Media And Information Literacy Research Articles

Media and Information Literacy of Students – Skills and Challenges in the Context of Political Preferences

The main purpose of this article is to present the link between the level of media and information literacy (MIL) and political preferences of Polish students based on empirical research. MIL is a key issue for today’s societies as it equips citizens with the skills needed to use various media and information channels and exercise their basic human rights. Phenomena such as post-truth, the way people are more inclined to accept arguments based on emotions and beliefs than facts, disinformation and fake news are an important context and subject of ongoing scientific discussions. Keeping in mind the limitations of self-report methods, the authors combine the elements of students’ self-assessment with the questions that test their theoretical knowledge and competences related to recognizing fake news. The research sample consists of 870 students of social sciences and journalism. The results of the research provide detailed knowledge about the level of MIL as well as political preferences of students. By that, authors hope to contribute to the global scientific discussion, offering their research conducted in the context of the declining quality of democracy in Poland.

Media and Information Literacy in school libraries in Portugal: mapping practices to improve policies

In a study published in 2011 that analysed the state of Media Education in Portugal (Pinto et al., 2011), school libraries (SL) were identified as emerging contexts in the promotion of media literacy in schools. Since then, several libraries have asserted themselves as such, extending their work in the field of Media and Information Literacy (MIL). The publication of the first edition of the referential Learning with the school library, promoted by the School Libraries Network (Conde, Mendinhos and Correia, 2017, 2nd ed.), and the Media education guidance for pre-school, basic and secondary education, approved by the Ministry of Education in 2014 (Pereira et al., 2014) may well have contributed to this enlargement. In addition, in-service teacher training in this field may also have helped MIL find a place for development in SL. In order to understand the current situation of media literacy in the context of the SL, a quantitative study was conducted based on an online questionnaire applied to the teacher-librarian (T-L) population in mainland Portugal. The final sample consists of 743 T-L, which represents 53% of the population. The data reveal an attention to this area mainly focused on the dangers and risks of the Internet and social networks and the use of media as resources for learning. They also expose the need for integrating MIL in initial teacher training and to invest more in in-service training programmes, aiming to consolidate MIL in school but also to broaden its approaches, themes and implementation strategies.

Towards an Operational Capacity of MIL Cities

Growing up in the intermediated society means that every citizen now­ adays is a unique commentator, creator and communicator of informa­ tion and knowledge, hence the issue of empowerment falls upon struc­ tured mechanisms that primarily shall be regulated by the State. The most optimum tool towards enabling, resilient and mediated societies is an upscaled Media and Information Literacy (MIL) ecosystem that will promote free expression and media pluralism, acting as a poten­ tial barometer towards knowledge­based, all­inclusive MIL societies. The core challenge for a media and information policy paradigm lies in the establishment of active monitoring mechanisms in the form of MIL indicators. The increasing mobility on MIL policy initiatives globally is not (always) seconded by relevant indicators and assessment mecha­ nisms, key constituents for a pluralistic media dynamic for all. It is im­ perative, thus, to set up a digital media policy infrastructure that may be measured with certain indicators on media and information literacy. Based on the presentation in UNESCO Global MIL Feature Conference (24–25 October 2018, Kaunas, Lithuania), this paper endeavors to pro­ pose a media and information literacy infrastructure from a policy per­ spective, towards modern­day UNESCO MIL societies.

‘Imprensa Jovem’: São Paulo city ́s MIL successful public policy for municipal basic education

In consonance to UNESCO Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Cities concept and recognizing the importance of initiatives that ensure that all citizens have access to media and information competencies for sus­ tainable development of MIL communities and informed citizenry, this article presents the successful Imprensa Jovem (Youth Press) Educa­ tional Municipal Programme of the city of São Paulo, Brazil: the most populous city of South America, with 12 million inhabitants, marked by high levels of social inequality. Imprensa Jovem was one of the winners of UNESCO MIL Alliance Awards 2020. In the two decades, more than 25.000 teachers and 60.000 students were trained in MIL by the mu­ nicipal education system of São Paulo. It addresses MIL in Basic For­ mal Education Curriculum by allowing teachers and students to acquire competencies of both (Media and Information) through participatory processes, approaching different media languages; critical reading of media, TICs, and SDGs within school news agencies.

