CHAPTER 5:

MEDIA and CYBER or DIGITAL

LITERACY
Prepared by: Rena Mae Garque
Jean Tangente
Mae Japitana
 MEDIA LITERACY
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Aufderheide (1993) defines it as “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate,
and communicate messages in a wide variety of forms.”

Christ and Potter (1998) define it as “the ability to access, analyze,

evaluate, and create messages across a variety of contexts.”

Hobbs (1998) posits that it is a term used by modern scholars to refer to the
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process of critically analyzing and learning to create one’s own messages
in print, audio, video, and multimedia.

“The04ability to identify different types of media and understand the

messages they are communicating” (Common Sense Media, n.d.).
According to Boyd (2014), media literacy education began in the United
States and United Kingdom as a direct result of war propaganda in the
1930s and the rise of advertising in the 1960s. In both cases, media was
being used to manipulate the perspective (and subsequent actions) of
those exposed to it, thereby giving rise to the need to educate people on
how to detect the biases, falsehoods, and half-truths depicted, in print,
radio, and television.

Aufderheide (1993) and Hobbs (1998) reported, “At the 1993 Media
Literacy National Leadership Conference, U.S. educators could not agree
on the range of appropriate goals for media education or the scope of
appropriate range instructional techniques.”
Five essential concepts necessary for any analysis of
media messages:
1. Media messages are constructed.
2. Media messages are produced within economic, social, political,
historical, and aesthetic contexts.
3.The interpretative meaning-making processes involved in message
reception consist of an interaction between the reader, the text, and
the culture.
4. Media has unique “languages,” characteristics which typify various
forms, genres, and symbol systems of communication.
5. Media representations play a role in people’s understanding of
social reality.
 What Media Literacy is Not?
Criticizing the media is not, in and of itself, media literacy. However, being
media literate sometimes requires that one indeed criticize what one sees
and hears.
Merely producing media is not media literacy although part of being media
literate is the ability to produce media.
Teaching with media (videos, presentations, etc.) does not equal media
literacy. An education in media literacy must also include teaching about
media.
Viewing media and analyzing it from a single perspective is not media
literacy.
• Media literacy does not simply mean knowing what and what not to
watch; it does mean “watch carefully, think critically.”
 Challenges to Media Literacy Education
“How do we teach Media Literacy?”
Teaching it as a subject in itself might not be feasible given how overburdened
the curriculum is at the moment, while integrating it into the subjects that are
currently being taught might not be enough to teach what are essentially media
consumption habits-skills and attitudes that are learned by doing and repetition
rather than by mere classroom discussion (Koltay, 2011).

“How to measure media literacy and evaluate the success of media literacy
initiatives”
Livingstone and Van Der Graaf (2010) identified “how to measure media literacy
and evaluate the success of media literacy initiatives” as being one of the more
pernicious challenges facing educators in the 21st century, for the simple reason
that if we cannot somehow measure the presence of media literacy in our
students, how do we know we have actually taught them?
 DIGITAL LITERACY
The ability to locate, evaluate, and communicate information on various digital platform.

It is the cognitive, and sociological skills needed to perform tasks and solve problems in
digital environments (Esnet-Alkalai, 2004)

It finds its origins in information and computer literacy (Bawden, 2008, 2001; Snavely &
Cooper, 1997; Behrens, 1994; Andretta, 2007; Webber & Johnson, 2000)

Lanham (1995), the term described the “digitally literate person” as being skilled at
deciphering and understanding the meanings of images, sounds, and the subtle uses of
words so that he/she could match the medium of communication to the kind of information
being presented and to whom the intended audience is.

Paul Gilster (1997) formally defined digital literacy as “the ability to understand and use
information in multiple formats from a wide range of sources when it is presented via
computers,”
Skills and competencies listed by Shapiro and Hughes (1996) in a
curriculum to promote computer literacy;
Tool literacy - competence in using hardware and software tools,

Resource literacy - understanding forms of and access to information resources;

Social-structural literacy - understanding the production and social significance of

information;

Research literacy - using IT tools for research and scholarship; publishing literacy-
ability to communicate and publish information; emerging technologies literacy-
understanding of new developments in IT, and

Critical literacy - ability to evaluate the benefits of new technologies (Note that this
literacy is not the same as “critical thinking,” which is often regarded as a
component of information literacy).
Skills and competencies comprising digital literacy
(Bawden, 2008)
1. Underpinning – refers to the basic literacy and ICT skills a person
acquires throughout their life.

