Classroom Without Walls
As a communications graduate, it has always been my frustration to explain the concept of media. Using highfalutin philosophies and theories is not effective in the current era where the time is ripe, indeed, overripe, for an action-oriented media studies that truly guides humanity in a digital quagmire. Defining media is complex, because it is interdisciplinary and multifaceted; however, it does not mean that it is impossible to make the difficult understandable for everyone.
In the current era, all shall strive to be students of the media through foresight thinking.
I. WHAT IS MEDIA?
The concept of media is not simply complicated. It is complicatedly simple, but its effects and influence are gargantuan. The more it is defined, the more it is debated. It is so important that it cannot be missed, but it eludes people the more it is pursued. It plays hard to get. The semantics is comparable to love, time, mind, god, and soul where a universal definition does not exist; these concepts are so woven in everyday life that it cannot be separated from our being. Anything close to "I" is subjective.
Most people view media as a storyteller institution – it is the press, radio, and TV. It updates everyone on current events and serves as an intermediary between the nabobs and the masses. It exposes political anomalies and celebrates humanistic progress. It is expected to be our heroic watchdog, and to give daily doses of inspiration.
With the immense power of institutional media, some will also inevitably view it as a biased business-oriented community – it is the advertisers, PR professionals, and entertainment executives. It is those who exploit the attention and trust of the audience to intentionally grow profits. Product consumption is always encouraged.
Nonetheless, media is technically accepted as communication technologies. Simply put, it encompasses anything that humans use to amplify or improve ways of sharing thoughts, stories, and ideas. In the academia, students of the media normally study the history, production, and societal effects of books, magazines, photographs, telephone, movies, music, and whatnot, aside from the classic triad of newspapers, radio, and TV. Of course, the Internet and social media are now included.
Jack-of-all-trades. This is where it gets interesting.
As media covers a lot, its technical definition begs the question of whether the eyes, voice, hands; podium, microphone, laser pointer; quotation marks, comma, and colon are included. The aforementioned are also used to communicate more effectively – why are these not in the foreground of discussion? Are these just underrated media, or are these outside the umbrella of media?
When media (medium in singular) is defined by its essence in the ablative sense, it is simply but powerfully a means, an intermediary. It is viewed as that something making another possible. In this perspective, there are no categories of communication techniques and communication technologies. If something makes communication possible, it can fall under the umbrella of media. The human senses, oral communication tools, and punctuation marks qualify in the discussion. Scholars who usually accept this view are more interested on the history of communications, and on how humans shape and are being shaped by all inventions.
A pioneer in communication studies, Harold Innis, allowed stones and paper to share the same spotlight with radio and TV. Essentially, he analyzed media as materials that humanity created to make communication transcend the actual moment it is produced. According to him, stone is a time-biased medium that overcomes time, as messages carved onto it will surely last many generations; however, in this process, it consumes a lot of space because of its size and heavy material.
On the other hand, Innis regarded paper as a space-biased medium, because messages sent through letters can reach far-flung places; nonetheless, its material is weak when it comes to transcending time. Paper is easier to destroy – it can be burnt, cut, and crumpled in the blink of an eye.
In the current digital era, it is actually pragmatic to reintroduce this idea of media as communication materials that transcend time and space. It makes communication "durable," because it extends messages for a long time and for as far as the eyes can see. If media does not exist, humans can only talk in the current time with the people around the current location. The truth is simple yet profound: it binds humanity through preserving history and cultural traditions for posterity. The past, present, and future are united, and all countries, and even the outer space are bridged. Humans at Earth can now even communicate with astronauts in the moon.
Obviously, the current most powerful medium is the Internet. It is unlike the stone that consumes space but transcends time. It is unlike the paper that consumes time but transcends space. It can both transcend time and space simultaneously. Humans can record, rewind, and replay previous conversations and stories; can send emails at a future date and time; and can also do activities without going out of the house. In this sense, media is also viewed as extensions of our bodies.
So, who is more powerful – the media or the humans? The latter created the former, but the former outlives and outpaces the latter.
Who lives without the media? It literally benefits everyone.
