Media and Information Literacy: Evolution of Media

Introduction

• Focus: Evolution of media from traditional to new media.
• Topics Covered:
  • Roles of media in society.
  • Evolution of media through four critical historical periods.

Roles of Media in Society

• Entertainment and Creativity
  • Media as a channel for imagination and creativity.
• Education and Information
  • Media as a tool for information dissemination.
• Public Forum
  • Platform for discussing important issues.
• Watchdog Role
  • Media as a monitor of government and institutions.

Evolution of Media

Pre-Industrial Age (Before 1700s)

• Communication Developments:
  • Discovery of fire, development of paper, and forging tools.
• Forms of Media:
  • Cave Paintings: Pictographs and petroglyphs.
  • Papyrus and Clay Tablets: Used in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
  • Acta Diurna (Rome): First newspaper-like communication.
  • Jibao (China), Codex (Mayan): Early forms of documentation.
• Printing Press Innovations (220 AD):
  • Use of wood blocks in East Asia for text printing.

Industrial Age (1700s - 1930s)

• Technological Advancements:
  • Steam power, machinery, iron production.
• Media Developments:
  • Mass production of newspapers.
  • Printing Press and Movable Type: Rise in newspaper production.
  • Typewriter (1800s), Telegraph (1840s), Telephone (1876): Key inventions.
  • Motion Pictures (1890s): Introduction and development of sound films.

Electronic Age (1930s - 1980s)

• Transistor Invention:
  • Introduction of electronics powered by electricity.
• Media Forms:
  • Transistor Radio (1950s), Commercial Television (1940s):
  • Computers: EDSAC (1947), UNIVAC 1 (1951), Mainframe and Personal Computers (1960s).
  • Projectors: Overhead and LCD projectors in education and offices.

Information Age (Mid-1900s - Present)

• Internet and Social Networks:
  • Web Browsers: From World Wide Web (1990) to MS Edge (2015).
  • Search Engines: Google Search (1997), Yahoo (1995), Bing (2009).
• Blogging Platforms:
  • Open Diary (1998) to WordPress (2003): Range of blogging formats.
• Social Networking Sites:
  • Six Degrees (1997) to Google+ (2011): Evolution of social networks.
• Microblogging Sites:
  • Twitter (2006), Tumblr (2007): Introduction of character limits.
• Photo and Video Sharing:
  • From Flickr (2004) to TikTok (2016).
• Instant Messaging and Video Conferencing:
  • Yahoo Messenger (1998) to Google Meet (2017): Evolution of communication.
• Portable Computing Devices:
  • From laptops (1981) to smartphones (2011).
• Wearable Technology:
  • From calculator watches to smartwatches and wireless earbuds.
• Cloud Storage:
  • Dropbox (2007) to Google Drive (2012): Storing data online.