Saturday, September 19, 2009

Media Literacy Skills ;)




        
         Media literacy is an expanded information and communication skill that is responsive to the changing nature of information in our society.Like traditional literacy it includes the ability to both read (comprehend) and write (create,design,produce).Furthermore,media literacy moves from merely recognizing and comprehending information to the higher order of critical thinking skills as it implicit in questioning,analyzing and evaluating that information.Media literacy skill is important because most of the people get their information from television and pictures and thus we need a wider definition of what it means to be literate.

       Most of us grow up hearing the proverbs like "never judge a book by it cover" and a "picture is Worth a thousand words".These words are becoming true today because of an age of computers and telecommunications.Today's technologies represent a surprising fusion of sight and sound that frequently make it difficult for us to diferentiate illusion from reality and fact from fiction.Special effects like those seen in movies like "JFK" and "Forrest Gump" merge the past with the present colour with black and white,the dead with the living and fact with fiction in such a way that the real truth can often be confused with the reel truth.

        lt would be one thing if such technologies were employed only in the entertainment media, but increasingly these production values are evident in broadcast news.For example.a reporter in a TV studio is magically transported by computer onto the white house lawn.The mere location lends power,authority and therefore credence to the reporter and the story.This form of set decoration or window dressing is deceptive,especially when it is utilized during a program which is meant to provide us with factual information that we can rely upon.While such techniques may make the program more visually pleasing,they represent the emergence of infotainment and the decline of objective,neutral and reliable news. 

       Given these trends,responsible citizens need to possess the ability to question the accuracy and authenticity of information in all its forms.They need the ability to make reflective critical responses to this information. But media literacy is about more than just consuming information.A media literated individual is able to produce,create and communicate information in all it forms.As we approach the end of the 20th century,people will need the the information and communication skills necessary to live and work with multiple formats in the workplace and in their daily lives.Rather than simply typing print from page to screen,they will work with still and moving images, graphics and text. The organization and arrangement of these elements on the screen will require expertise in visual language and human perception.It will require individuals skilled in the design and display of information that is electronically produced,stored and accessed.


By: Sujatha Sahadevan

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