Unit 1: From Traditional Media to Digital Media Technologies

Last update:3 April 2024

Key Topics

  • Change and continuity – a brief history of the media
  • What is media convergence?
  • Digital media as new media
  • Key differences between traditional media and new media
Module 12 MIL

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, educators and learners should be able to:

  • Explain a brief history of the development of the media and the different issues associated with it
  • Describe how new technologies have led to the divergence and convergence of traditional and new media
  • Describe the differences between traditional and new media and how the latter has enhanced participatory democracy
  • Explore the use of games in formal, non-formal, and informal education

Pedagogical Approaches and Activities

In summary: as discussed earlier in this Curriculum (Part 1), various pedagogical approaches are possible. Please review the list in Part 1 and decide which approach to apply to the suggested Activities below and others that you may formulate.

  • Research: learners working in groups are given the task of researching the evolution of the media and identify the issues associated with the development of different forms of media.
  • Survey: learners conduct a survey to two different types of people, the digital migrants (age 30 or above), and digital natives (age 30 or below). In their survey, they should observe and analyse how the two groups of people are using traditional and the new media for and how traditional media (newspapers, radio and television) are converging with new media (e.g. mobile technology, games, online news sites with multimedia access) in their society. The survey should include observing ways in which women and men and youth are represented in games and other form of media that they use. Guide them to make recommendations to relevant stakeholders.
  • Research: learners research the extent to which new media are challenging traditional news media in their society, the different kinds of media that people in their society are using to express their own views on important news items, and the users of the different media platforms, along with issues/topics they are discussing. The result of this research should be presented for group discussion and debate.
  • Case study: the case study method involves an in-depth examination of a single instance or event make use of real-life incidents to see how theoretical knowledge might be applied to real cases. This approach is suitable to the teaching of MIL as learners are exposed daily to various forms of messages from media and other content providers. lt offers a systematic way to look at the events, collecting data, analysing content, and reporting the results, which in return supports enquiry learning among trainees.
  • Research and group presentation: learners form groups to conduct research on the historical development of different forms of media and their similarities and differences and give a presentation to the group.
  • Interview: one characteristic of traditional media is that media content goes through an organized editorial process designed to authenticate news stories and attribute them to a news media organization rather than to an individual. The online citizen journalist does not work through this process. In this context, conduct an interview with editors from newspapers and online journalists and discuss the similarities and differences between the selection and treatment of news item.
  • Report: investigate and produce a report on the extent to which knowledge and information have changed or remained the same as new media and new media technologies have emerged in your society.
  • Essay: prepare an essay on how the emergence of new media has impacted the way people interact and how this benefts them. Also ask how new media is impacting the social and academic lives of educators and learners, and what are the challenges and opportunities for improving universal access to digital media.
  • Find a major piece of news and do a case study on how different forms of media report on it, and analyse the case. For example, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020, different forms of media tended to report it differently in depth, analysis, and even facts. Go through different traditional and new media from different countries and see how they report on the origin, causes, and preventive measures, etc. and see what are the similarities and differences in the reports between the same and different forms of media and explain the reasons for this. Are gender and racial issues being discussed in the reporting of the coronavirus crisis?