2. Background Knowledge - an understanding of how digital and non-

digital information is created from various forms of resources and
communicated

3. Central competencies in digital literacy include: reading and

understanding digital and non-digital formats, creating and
communicating digital information, evaluating information, knowledge
assembly, information literacy, and media literacy.
4. Attitudes and Perspectives – Bawden (2008) suggests that it is these
attitudes and perspectives that link digital literacy today with traditional
literacy, saying “it is not enough to have skills and competencies, they
must be grounded in some moral framework.” specifically:

• Independent learning - the initiative and ability to learn whatever is

needed for a person’s specific situation; and

• Moral/social literacy – an understanding of correct, acceptable, and

sensible behavior in a digital environment.
 Information Literacy within Digital Literacy

Information Literacy is a subset of media literacy; the ability to locate,

access, and evaluate information from a variety of media sources.
Eshet-Alkalai (2004) draws, attention to Information Literacy as a
critical component of Digital Literacy as “the cognitive skills that
consumers use to evaluate information in an educated and effective
manner.”

In effect, Information Literacy acts as a filter by which consumers

evaluate the veracity of the information being presented to them via
digital media and thereupon sort the erroneous, irrelevant, and biased
from what is demonstrably factual.
 Socio-Emotional Literacy within Digital
Literacy
According Eshet-Alkalai literacy requires users to be “very critical,
analytical and deceit. This Socio-Emotional mature”-implying a kind of
richness of experience that the literate transfers from real life to their
dealings online.

Digitally literate users know how to avoid the “traps” of cyberspace

mainly because they are familiar with the social and emotional patterns
of working in cyberspace that it is really just an outworking of human
nature.
Digital Natives
The term digital native has become something of a buzzword in the
education sector over the past decade. This was popularized by Prensky
(2001) in reference to the generation that was born during the information
age (as opposed to digital immigrants-the generation prior that acquired
familiarity with digital systems only as adults) and who has not known a
world without computers, the Internet, and connectivity.

However, a popular misconception borne out of the term digital natives

and the educational ideas it spawned is that the generation in question is
born digitally literate.
 Challenges to Digital Literacy
Education
Digital Literacy Education shares many of the same challenges to Media Literacy
For example: How should it be taught? How can it be measured and evaluated?
Should it be taught for the protection of students in their consumption of
information or should it be to develop their appreciation for digital media?

Brown (2017) also noted that despite the global acknowledgement that Digital
Literacy Education is a need, there is as of yet no overarching model or
framework for addressing all of the skills deemed necessary. Despite the
challenges posed by the broad and fluid nature of media (and therefore digital)
literacy, educators in the Philippines can spearhead literacy efforts by doubling-
down on those concepts and principles of Media Literacy that are of utmost
importance, namely, critical thinking and the grounding of critical thought in a
moral framework.
Teach media and digital literacy Integrally – Teaching media and digital literacy
integrally means combining both skills in education to empower students to
critically analyze media and navigate digital platforms effectively.

Master your subject matter - As educators, it’s crucial to not only understand our
subject matter thoroughly but also articulate why it’s important for students to
learn. Teaching is a form of media consumption for students, so explaining the
relevance of what we teach fosters engagement and understanding.

Think “multi-disciplinary” - Being multidisciplinary in digital literacy means

integrating insights and methods from various fields like communication,
psychology, technology, and sociology to provide a holistic understanding of
digital skills and their impact on society. It involves recognizing the
interconnectedness of different disciplines to effectively address the complexities
of digital environments.
Explore motivations, not just messages - Encourage students to explore
motivations behind media messages, not just the messages themselves. Foster
habits of questioning why a message is being communicated, considering
potential motives and who might benefit. This critical thinking skill promotes a
deeper understanding of media’s influence and encourages skepticism in
interpreting information.

Leverage skills that students already have -Tap into students’ existing skills and
interests to enhance media and digital literacy education. Encourage exploration
and research in areas that personally engage them, leveraging their intrinsic
motivation to drive learning and produce high-quality outputs.
Thank You!

Prepared by: Rena Mae Garque

Jean Tangente
Mae Japitana