A Alfabetização Midiática e Informacional a produção científica em repositórios e bases de dados abertas da América Latina, Portugal e Espanha

Media and Information Literacy (MIL), developed according to booklets of the United Nations Union for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO), aims to allow students a more autonomous learning for the use of media and information as a way of articulating processes and social changes, that iswhy it is gaining more emphasis within today's society, in order to better relate to the informationthat surrounds us. This study has as central objective to carry out a survey within the open databases maintained by Latin American countries, Portugal and Spain, in order to identify the scientific production on MIL in the scopeof the academy. The search used the terms Media and Information Literacyand its translation into Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, such as Alfabetização Midiática e Informacional, defined by UNESCO itself, and the use of Literacia Midiatica Informacionalfor European Portuguese. At the end it was possible to verify that thereare few works on the theme, that allthe recovered works are based on material developed by UNESCO, and that Brazil was the country that published the most on this theme.

Usage of Geospatial Data and Artificial Intelligence Technologies and Evolution of Social Practices among Nigerian Youths

In the words of Zaryn Dentzel (1983), an erudite Spanish diplomat, technocrat and educationist, “The Internet has turned our existence upside down. It has revolutionized communications, to the extent that it is now our preferred medium of everyday communication.” This assertion is very true when we consider the obsessive usage of the various internet facilities by youths of contemporary day among who are Nigerian youths. Several researches have confirmed that youths are greatly endeared to the use of geospatial data due to the massive deployment of technologies that use the big data and algorithms, coupled with their unrestrained access to mobile and semi-mobile internet-connected appliances and technological gadgets of this 21st century. The study of Onwubere and Osuji (2020) particularly confirmed the fact that Nigerian youths are excessively exposed to these Geospatial Data and Artificial Intelligence Technologies (GDAIT) to the extent that they influence their perception of Social Relations, negatively. This, of course, is of great concerns for the stability of the erstwhile peaceful and anthropocentric Traditional African/Nigerian Setting. These changes in social communication are also of particular significance to the Evolution of Alien Social Practices that may accompany Nigerian youths’ negative perception of social relations. Dentzel again, observed that Digital Technologies play vital roles in empowering individuals and communities, hence, the application of these technologies is “expected to increase productivity and competitiveness, change education and cultural systems, stimulate social interchange and democratise institutions”. Nevertheless, these laudable technologies and their roles also permit the pollution of minds and disruption of social relations in record time. Digital illiteracy may constitute a serious problem in low infrastructure countries like Nigeria where there are no adequate tools for filtering and censoring information and where children, youths and adults do not even have the requisite Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Education to discern the difference between ‘fake news’ and reliable news. The tendency is that, there will be an upsurge in youthful exuberances, since youths can easily publish and widely express themselves positively or negatively through these electronic media, unfettered by any financial constraints. These exuberant behaviours definitely have grave implications for social practices and social stability in Nigeria. This study investigates the relationship between the Usage of Geospatial Data and Artificial Intelligence Technologies (GDAIT) by Nigerian Youths and the Evolution of Social Practices. The Gerbner’s Cultivation, Bandura’s Observational Learning and Veblen’s Technological Determinism theories serve as theoretical frameworks for the study. Since education is the greatest socialising factor for youths, and young adult students being the greatest users of modern Artificial Intelligence-based digital tools, institutions of higher learning have logically become the best and the most fertile ground to study the influence of GDAIT on socialisation and observe the evolution of social practices among youths. Hence, a survey of 300 undergraduate students in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria was conducted to elicit information from the youths, using the Stratified Random Sampling technique. Results will be analysed using appropriate statistical approaches, essentially, SPSS, to ascertain the relationship between the Usage of Geospatial Data and Artificial Intelligence Technologies (GDAIT) by Nigerian Youths and the Evolution of Social Practices. Following survey results, utilitarian, constructive and constraining recommendations will be made to mitigate the damaging influence of the use of Geospatial Data and Artificial Intelligence Technologies on the socio-political order.

The impact of media and information literacy on acquiring the critical thinking skill by the educational faculty’s students

This study reveals the impact of media and information literacy (MIL) on acquiring critical thinking skills by the students of the Educational faculty. The study’s sample comprised (134) students, and its tool was a questionnaire comprising (20) items containing various media contents published on several social networking sites: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The findings show that students had an acceptable degree of critical thinking skill to understand and criticize media contents by (81 %). The study also stated that the most difficult media messages to interpret were those that include misleading content due to spelling errors or because of confusion between wit and abuse by (80 %), and the easiest to distinguish were those that include explicit words or expressions by (99.5 %). Considering the results, the researcher recommended conducting more scientific research on media and information literacy and its educational applications.

