers know when we are being fed with content that is deeply influenced by marketing or
advertising.
On the other hand, some media industries belong to big and powerful network of corporations
that exert influence on content and distribution. Even in cases where media content is not deliberately
made to make money – such as YouTube videos and Facebook posts – the ways in which content is
distributed may still run with profit in mind. Thus, we should ask:
 What is the commercial purpose of this media product (in other words, how will it help
someone make money)?
 How does this influence the content and how it’s communicated?
4. Media messages have social and political implications
The media, as vehicles of information, may convey ideological messages about values, power,
and authority. The media as the press, being the fourth estate, also has an explicit capacity of advocacy
and implicit ability to frame social and political issues. These messages may be packaged out of
conscious decisions, but more often than not, they are the results of unconscious biases and
unquestioned assumptions – and they can have a significant influence on what we think and believe.
In consequence, media have great influence on politics and on forming social change. TV news
coverage and advertising can have a huge influence on the people’s political decisions, social views,
and cultural perspectives. Representations of world issues, both in journalism and fiction, can affect
how much attention they receive; and society’s views towards different groups can be directly
influenced by how – and how often – they appear in media. And so we ask:
 Who and what is shown in a positive light? In a negative light?
 Why might these people and things be shown this way?
 Who and what is not shown at all?
 What conclusions might audiences draw based on these facts?
5. Each medium has a unique aesthetic form
You must remember that the kind, quality, and quantity of information that you can
communicate is determined by the media that you use. This includes the technical, commercial, and
creative demands of each medium. So ask yourself:
 What techniques does the media product use to get your attention and to communicate its
message?
 In what ways are the images in the media product manipulated through various techniques
(for example: lighting, makeup, camera angle, photo manipulation)?
 What are the expectations of the genre (for example: print advertising, TV drama, music video)
towards its subject?
In general, always remember that critical thinking is immensely necessary for discerning the media
source and the kind of information that you consume. Critical thinking trains us to take a step back, to
evaluate facts and form evidence-based conclusions. Being media and information literate doesn’t

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mean we always criticize everything; rather, it means that we try to distinguish between claims and
information with evidence and those without. In the next part, we will be discussing the benefits of
being a media and information literate individual.
What’s More
Enrichment
Activity 2.2. Flash News and Visuals
Analyze these pictures.
Answer the following questions in a separate piece of paper.
1. Did you believe these news items were true? How did you know they were true/false?
2. Are all news and information on the internet true? Why or Why not?
3. Who gets to post news items online? Expound.

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Benefits of Media and Information Literacy
1. It teaches you how to verify information and acknowledge others’ perspectives.
Is this photo real or edited? Did this person really say this statement? Is the source of this
article credible? Is this post backed with evidence? These are the things the MIL teaches you to ask.
Ultimately, it compels you to discern the credibility of information you come across especially on the
Internet.
2. It encourages audiences to think critically.
With critical thinking, you are able to wisely use the information you have with you to
objectively form an informed opinion or perspective about a certain matter or issue. You are also able
to discern whether these information makes sense, what it contains, and what it lacks. You not only get
to formulate your own ideas using the information you’ve acquired, but also cite these ideas as
examples to support your opinions.
3. It promotes responsible information sharing and dissemination.
With the spread of false information nowadays, MIL encourages you to step back and evaluate
the truthfulness of the things you share in social media and even those that you speak of to your
friends, relatives, or colleagues.
4. It helps you identify and understand the media’s role in our culture.
From the billboards to the texts and the videos that we see around us, media tend to promote
our culture in various ways. MIL makes you conscious of these influences on your preferences, tastes,
choices, and even lifestyles. This is important for you to be aware of the extent of media’s influence on
your life so as for you to evaluate whether it has been doing you good or bad.
5. It teaches you to think and decide objectively, factually, and reasonably.
Each story and information that you see everywhere you go has a side. MIL reminds us that the
messages we encounter often have more than one side and that it is our responsibility to explore these
other angles. Knowing all sides of the story will not only keep you neutral in issues but will also help
you stay aware of texts or images that are meant to deceive its readers into picking sides, such as fake
news or propaganda messages.
6. It encourages you to actively participate in public affairs as a citizen.
Media keeps you updated with what’s happening in current affairs. Have the opportunity to
voice out your opinions, whether literally or in social media, gives you the ability to actively engage in
public discourse, healthy conversations, where the views of people may affect the collective opinion of
others regarding a certain issue. If done correctly, sending out a voice or starting a movement through
social media can also make an impact in government affairs or make a similar change in the world.
7. It teaches you to create your own content responsibly
Media creators aren’t only those who work under the media industry. In reality, even our
Facebook posts or tweet are already a form of media. You, in turn, are creating a piece of information
that you’re willing to share, and each post that you share on social media contains information that
you are responsible for.

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8. It makes you better appreciate media products
MIL makes you more familiar of how media messages and productions are created, developed,
improved, packaged, advertised, and disseminated. Your knowledge on these make you value more
the work and effort poured into making such products. Moreover, as you view or listen products of art
through media, you are able to appreciate not only its entertainment value but also its technical
aspects.
What I Have Learned
Activity 2.3. Wrap Up!
Using your own words, write the meaning of the following;
a. Media Literacy
b. Information Literacy
c. Technology Literacy
d. Media and Information Literacy
Assessment
I. MULTIPLE CHOICE. Identify the correct letter of the answer to the following. Write it on the
space before the number.
A. Media Literacy B. Information Literacy C. Technology Literacy
_____1. Ross found erroneous facts in the newspaper he is reading.
_____2. Rachel uses her tablet to read his e-books, which she downloaded using an app.
_____3. Chloe, an exchange student, tells her mother that she misses her through e-mail.
_____4. The teacher told the students to go to the library for their research activity.
_____5. A mother bought an alphabet chart for her four-year-old daughter.
_____6. Phoebe is preparing a PowerPoint presentation for his report in history.
_____7. The students are researching about the effects of social media on students’ performance in
class.
_____8. Rachel chats with her friends in London very often.
_____9. A TV news program reported that a strong earthquake struck Manila yesterday.
_____10. The Grade-11 students are to create a webpage of their advertisement in Economics.
II. TRUE OR FALSE: Write TRUE if the statement is valid and FALSE if otherwise.
____________ 1. An information literate person should first understand the question to figure out the
type of information sources he or she needed.
____________ 2. Information needed comes from one source or method.
____________ 3. Media creators are only those who work under the media industry.

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____________ 4. Information is difficult to be shared or learned upon if a person cannot understand
what it is about.
____________ 5. Media is a collection of communication mediums such as radio, television,
newspaper, and the Internet
____________ 6. All information found in the Internet are reliable.
____________ 7. A media literate person understands which media is appropriate and the processes
how media is created
____________ 8. A media literate person understands that media sometimes shows biased messages.
____________ 9. Being able to assess, evaluate information, critically thinking and using the
information effectively, and creating messages are the important aspects of Media, Information, and
Technology literacies.
____________ 10. Media, Information, and Technology Literacy are three separate entities that are
not related.
Additional Activity
Activity 2.4. Reflection. Does the advent of media and information literacy help us to become
closer to God, our family and nation? Support your answer.