If one claims that media do not have a place on his/her existence, Mark Weiser is screaming, "The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it."
Media is that which makes life possible. Technologies are media.
II. FUTURE OF EDUCATION: LIFELONG LEARNING
Ziauddin Sardar once pointed out that "computer science" transformed into "information and communication technologies," and that "computer science departments" are now called "computer and information science departments." The disciplines of Communication and Media Studies and Information Science are indubitably interrelated in the 21st century.
The current trend among technologists is moonshot thinking: an idea that favors fast progress through creating technologies that can spur exponential growth. It was inspired by President John F. Kennedy's ambitious initiative to land a man on the moon. Artificial Intelligence is the talk of the town: it must no longer be unfathomable to think of machines that can learn, relearn, and unlearn/self-correct through collecting, processing, and analyzing data. Technologies are initially invented to support humans; now, these are being programmed to learn independently for leading humans. This challenges the idea that Homo Sapiens stand at the apex of all beings in the planet.
Thus, Alvin Toffler made the prescient warning: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” There is a need to catch up with A.I.
Co-existence with technologies is being redefined.
The current era is often described as V.U.C.A: volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Fast progress means constant change. In Homo Deus, Harari points out that "our knowledge is increasing at breakneck speed, and theoretically we should understand the world better and better. But the very opposite is happening: our new-found knowledge leads to faster economic, social and political changes; in an attempt to understand what is happening, we accelerate the accumulation of knowledge, which leads only to faster and greater upheavals. Consequently, we are less and less able to make sense of the present or forecast the future."
This made Riel Miller call for a learning-intensive society that has the capacity to think about the future. Even if we cannot know what will exactly happen, we must still be aware of what is to come. Education must be made every day throughout a lifetime. He proposed: "in order for a spontaneous society to be operationally practical and superior in its outcomes, people must be futures literate."
The future of education is being pulled towards learning how to learn about the futures.
Foresight thinking must be applied. A powerful elite who can predict, lead, impose, and influence knowledge does not really exist. No one owns the future.
Futures literacy is for everyone: it is about tapping into one's imagination to accept uncertainty, to befriend complexity, and to appreciate the value of novelty. There must be a discipline of anticipation that can respond to disruption with practical improvisation. Once foresight thinking is integrated in the personal level, there would be an inner reflective realization that "the future" is not yet established. There are "futures."
Sohail Inayatullah introduced six foundational concepts for developing futures consciousness. There must be an awareness of the following:
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1. Used Future – an image of the future that is unconsciously borrowed from someone else
2. Disowned Future – a vision of the future that is sacrificed through going to a different strategic practical direction that goes against the reflective truth of self (like a father focusing on work achievements than his beloved children)
3. Alternative Futures – a belief that there is only one established future, and the mind becomes blind to a range of alternative scenarios
4. Alignment – how one's personal vision of the future matches with the broader bigger picture of external collective realities (like a disconnect between the personal vision of a president and the dreams of his countrymen)
5. Model of Social Change – social perception of the future: whether it is positive, bleak, already established/given, cyclical, or created by one's daily actions
6. Use of the Future – determining the purpose of foresight training such as developing effective strategies in the present, enhancing confidence to create desirable futures, and creating conditions for paradigm shifts
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Through developing futures consciousness, the personal hidden assumptions of the futures will be revealed. This can pave the way for creating visions of preferrable futures that individuals can tap into for transformation. In fact, this idea of education is paradoxical: the futures are being imagined not solely for the sake of manifesting what is desired; it is about the present – to realize the necessary actions that must be taken in the "long now."
In Futures Studies, there are no right/wrong visions that can totally be manipulated and controlled. The future remains uncertain, but all perspectives are welcomed. The solace is in having vigorous relentless imagination to be aware of the assumptions that affect decision-making in the present. It is not also about simplification: Adam Wolpert opined, "the more complex an organism is, the more capable it becomes. And the more capable it is, the more it can address challenges and opportunities."
The more V.U.C.A. is accepted in our idea of the futures, the more humans can "become" with the constantly changing world.
Once foresight thinking is practiced on both individual and collective/cultural levels, it can soon be integrated with having a futures orientation where there is a collaborative participatory application on institutional and societal institutions.
