Marshall McLuhan wrote in 1964 that ‘The medium is the message’. McLuhan is one of the founding fathers of what we now call media and information literacy. While the medium may affect how messages are received, the users'/ audiences' own background/experience may also affect the interpretation of messages. An important first step in becoming media and information literate is to understand how information, ideas and meanings are sometimes communicated differently through various content providers such as media, digital communication companies, libraries, archives, museums, etc.
Means of communication or the transmission of information existed from prehistoric times with carving on walls, stone, the use of shells, drums, gongs or writing on scrolls. The printing press came in 1455 with Johannes Gutenberg, opening the door for newspapers and books. After the telegraph and telephone came the radio in 1901 with fuller development over the following two decades. Television was then the progression infusing images into audio in 1927. Computer development started in 1937. During the second half of the 20th century, many changes have taken place in the area of information and digital communication. These changes emerged after World War II with the introduction of the mainframe computer (1946) which was the main discovery that led to the emergence of the Interconnecting Networks (Internet) in the late 1960s. By the 1990s, the Internet was used commercially and access was open to all people who had the means to access it (Web 2.0). By the turn of the 21st century, more interactivityemerged and interfaces became more user-friendly, and social media became widely spread among people. The most recent technological evolution includes the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology.
Each medium has led to different forms of content explosion. Each medium has its variation of ‘language’ or ‘grammar’ that works to convey meaning in unique ways. ‘Language’ in this sense means the technical and symbolic ingredients, or codes and conventions, that information, media and digital professionals select and use to communicate ideas, information and knowledge. Technical codes include sound, camera angles, types of shots, lighting, colours, graphics, icons, menus, programming code, algorithms, GIFs, memes, emojis, etc. They may include, for example, ominous music to communicate danger in a feature film, high-angle camera shots to create a feeling of power in a photograph, programming codes to display certain graphics or produce interactivity with content, or emojis to communicate emotions rapidly and virtually. Symbolic codes include the language, dress or actions of characters, or iconic symbols that are easily understood. For example, a red rose may be used symbolically to convey romance, or a clenched fist may be used to communicate anger. Certain codes, such as voices and intonations used for synthetic voices in AI systems, can also be used to reinforce or counter gender inequalities. Languages used by various media can also include the repeated use of particular words, phrases and images, also known as verbal or visual language. When we study media languages, three main questions should be considered: What are the major codes and conventions used by people working in content provision today? How are these languages understood by audiences or citizens? Can different persons derive dissimilar meanings from the same text or piece of information? Note that “media” here refers not to institutions (which add their own nuances) but to the technical vehicles used for communication.
Digital communication occurs on platforms where users – persons and organizations – can connect to each other. This dynamic environment of social media includes social networking sites such as Facebook and VK, video-sharing platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo, platforms for the sharing of visual and audiovisual material such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest, microblogs such as Sina,Weibo and Twitter, as well as blogs and wikis. Businesses and people now use the tools to share and search for information, promote ideas and products, learn and interact. Educators and learners face the challenge of staying on top of the changes, understanding them, and determining the best ways to use the tools for entertainment, learning, social engagement, and decision-making.
This module will address how various types of media technological forms (including digital) afford differences in the way messages are conveyed. It will also look at the language styles these media employ. For example, audio- visual allows for a moving camera to keep up with a running horse, but it took time before filmmakers recognized and used this possibility. It likewise took time to develop genres like sitcoms, documentaries, “reality TV”, stand-up news reporting, memes, avant-garde and abstract films, etc.
This module aims at training educators to acquire knowledge of a variety languages and genres used to enable them to understand the ways in which information and messages can be conveyed and how their interpretation of information or ideas from content providers can be more mindful of how people interact with the type of languages used.
