BP23_2009112_Discussion Board_Media Literacy

Retroactively posting Discussion Board entry to blog:

Week 2 - Media Literacy - Discussion Board 2

“In the 20th Century, literacy meant the ability to read, write, and present cogent arguments on paper. In the 21st century, literacy is going to extend well beyond that and into what could be termed, a language of screens” (Barish, 2002).

Considering the quote above, what exactly does it mean to be literate in today’s society? How are we, as educators, going to ensure the students we are sending out into the world have an understanding of the messages they are receiving as well as what messages are being sent to others as they create new media and communicate with the world around them? 

Discuss the concepts you think are most important for learners today to understand.
Content and presentation have always been linked, with the content being critical and the presentation often being just a delivery method. In the past, presentation may have been an afterthought of standardized typeset black words on white paper, but now it is more important than ever. In today’s multi-media environment, words and pictures are not the only aspects of our information being presented to the world. We now also have audio and video, which contribute tone-of-voice and visual context adding additional layers of meaning, which may also make the content more complex. The addition of online presentation formats may mean that technical factors of resolution, navigation, color gamuts, download speeds and file formats, will add to the impression – positive or negative - of your digital content.

Understanding the separation of presentation and content aspects, such as in standardized XML formats like DocBook, are going to be critical for information to be “neutralized” and portable seamlessly across platforms and media formats. (Muellner, Walsh)

If it were YOUR school, what would you make sure your students understood about literacy and why would you choose those concepts?
In my digital design school, control of the “language of screens” as the delivery method – whether a computer monitor, kiosk, or handheld device - would have to be mastered to ensure clear communications with the user. This responsibility of the creators of the information will ensure that the users of the information get what they need. An important facet of HCI (human-computer interaction) is the securing of user satisfaction (Wikipedia) I would want students to understand the subtleties of interface design and how clarity of navigation supports the ability to find and understand information. The study of HCI, also referred to as man–machine interaction (MMI) or computer–human interaction (CHI) crosses cognitive psychology, behavioral science, computer graphics, human factors, communications and interface design. This is key for successful communications, no matter what the content.

References:
Center for Media Literacy. (2008). Retrieved November 8, 2009 from, http://www.medialit.org/


Muellner, L and Walsh, N. (2008, August 12). What is DocBook? O’Reilly Media. Retrieved from http://www.docbook.org/whatis

Wikipedia. Human-computer interaction. Retrieved 08 November 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human–computer_interaction