III. ROLE OF MEDIA IN LIFELONG LEARNING
In an essay with the same title of this blog, Marshall McLuhan claimed that real education is taking place through the media. For him, the press, radio, film, and TV during his time were no different to a book in educating the students. As he saw education in entertainment, he called for the application of these technologies to also instruct about its proper usage. If a film can influence our understanding of history, then it must be used to teach history. In the current era, as the Internet and AI technologies transcend our time and space, how can it be leveraged for lifelong learning outside the classroom premises?
With every use of media, humans are obliged to ponder on its power. As it promises communication in any place, does it have an effect on the personal space? Does it invade individual privacy? As it allows ideas and stories to be etched throughout eternity, does it have an effect on the personal usage of time? Does it tickle attention to consume an overwhelming number of information?
No matter how long the debates on the definition of media will continue, the core of media studies remains the same. Being a student of the media is tantamount to ensuring a mindful production and consumption of communication tools and technologies.
The future of education is not only being pulled towards learning how to learn about the futures. It also calls for transmogrifying all digital citizens into students of the media.
Futures Literacy (FL) must work with Media and Information Literacy (MIL) to create a lifelong learning education system.
UNESCO's MIL CLICKS (Media and Information Literacy: Critical-thinking, Creativity, Literacy, Intercultural, Citizenship, Knowledge and Sustainability) has made a pact to train all digital citizens to R.E.V.I.E.W before clicking, posting, and sharing:
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1. R – stands for rights
Pledge: I recognize that I am a global citizen with rights and agency online and offline. I am aware that my online posts can have both visible and unknown consequences for me or towards the rights of others. It is important to think critically before posting and sharing. Even if I make a mistake, I will act ethically and correct it.
2. E – stands for education/economy
Pledge: I recognize that I am part of a global village and economy. I understand that my full literacy includes being information and media literate. Therefore, my self-empowerment through the pursuit of information, media and technological competencies can contribute to peace and sustainability of my country, region and the world.
3. V – stands for voice
Pledge: I commit to sharing my voice and acting as a peer-educator of media and information literacy for all. I will advocate and pursue creativity and self-expression, and drive positive development-oriented conversations in online and offline spaces.
4. I – stands for intercultural dialogue
Pledge: I am aware of different cultural and religious views as well of various beliefs that other people have that may not align with mine. I respect our differences. I will try to see things from the perspective of others though I may or may not agree with them. I see MIL as a tool to enhance my rights, and that of other people to make informed decisions to engage in intercultural dialogue and cultural understanding of people. As a media and information literate person, I will commit to a dialogue that does not spread hate.
5. E – stands for ethics
Pledge: I will not share information that I know not to be true/factual. I am a respecter of others’ privacy, their rights online (including their intellectual rights), and I will use ethical judgments when sharing and posting content. Whenever sharing content from others, I will include references and allow readers to access the source of my comment and make their own judgment.
6. W – stands for wise clicking for women and men
Pledge: I recognize that the information, media, technological and communication landscape concerns women and men of all ages equally. I understand that MIL is a tool to promote gender equality. I commit to using my MIL competencies, when acquired, to advance the equal rights of women and men of all ages – as far as I am able and have the opportunity. I commit to applying media and information literacy knowledge, skills and attitude when assessing information online or offline and sharing it further with my friends and family.
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Digital citizens can be media literate as they become future literate. Futures thinking will automatically transform everyone into lifelong learners, and therefore, responsible media users.
Krznaric explains it perfectly in The Good Ancestor. When long-term thinking is embraced, humans will move from being digitally distracted to having a legacy mindset. Passive and reactive response on the hijacking of attention by technology will be replaced with a proactive approach on the planetary future for posterity. Certainly, having futures consciousness and futures orientation do not limit lifelong learners into an egocentric form of legacy that only uses media for immediate dopamine hits.
Like media, the concerns of lifelong learners would also transcend time and space as classrooms shatter its walls.
We would walk backwards into the future with our eyes fixed on our past. – a Māori proverb
Click my pic below to return at the Digital Galaxy main page. *lol, judged*