Fake News and Propaganda in Political Communication: Effects and Remedies

Fake news has dominated the media debate the world over in recent times. Fake news is used in political discourses to portray the opponent as inefficient, alienated, outsider etc. Kenya had her election on August 8, 2017, during which time the campaigns were somehow dominated by fake news and propaganda. The Kenyan campaigns were highly polarized and fake news and propaganda were rive in the media; both new and traditional media. In the past elections in Kenya, months leading to elections since the 1980s have been highly charged leading to actual harm; in most cases ethnically and gender inclined. This was highly evident as political parties prepared to nominate the respective flag-bearers for different political positions and subsequent campaigns. As opposed to the campaigns of the 80s and 90s, the situation in the 2000s has been different due to proliferation of media outlets in an environment that is almost lacking in Media and Information Literacy (MIL) programs. This study aimed at analyzing the use of fake news and propaganda in political campaigns leading to August 8 elections in Kenya. We also sought to elucidate the effects of fake news in the Kenyan political landscape. This was done by collecting, viewing and analyzing fake news and propaganda in political campaign discourses leading to the August 8 general elections. Thereafter the paper recommended Media and Information Literacy as a remedy to combat fake news and negative propaganda and arrest their effects.

The Impact of a Knowledge of Media and Information Literacy on the Personal and Ethical Decisions of a Selected Group of College Graduates in Jamaica

Through the use of qualitative inquiry, this study seeks to discuss the findings of the impact of a knowledge of media and information literacy (MIL) on the personal and ethical decisions of a select group of college graduates in Jamaica. The study is undergirded by Alagaran’s Explore, Engage, and Empower Model of MIL and sought to investigate the media and information literacy knowledge level that exists among college graduates, to determine how knowledge of MIL affects their ethical decisions and the impact it has on their daily life choices. Findings indicate that participants were generally familiar with the composite term “media and information literacy”. Their responses reflect adherence to MIL principles geared towards making ethical choices in their use of information and indicate that a knowledge of media and information literacy is important in the personal decision making of college graduates in Jamaica.

MIL Competency Framework: Mapping Media and Information Competencies

This article explores a literature review on different proposals to assess media and information literacy (MIL) competencies in citizens seeking to define the fundamental MIL skills and competencies to be considered in national curricula and assessment schemes. The study is based on qualitative content analysis to map and systematize the main MIL frameworks, research reports, and their practical applications/experiences. This qualitative technique allows the combination of categories (dimensions) and correlation of individual indicators (skills and capabilities) to group subcategories (components). The study inquires Unesco’s framework, as well as the authors upon which this theoretical approach was built, together with the European Commission’s views on media education. It gathers their principal propositions on media competence assessment and sets a reflection on information literacy and Educommunication as a contribution strongly developed in the Ibero-American context. A broad analysis of digital competencies related to media and information literacy is also included in the study. A new interpretation is given to the studied concepts to draw a structured systematization of competences on media and information literacy that sets a framework to assess and design MIL programs, actions or curricula. Finally, it proposes a map of skills and competences in MIL that allows the future creation of methodologies and strategies for the visibility, promotion, strengthening or evaluation of MIL.

Minimizing Knowledge Scepticism – Resourcing Students through Media and Information Literacy

Globally connected and commodified digital means of communication offer a wealth of information across age-bands and across formal and informal sites of learning, yet few students obtain systematic training in transforming this information to knowledge that is tailored to their level of understanding and to the settings of learning. This gap between access to unsorted and often unsolicited information across boundaries of space, learning and generation and training in the formation of valid knowledge poses a threat to democratic societies that are based on informed citizens’ joint debate and decision-making. This article addresses the gap between students’ information access and their knowledge formation and discusses the challenges and possible solutions with empirical focus on the transition between upper-secondary and tertiary education. Globally connected social network sites (‘social media’) are key information sources for many students. Owing to their commodified, algorithmic and non-transparent character, these sites offer little guidance in terms of validation and verification of claims. I propose Media and Information Literacy (MIL) as an important means of minimizing the gap between information access and sound knowledge formation. This is because MIL goes beyond training of access to digital technologies and information search and retrieval. It also trains skills in applying communication technologies for validation, critique and knowledge production. I discuss the challenges posed to education to apply (MIL) as a key pathway to minimizing the gap in order to advance public value and societal resilience and suggest that educational systems shift their focus from teaching to learning in tandem with more inclusive approaches to where learning takes place.

