A Compare and Contrast of Media and Information Literacies
Media & Information Literacy: Curriculum for Teachers, p. 18
At the most obvious level, both of the above are literacies - one dealing with information and one dealing with media. But what does this mean specifically? What are their differences?
Information literacy, as the name suggests, deals with information. Do you know how to use the information you find? The information you are given? Can you successfully evaluate it and determine if it is valid and useful for your purpose? Without this literacy, one cannot successfully navigate the multitude of information now available at the click of a mouse. The skills you need to be literate in this realm include using the Big 6: Task Definition, Information Seeking Strategies, Location & Access, Use of Information, Evaluation.
Media literacy requires one to understand and evaluate media as a tool. How do we use media in our society? How does society use media to shape our views? How can we use media to share our own information? How can we ensure that our internet use is safe and low-risk? Without media literacy, one can find themselves in trouble professionally and personally on both a local and global scale.
In my personal opinion, these two literacies go hand-in-hand. Once versed in how to effectively define your task, decide where and how to look, and evaluate your information (information literacy) you can apply these same higher-order and critical thinking strategies to enhance your media literacy. Although different, they compliment each other nicely.
Information literacy, as the name suggests, deals with information. Do you know how to use the information you find? The information you are given? Can you successfully evaluate it and determine if it is valid and useful for your purpose? Without this literacy, one cannot successfully navigate the multitude of information now available at the click of a mouse. The skills you need to be literate in this realm include using the Big 6: Task Definition, Information Seeking Strategies, Location & Access, Use of Information, Evaluation.
Media literacy requires one to understand and evaluate media as a tool. How do we use media in our society? How does society use media to shape our views? How can we use media to share our own information? How can we ensure that our internet use is safe and low-risk? Without media literacy, one can find themselves in trouble professionally and personally on both a local and global scale.
In my personal opinion, these two literacies go hand-in-hand. Once versed in how to effectively define your task, decide where and how to look, and evaluate your information (information literacy) you can apply these same higher-order and critical thinking strategies to enhance your media literacy. Although different, they compliment each other nicely.
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