Four Ages of Media and Information Throughout the History

 Four Ages of Media and Information Throughout the History

Pre-Historic Age

          

                 In this era, the people discovered fire, forge equipment or weapons like spear and swords that is made out of stones, iron or copper. However, what makes the era interesting is the development of paper from plants.

               
 3.3 million years ago and the invention of writing systems, the earliest of which appeared ~5300 years ago.Technology that predates recorded history. History is the study of the past using written records; it is also the record itself. Anything prior to the first written accounts of history is prehistoric (meaning “before history”), including earlier technologies. About 2.5 million years before writing was developed, technology began with the earliest hominids who used stone tools, which they may have used to start fires, hunt, cut food, and bury their dead.

(http://aprilregalado.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-prehistoric-age-1500-bc-1500-ad.html)

                

                The evidences that there was media and information existed in this period was the cave paintings, clay tablets in Mesopotamia, sculptures, pottery, papyrus in Egypt and Dibao in China.

Industrial Age

                      

               During the industrial age, people used the power of steam, developed machine equipment, established iron production and manufacturing of various products this includes the book through printing press. This is when it encompasses the changes in economic and social organization that began around 1760 in Great Britain and later in other countries, characterized chiefly by the replacement of hand tools with power-driven machines such as the power loom and the steam engine, and by the concentration of industry in large establishments.

                Example forms of media during this period are the telegraph , typewriter, including the newspapers, commercial motion pictures and printing press from mass production.

Electronic Age

               The people during this era are harnessed and already in the influence of electricity that lead to the existence of electrical telegraphy, electrical circuits and the early large scale computers, radio that made the communication, media and information became more efficient that the past years.

                      

The New (Digital) Age

                  

               People around this advance period became highly influenced by high technology. They are advanced in using microelectronics in the intervention of personal computers, mobile devices and wearable technology. This way, the communication or sharing of information is very fast and easy through internet or social medias.

The Importance of The Media, Information and Technology Literacy

                    As a member in a  human society, people are bound  to make a connection  with each other. With doing so, they  will produce a communication in  a way of a conversation and sharing ideas to the other people. Nowadays, high technology gadgets are very rampant that most of the people are needed to have these gadgets in their everyday life.

                   

                     That is why people are needed to enhance their media literacy because it can have the ability to have an access, evaluation, can be able to analyze and can create media in any forms such as factual reports in newspapers or even news articles in the internet.This way, people across the globe can be able to know, to have realizations and to become connected and updated for any information that other people would share.

   

                    How to become literate in terms of information gathering or sharing?

                   An individual must recognize the information when it is needed, to locate, evaluate and use the information effectively. Information literacy also is increasingly important in the contemporary environment of rapid technological change and proliferating information resources. Information literacy is common to all learning environments, to all disciplines and also to all levels of education that is why it is considered as the basis of lifelong education. 

                    And most of all, in order to complete the other literacy, technology is the suited literacy to be teamed up with the others because with technology, spreading or sharing of the media and information would be less hassle. With the power of internet, it is very beneficial to all of the people in sharing ideas to the world that is why learning technology and enhancing the technology literacy can be a huge help. 

Media And Information Literacy: Its Definition and Purposes

           

          Humans love to learn, know and to discover such new things that catches their attention. With the influence of new high technology gadgets, people can now learn and analyze the gathered information, connect and share the data to the other people, and can be able to do these things without hassle. So what is the definition of Media Literacy, Information Literacy and Technology Literacy?

 Media Literacy

                        Media Literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms. It is a 21st century approach to education. It provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate, create and participate with messages in a variety of forms — from print to video to the Internet. Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy.

Source: https://www.medialit.org/media-literacy-definition-and-more.  

Media Literacy is the ability to:

• Create media thoughtfully and conscientiously. 
• Assess the influence of those messages on thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
• Decode media messages.            

The Benefits of Media Literacy:

• Expands the concept of literacy, as today's messages come in many forms and literacy can no longer refer simply to the ability to read and write.
• Offers a solution to public health issues such as body image issues and substance use, exacerbated by toxic media messages.
• Empowers all people to engage in a global media environment.

Source: https://medialiteracynow.org/what-is-media-literacy/

Information Literacy
         Information literacy is the ability to discover and use various types of information. It's an essential skill for navigating the information age. 
Source:https://www.lynda.com/Higher-Education-tutorials/What-information-literacy/368046/420105-4.html
         It empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals. It is a basic human right in a digital world and promotes social inclusion in all nations.

Source:https://libguides.madisoncollege.edu/InfoLitStudents

    It is a crucial skill in the pursuit of knowledge.  It involves recognizing when information is needed and being able to efficiently locate, accurately evaluate, effectively use, and clearly communicate information in various formats.  It refers to the ability to navigate the rapidly growing information environment, which encompasses an increasing number of information suppliers as well as the amount supplied, and includes bodies of professional literature, popular media, libraries, the Internet, and much more.  Increasingly, information is available in unfiltered formats, raising questions about its authenticity, validity, and reliability.  This abundance of information is of little help to those who have not learned how to use it effectively.

An information literate person should be able to: 

• Identify information needs and determine the extent of information needed.  Clearly and concisely define the question to be answered, and realize that the question may evolve.

• Locate and retrieve appropriate sources of information. 
  • Understand the structure of information: how is it produced, disseminated, organized, cataloged, stored, and retrieved, and how these factors vary by discipline.  For example, how do scholars or professionals keep up to date in and contribute to their field.
  • Use indexes and other search tools effectively and efficiently to find specific resources (e.g., select appropriate tools, formulate search strategies, use appropriate search techniques, evaluate results)
• Evaluate information and its sources critically.
  • Understand different types of sources and formats, and how to use them.
  • Evaluate the relevance and reliability of the information retrieved.
• Synthesize the information retrieved, integrate it into one's current knowledge base, and successfully apply it to the original information need.
• Present this newly acquired knowledge so that others can use it. 
  • Determine the audience's needs and the best presentation format; know the standards and criteria for presenting information in the relevant subject/field/discipline.
  • Properly cite sources: direct the audience to sources of further information and acknowledge one's sources.
• Translate these abilities and concepts to new projects and disciplines.

In addition to providing access to information, Wesleyan's librarians assist students in developing research skills appropriate for their particular needs and levels of scholarship.  We offer sessions with individual students, group sessions outside of class, in-class presentations, and extensive assistance for course-integrated instruction on learning from and contributing to the professional literature of a field.  

Source:https://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/infoforyou/infolitdefined.html

Technology Literacy     

           Technology literacy is the ability to effectively use technology to access, evaluate, integrate, create and communicate information to enhance the learning process through problem-solving and critical thinking.It  helps one to communicate, solve problems, and enhance life-long learning skills for future progress. Technology Skills: Technology skills are computer skills that one must possess to utilize technology effectively in any academic or non-academic setting and an ability to effectively use technology to access, evaluate, integrate, create and communicate information to enhance the learning process through problem-solving and critical thinking.

Source:https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/teacher-preparation-programs-and-learner-centered-technology-integrated-instruction/29528