The importance of media literacy education: How Lithuanian students evaluate online news content credibility

Nowadays, when the flow of fake news in traditional media and on social media plat-forms has increased dramatically, media and information literacy (MIL) skills are more important than ever. MIL promotes the critical thinking skills that enable people to make independent choices, in particular how to evaluate and choose different information sources and channels, as well as how to interpret the news and information received through those channels. This article explores how young people in Lithuania evaluate the trustworthiness of news. Two groups of students were selected for the experiment: young people who had participated in a basic course in MIL, and young people whose learning was minimally related to MIL. The study was conducted using a survey and eye-tracking device that enabled researchers to record and analyse readers’ real behaviour and to identify the dis-tribution of attention, i.e. the concentration of sight and time spent on particular news elements. The research results show a clear difference between these two groups and thus confirm the importance of media literacy education.

Media education in the common interest: Public perceptions of media literacy policy in Latvia

Although the academic interest in media and information literacy (MIL) is ever increasing, there are not many studies that analyze the public perception of media literacy. This article analyses the interrelations between encouragement measures implemented by media policy and the perception of media literacy in society. The research employs data from a national representative survey (May 2019; N=1,017 respondents). The study explores the respondents’ media literacy perceptions; opinions on risks potentially caused by insufficient media literacy skills; and respondents’ experience with MIL activities. The survey results are compared with survey data on media literacy encouragement measures, aims and target audiences obtained from the Media Policy Unit at the Ministry of Culture media literacy partners. The theoretical background is supported by the media literacy ideological model, which explains media literacy within relationships with the social institutions in which it is practiced, as well as social processes. The data results are controversial. Even though more than half of Latvia’s population view their media literacy knowledge as insufficient, 52% of the respondents are not interested in MIL issues. Concerning the consequences of insufficient media literacy skills within society, the respondents focused mostly on threats to children (40%) and general public safety (28%), decrease in welfare (28%), societal regress (25%), fewer opportunities for high-quality education (26%) and Latvia being behind other EU countries (24%). Even though the media literacy encouragement measures in Latvia include activities aimed at various audiences, they have been noticed by only a slight number of respondents (7–10%).

Ulla Carlsson (Ed.) (2019). Understanding Media and Information Literacy (MIL) in the Digital Age: A Question of Democracy. Gothenburg: Department of Jour-nalism, Media and Communication (JMG), University of Gothenburg, 266 pp., ISBN: 978-91-88212-89-4.

Ulla Carlsson (Ed.) (2019). Understanding Media and Information Literacy (MIL) in the Digital Age: A Question of Democracy. Gothenburg: Department of Jour-nalism, Media and Communication (JMG), University of Gothenburg, 266 pp., ISBN: 978-91-88212-89-4.

The amazing library race

In this time of disinformation and misinformation, libraries remain a reliable source of truthful and factual information. As they fervently support the agenda of lifelong learning, libraries recognise that there are various influences that redefine the process of student learning. Admittedly, librarians need to be more creative in motivating post-millennial students to help them fully develop their Media and Information Literacy (MIL) skills. This paper explores how games are adopted and utilised by academic libraries as an interactive approach to entice students to learn essential MIL competencies. It shows how games can be a viable tool not only to deliver information literacy (IL) instruction in a collaborative learning environment but to also effectively engage and attract students to use the library resources and services. While the use of games is not novel, the way it is delivered and re-purposed to meet MIL competencies is vital for today’s young generation of learners. This report demonstrates how two academic libraries in the Philippines and Kazakhstan were able to embed MIL skills through a library race challenge. Furthermore, this paper discusses the practical steps undertaken in the preparation of the game as well as the observations made during and after the activity was conducted. From this, other libraries may gain insights and best practices on how to leverage this method to further champion MIL in their own communities.

