The Evolution of Media Literacy
Hot tips for navigating this interactive presentation:
- Click on the 3 dots in the bottom-right corner to be able to click on Full Screen
- Use the keyboard right arrow OR click on the arrow to the right of the slide to advance
- On some slides, you have to click on or use a mouse to hover over an icon to reveal additional information: Use this as an opportunity to consider how you would answer the question or fill in the blank before revealing the answers
Our story starts with the evolution of media...
(Hover over each image to reveal more)
Printing machine | CC BY-SA 3.0
Oldest newspaper | Public domain
RCA 630-TS | CC BY-SA 3.0
First radio broadcast | CC BY 2.0
...which looked something like this in 1992
WTLV News Set | CC BY-SA 4.0
Books | Public domain
Printing machine | CC BY-SA 3.0
Oldest newspaper | Public domain
First radio broadcast | CC BY 2.0
RCA 630-TS | CC BY-SA 3.0
So this is the media students were consuming in 1992
WTLV News Set | CC BY-SA 4.0
Books | Public domain
So this is the media students were consuming in 1992
WTLV News Set | CC BY-SA 4.0
Books | Public domain
Students had a few more tools for creating their own media, but still few opportunities to make their voices heard on these platforms
Here's another way to think about it: the orange circle is the world of media consumed by students; the blue circle is the media they're creating: much smaller and not connected to the "information ecosystem"
But a technological innovation was about to come along and dramatically change how people get information
By 2000, students were still consuming this media...
WTLV News Set | CC BY-SA 4.0
Books | Public domain
...but now they were also consuming websites
...but now they were also consuming websites
Some of those websites were blog platforms where students could create their own media messages
You just had to hope people would somehow find out about your GeoCities or Tripod site and maybe tell their friends :)
...but now they were also consuming websites
Some of those websites were blog platforms where students could create their own media messages
Students' opportunities to make their voices heard increased because of the World Wide Web, but were still fairly limited
You just had to hope people would somehow find out about your GeoCities or Tripod site and maybe tell their friends :)
The orange circle has gotten bigger (more media for students to consume); the blue circle has also gotten bigger (more opportunities for students to create and share)
And, importantly, the blue circle is starting to overlap with the orange: students are playing a (small) role in the "information ecosystem"
But yet another technological innovation was about to come along that would increase the need for media literacy, expanding what students need to be able to do and understand
By 2015, students were mainly consuming this media...
By 2015, students were mainly consuming this media...
...and this is also the media they were now creating
The orange circle has expanded again; the blue circle is almost as big: students have the opportunity to create and share on the same platforms as other creators
The circles now overlap; students are not just creating media but participating in the "information ecosystem" by "liking," sharing, etc., which helps messages spread
How has Media literacy responded to these changes in technology, media, and how we get information?
There's the PRE-INTERNET ERA
And the PRE-ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ERA
The PRE-SOCIAL MEDIA ERA
We're going to explore how Media Literacy has responded to technology/media evolutions by looking at how teachers have wanted students to respond to six "media literacy questions" in each of these three eras. (We'll eventually get to the latest era!) These are not the only "media literacy questions." They're just the ones we're using right now.
Some Media Literacy Questions
1. Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
2. Who is responsible for the content of this information source?
3. What is this source's reputation for conveying information fairly & accurately?
4. How accurate is this statement according to other reliable sources?
5. Does this information source exhibit a biased perspective?
6. How does this technology deliver information to me?
1. Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
(Click on the clicking-finger icons to reveal how each teacher addressed the question in their media literacy era)
No reason to stick to print
Print is still the best!
Only use print!
Wikipedia is actually looking pretty good
Don't use Wikipedia!
Just don't use Reddit!
2. Who is responsible for the content of this information source?
We know not to look for authors or publishers, but it can be hard to figure out who was originally responsible for content because...
(Click on the clicking-finger icons to reveal how each teacher addressed the question in their media literacy era)
Hmm, "author" and "publisher" don't really apply to websites
The author and the publisher.
2. Who is responsible for the content of this information source?
We know not to look for authors or publishers, but it can be hard to figure out who was originally responsible for content because...
The information might have been re-posted, which means we might have to trace it back to its original source.
We have to distinguish between information sources and apps that aggregate information from different sources.
And when students say, "The information source is Google," we have to explain that Google is a search engine that provides links to information sources but is not an information source itself. (Remember this is back before Google did get into the information-creating business.)
3. What is this source's reputation for conveying information fairly & accurately?
Let's use the CRAAP test!
We now leave the source to go find out what other sources have to say about it; we don't rely on a source to tell us about itself because...
(Click on the clicking-finger icons to reveal how each teacher addressed the question in their media literacy era)
It was published so of course its reputation is good.
