The Medium and the Message
Key Takeaways
- The way information is delivered affects how we understand it.
- Different media types (like TV, radio, or social media) shape our perception of the message.
- The medium itself can have a bigger impact on society than the content it carries.
- How we communicate not only changes society, but it also changes our bodies and brains.
- All media are extensions of human senses or faculties- audio is an extension of hearing, text of sight, and AI an extension of collective knowledge.
McLuhan’s theories run deeper than this, and his ideas are not universally accepted. Nonetheless, they give us an important jumping-off point for exploring the literacies we require today and in the future.
Our knowledge ecosystem is increasingly multimodal in its expressions and communication of ideas. Short-form videos and live streams are overlaid with text, music, AR filters, and emojis. Memes combine text and imagery from pop culture and elsewhere, often with layers of contextualized meaning and symbolism; podcasts employ multiple voices in conversation and sound design to shape delivery and ambience. In many cases, AI is baked into every part of the information creation and sharing process for all of the above.
Take, for example, the “Is this a Pigeon” meme.
Do smartphones, social media, and generative AI shape our psyches and societies? If so, what mental and social capacities do we need to comprehend both new and historical content, as well as to ensure that we have agency in shaping our futures?
There have been various attempts by educational organizations to define the skills and dispositions people need to have to be considered literate in all media, some of which are detailed in the next section. We don’t expect you to read and memorize these standards and frameworks in depth, but you will be questioned about them later on. So take a look at how they’re constructed. Do you notice any patterns or similarities?
Visual Literacy
Visual literacy is the ability to interpret, evaluate, and create visual content ranging from photographs and illustrations to data visualizations and multimedia presentations. It encompasses understanding the core elements of visual design (color, form, composition), making meaning from imagery, and critically analyzing visual messages in our media-rich world.
Just as traditional literacy enables us to read and write text, visual literacy empowers us to “read” and “write” with images, allowing us to both decode visual information and effectively communicate through visual means. Being fully Visually Literate also means understanding the ethical and societal responsibilities associated with the use and creation of visuals.
Visual Literacy may be put to different uses in different professions and fields, but in a world where messages are increasingly image-based, being visually literate is part of being information literate.
Visual Literacy Frameworks and Standards:
Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)
The Framework for Visual Literacy in Higher Education
European Network for Visual Literacy (ENViL)
Common European Framework of Reference for Visual Literacy
AI Literacy
Standards for AI Literacy are still being developed. In one example that we share here, the educational organization, Educause, has published a document entitled, AI Literacy in Teaching and Learning: A Durable Framework for Higher Education, which may set the standard for measuring AI Literacy going forward.
According to the authors of the report, AI Literacy in the context the Higher Education has four broad areas of concern. Quoting directly from the report, these are as follows:
- Technical: Technical understanding of how AI works.
- Evaluative: Critically evaluating AI tool applications and outputs, with an emphasis on developing robust AI impact assessment tools
- Practical: Effectively applying, integrating, and managing AI tools across teaching, scholarship, and educational administration.
- Ethical: Formulating and enforcing institutional strategies to safeguard against biases and the misuse or misapplication of AI technologies
A more in-depth list of AI Literacy student competencies and outcomes can be found within the report.