Transliteracias: A Terceira Onda Informacional nas Humanidades Digitais

A partir do conceito de “ondas informacionais” cunhado por Brasilina Passarelli para representar os diferentes momentos históricos de acesso à Internet, apropriação, produção de conteúdos digitais interativos nas literacias de mídia e informação, participação, compartilhamento até chegar à conectividade contínua e à s transliteracias, o objetivo central deste artigo consiste na construção teórica das três ondas informacionais propostas pela pesquisadora e suas relações com especialistas no tema. Passarelli (2010) distinguiu, inicialmente, duas “ondas informacionais” na sociedade em rede: a primeira cujo núcleo central foi definido pelas preocupações políticas e programas de acesso para inclusão digital; a segunda concentrava-se nas diferentes formas de apropriação e produção de conhecimentos na Web a reboque das literacias de mídia e informação. Atualmente vivenciamos o imbricamento da internet das coisas, big data e inteligência artificial e, a reboque desta nova ecologia das redes emerge uma “terceira onda informacional” protagonizada pelo conceito das transliteracias, que abarca as interações entre humanos e não-humanos, recria formas de sociabilidade e rompe os limites da rede, alastrando-se por todas as esferas da vida social contemporânea.

Game creation to promote media and information literacy (MIL) skills in basic education teachers

Game creation to promote media and information literacy (MIL) skills in basic education teachers

Negotiating (dis)Trust to Advance Democracy through Media and Information Literacy

The new media environment, through multitudinous entanglements with processes of digitization and commodification, has contributed to the formation of extreme distrust in media and institutions in advanced democracies, and fluctuations in trust relations worldwide, according to Pew Research and Gallup polling. Resulting from threats of fake news, the overabundance of information, and intentional misguidance by bad actors, individuals find it increasingly difficult to evaluate information and make informed decisions. Ideally, in democracies, institutions help foster trust between citizens and information sources by encouraging trustworthy institutions that are responsible to citizens, since trust is so fundamental to a functional democracy. This paper draws a link between trust, which is crucial to democracy, and media and information literacy (MIL), which empowers democratic principles, to suggest how the implicit reciprocity and negotiability of trust relations can be seized to advance democratization through a media and information literacy policy framework. Using the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Policy and Strategy Guideline as a reference, this paper builds an approach to show how, through the negotiability of trust, MIL and the democratizing principle of civic agency might be concurrently advanced and mutually reinforcing by educating a citizenry more literate about media and information systems and generating democratic institutional change concurrent with greater trust between actors.

Women Voters' Access to Political Information during the 2013 Kenyan General Election in Kakamega County

Information is considered an important resource for women’s political participation. However, little is known about women’s access to election-related information in Kenya. Anchored on the uses and gratifications theory (UGT), this research examined women voters’ access to political information during the 2013 Kenyan general election in Kakamega County. This study adopted a descriptive survey in which data was collected from 372 women voters using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The results revealed that women voters mainly accessed political information via radio and interpersonal sources comprising family members and friends as they were in close proximity with them. Major constraints to women’s political information access were the following: inadequate and expensive media devices and power supply, limited time, and low education and interest in seeking political information. This paper provides insight into women’s access to various sources of political information and this is essential in identifying appropriate channels for reaching out to them in counties in Kenya. Women voters’ low levels of education and Media and Information Literacy (MIL) have implications for information providers. They should use both mediated and non-mediated sources of political information, and offer information services and MIL programmes tailored to women. This study provides directions for future research on political information seeking behaviour within the discipline of library and information science (LIS) by incorporating UGT from media studies.

When the library steps in

Media and information literacy (MIL) was recently introduced in the Philippines although it has been the talk of the town since the Grunwald Declaration on media education in 1982. De La Salle University (DLSU) Libraries is an active partner in promoting MIL and decided to support this as part of its information literacy campaign. This project report provides an overview of a seminar-workshop programme on MIL conducted at DLSU Libraries for public school teacher-librarians. The programme is based on a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) publication entitled ‘Pedagogies of Media and Information Literacies’ which has five modules: Understanding media and information literacy; Young people as global media audiences; Media cultures and technologies; How to interpret media; Cooperation and sharing ideas. The project report acknowledges how the participants were able to grasp and understand the MIL values and how they were able to apply these values in their own workplace. Finally, the report shares analyses of the participants’ reviews of the programme.