And read the "About" page!
And look at the URL ending!
Ah, remember the pre-post-truth times?
3. What is this source's reputation for conveying information fairly & accurately?
Let's use the CRAAP test!
We now leave the source to go find out what other sources have to say about it; we don't rely on a source to tell us about itself because...
These techniques made sense back in the early days of the internet: you could make some calls about credibility using these clues.
And read the "About" page!
And look at the URL ending!
But one-size-fits-all checklists just don't work anymore.
And URL endings like .edu or .gov might not guarantee credibility after all.
4. How accurate is this statement according to other reliable sources?
(Click on the clicking-finger icons to reveal how each teacher addressed the question in their media literacy era)
You should fact-check...
It was published so of course it's accurate.
We can use the internet to fact-check the internet
...by using the World Book Encyclopedia
5. Does this information source exhibit a biased perspective?
(Click on the clicking-finger icons to reveal how each teacher addressed the question in their media literacy era)
We need to talk about this!
We need to talk about this!
We need to talk about this!
5. Does this information source exhibit a biased perspective?
Biased perspectives have been with us since before Gutenberg got to work on the printing press.
One thing that changed as new technology came along is that, as people accessed more media messages, they also encountered perspectives they might not have encountered before.
We need to talk about this!
This can be a good thing: hearing voices that weren't heard before.
And it can be a not-so-good thing, if those perspectives are biased in a way that can cause harm.
6. How does this technology deliver information to me?
(Click on the clicking-finger icons to reveal how each teacher addressed the question in their media literacy era)
Understanding how search engines work is still important, but now we also need to deal with...
Um, do you mean microfiche?
Here's how Google's search engine works...
6. How does this technology deliver information to me?
...things like "Search Engine Optimization" that affect how search results are generated.
Understanding how search engines work is still important, but now we also need to deal with...
And students aren't just searching for information: they're encountering it on their social media feeds, which means we want them to understand how algorithms work.
And then there are bots, which affect how information spreads and are driven by technology that needs to be understood.
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...
Students began consuming information like this...
What are students "creating" in the AI era? That's a question for another time!
How can media literacy address this new way of generating information?
We can use the same "media literacy questions" we've been using--we'll just come up with some very different answers
Here's our latest "media literacy era"
PRE-SOCIAL MEDIA ERA
PRE-INTERNET ERA
PRE-AI ERA
AI ERA
Let's consider how the media literacy questions can be applied to AI-generated information
AI ERA
How does this technology deliver information to me?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address this question in the AI era)
This is the question to start with!
- We can make sure students know how AI generates information (by predicting the most likely responses based on data it’s trained on)
- We can make sure students know what else is going on behind the scenes, e.g., use of energy and water, use of copyrighted material, etc.
How does this technology deliver information to me?
Who is responsible for the content of this information source?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address this question in the AI era)
This question can also help students understand how AI technology works
- We can engage students in discussions about who can be considered "responsible" for AI-generated content
How does this technology deliver information to me?
What is this source's reputation for conveying information fairly & accurately?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address this question in the AI era)
This question can also help students understand how AI technology works
- We can ask students to investigate all the ways AI gets things wrong, currently
How does this technology deliver information to me?
Does this information source exhibit a biased perspective?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address this question in the AI era)
This question can also help students understand how AI technology works
- We can ask students to investigate how bias gets baked into AI-generated information
How does this technology deliver information to me?
Who is responsible for the content of this information source?
What is this source's reputation for conveying information fairly & accurately?
Does this information source exhibit a biased perspective?
We want students to understand how AI generates information so they can make informed choices about using it
How accurate is this statement according to other reliable sources?
Does this information source exhibit a biased perspective?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address these questions in the AI era)
We want students to make informed choices about taking the time to do these things
- We can ask students to check the accuracy of AI-generated statements
- We can ask students to examine AI-generated content to determine if it reflects any perspectives that have been distorted by bias
What is this source's reputation for conveying information fairly & accurately?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address this question in the AI era)
We want students to make informed choices about taking the time to do these things
- We can ask students to investigate the reputations of different AI-powered tools by finding out what experts in relevant fields say about how effective each tool is at generating information that's fair and accurate
Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address this question in the AI era)
- We can engage students in thoughtful debates about the pros and cons of using AI-generated content in different information-seeking contexts
Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
- We can engage students in thoughtful debates about the pros and cons of using AI-generated content in different information-seeking contexts
When does it matter if information is accurate and not distorted by bias?
Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
- We can engage students in thoughtful debates about the pros and cons of using AI-generated content in different information-seeking contexts
How do our ways of placing trust affect our reactions to AI-generated information? Why do some people trust computers more than they trust humans?
Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
- We can engage students in thoughtful debates about the pros and cons of using AI-generated content in different information-seeking contexts
How do our ways of placing trust affect our reactions to AI-generated information? Why do some people trust computers more than they trust humans?
Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
- We can engage students in thoughtful debates about the pros and cons of using AI-generated content in different information-seeking contexts
How do our competing needs for convenience vs. reliable information affect our reactions to AI-generated information?
A couple of questions to leave you with:
What's coming next?!?
When it gets here, how can we apply these (and other) media literacy questions?
Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Media Literacy & Digital Citizenship Program
Created by Lesley James | Updated 6/24/2025
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
Evolution of Media Literacy
Lesley James
Created on November 26, 2024
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Fill in Blanks
View
Countdown
View
Stopwatch
View
Unpixelator
View
Break the Piñata
View
Bingo
View
Create a Secret Code
Explore all templates
Transcript
The Evolution of Media Literacy
Hot tips for navigating this interactive presentation:
Our story starts with the evolution of media...
(Hover over each image to reveal more)
Printing machine | CC BY-SA 3.0
Oldest newspaper | Public domain
RCA 630-TS | CC BY-SA 3.0
First radio broadcast | CC BY 2.0
...which looked something like this in 1992
WTLV News Set | CC BY-SA 4.0
Books | Public domain
Printing machine | CC BY-SA 3.0
Oldest newspaper | Public domain
First radio broadcast | CC BY 2.0
RCA 630-TS | CC BY-SA 3.0
So this is the media students were consuming in 1992
WTLV News Set | CC BY-SA 4.0
Books | Public domain
So this is the media students were consuming in 1992
WTLV News Set | CC BY-SA 4.0
Books | Public domain
Students had a few more tools for creating their own media, but still few opportunities to make their voices heard on these platforms
Here's another way to think about it: the orange circle is the world of media consumed by students; the blue circle is the media they're creating: much smaller and not connected to the "information ecosystem"
But a technological innovation was about to come along and dramatically change how people get information
By 2000, students were still consuming this media...
WTLV News Set | CC BY-SA 4.0
Books | Public domain
...but now they were also consuming websites
...but now they were also consuming websites
Some of those websites were blog platforms where students could create their own media messages
You just had to hope people would somehow find out about your GeoCities or Tripod site and maybe tell their friends :)
...but now they were also consuming websites
Some of those websites were blog platforms where students could create their own media messages
Students' opportunities to make their voices heard increased because of the World Wide Web, but were still fairly limited
You just had to hope people would somehow find out about your GeoCities or Tripod site and maybe tell their friends :)
The orange circle has gotten bigger (more media for students to consume); the blue circle has also gotten bigger (more opportunities for students to create and share)
And, importantly, the blue circle is starting to overlap with the orange: students are playing a (small) role in the "information ecosystem"
But yet another technological innovation was about to come along that would increase the need for media literacy, expanding what students need to be able to do and understand
By 2015, students were mainly consuming this media...
By 2015, students were mainly consuming this media...
...and this is also the media they were now creating
The orange circle has expanded again; the blue circle is almost as big: students have the opportunity to create and share on the same platforms as other creators
The circles now overlap; students are not just creating media but participating in the "information ecosystem" by "liking," sharing, etc., which helps messages spread
How has Media literacy responded to these changes in technology, media, and how we get information?
There's the PRE-INTERNET ERA
And the PRE-ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ERA
The PRE-SOCIAL MEDIA ERA
We're going to explore how Media Literacy has responded to technology/media evolutions by looking at how teachers have wanted students to respond to six "media literacy questions" in each of these three eras. (We'll eventually get to the latest era!) These are not the only "media literacy questions." They're just the ones we're using right now.
Some Media Literacy Questions
1. Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
2. Who is responsible for the content of this information source?
3. What is this source's reputation for conveying information fairly & accurately?
4. How accurate is this statement according to other reliable sources?
5. Does this information source exhibit a biased perspective?
6. How does this technology deliver information to me?
1. Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
(Click on the clicking-finger icons to reveal how each teacher addressed the question in their media literacy era)
No reason to stick to print
Print is still the best!
Only use print!
Wikipedia is actually looking pretty good
Don't use Wikipedia!
Just don't use Reddit!
2. Who is responsible for the content of this information source?
We know not to look for authors or publishers, but it can be hard to figure out who was originally responsible for content because...
(Click on the clicking-finger icons to reveal how each teacher addressed the question in their media literacy era)
Hmm, "author" and "publisher" don't really apply to websites
The author and the publisher.
2. Who is responsible for the content of this information source?
We know not to look for authors or publishers, but it can be hard to figure out who was originally responsible for content because...
The information might have been re-posted, which means we might have to trace it back to its original source.
We have to distinguish between information sources and apps that aggregate information from different sources.
And when students say, "The information source is Google," we have to explain that Google is a search engine that provides links to information sources but is not an information source itself. (Remember this is back before Google did get into the information-creating business.)
3. What is this source's reputation for conveying information fairly & accurately?
Let's use the CRAAP test!
We now leave the source to go find out what other sources have to say about it; we don't rely on a source to tell us about itself because...
(Click on the clicking-finger icons to reveal how each teacher addressed the question in their media literacy era)
It was published so of course its reputation is good.
And read the "About" page!
And look at the URL ending!
Ah, remember the pre-post-truth times?
3. What is this source's reputation for conveying information fairly & accurately?
Let's use the CRAAP test!
We now leave the source to go find out what other sources have to say about it; we don't rely on a source to tell us about itself because...
These techniques made sense back in the early days of the internet: you could make some calls about credibility using these clues.
And read the "About" page!
And look at the URL ending!
But one-size-fits-all checklists just don't work anymore.
And URL endings like .edu or .gov might not guarantee credibility after all.
4. How accurate is this statement according to other reliable sources?
(Click on the clicking-finger icons to reveal how each teacher addressed the question in their media literacy era)
You should fact-check...
It was published so of course it's accurate.
We can use the internet to fact-check the internet
...by using the World Book Encyclopedia
5. Does this information source exhibit a biased perspective?
(Click on the clicking-finger icons to reveal how each teacher addressed the question in their media literacy era)
We need to talk about this!
We need to talk about this!
We need to talk about this!
5. Does this information source exhibit a biased perspective?
Biased perspectives have been with us since before Gutenberg got to work on the printing press.
One thing that changed as new technology came along is that, as people accessed more media messages, they also encountered perspectives they might not have encountered before.
We need to talk about this!
This can be a good thing: hearing voices that weren't heard before.
And it can be a not-so-good thing, if those perspectives are biased in a way that can cause harm.
6. How does this technology deliver information to me?
(Click on the clicking-finger icons to reveal how each teacher addressed the question in their media literacy era)
Understanding how search engines work is still important, but now we also need to deal with...
Um, do you mean microfiche?
Here's how Google's search engine works...
6. How does this technology deliver information to me?
...things like "Search Engine Optimization" that affect how search results are generated.
Understanding how search engines work is still important, but now we also need to deal with...
And students aren't just searching for information: they're encountering it on their social media feeds, which means we want them to understand how algorithms work.
And then there are bots, which affect how information spreads and are driven by technology that needs to be understood.
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...
Students began consuming information like this...
What are students "creating" in the AI era? That's a question for another time!
How can media literacy address this new way of generating information?
We can use the same "media literacy questions" we've been using--we'll just come up with some very different answers
Here's our latest "media literacy era"
PRE-SOCIAL MEDIA ERA
PRE-INTERNET ERA
PRE-AI ERA
AI ERA
Let's consider how the media literacy questions can be applied to AI-generated information
AI ERA
How does this technology deliver information to me?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address this question in the AI era)
This is the question to start with!
How does this technology deliver information to me?
Who is responsible for the content of this information source?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address this question in the AI era)
This question can also help students understand how AI technology works
How does this technology deliver information to me?
What is this source's reputation for conveying information fairly & accurately?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address this question in the AI era)
This question can also help students understand how AI technology works
How does this technology deliver information to me?
Does this information source exhibit a biased perspective?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address this question in the AI era)
This question can also help students understand how AI technology works
How does this technology deliver information to me?
Who is responsible for the content of this information source?
What is this source's reputation for conveying information fairly & accurately?
Does this information source exhibit a biased perspective?
We want students to understand how AI generates information so they can make informed choices about using it
How accurate is this statement according to other reliable sources?
Does this information source exhibit a biased perspective?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address these questions in the AI era)
We want students to make informed choices about taking the time to do these things
What is this source's reputation for conveying information fairly & accurately?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address this question in the AI era)
We want students to make informed choices about taking the time to do these things
Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
(Click on the clicking-finger icon to reveal ideas for how to address this question in the AI era)
Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
When does it matter if information is accurate and not distorted by bias?
Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
How do our ways of placing trust affect our reactions to AI-generated information? Why do some people trust computers more than they trust humans?
Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
How do our ways of placing trust affect our reactions to AI-generated information? Why do some people trust computers more than they trust humans?
Is it OK to use this information source for academic questions?
How do our competing needs for convenience vs. reliable information affect our reactions to AI-generated information?
A couple of questions to leave you with:
What's coming next?!?
When it gets here, how can we apply these (and other) media literacy questions?
Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Media Literacy & Digital Citizenship Program
Created by Lesley James | Updated 6/24/2025
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License