BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE

This module introduces teachers to the role that new and converging technologies are playing in the widening participation of citizens in social, economic and political change. It explains how new digital and electronic forms of media (online news, blogs, Wikipedia, YouTube, social networking applications, video gaming, etc.) have evolved from traditional media and how they are enabling greater access to information and knowledge, Freedom of expression, good governance and participation in democratic processes.

The co-existence of print media, broadcast media (radio and television), the Internet, mobile phones, etc. is also allowing media content to flow across various platforms, widening access to information and creating a participatory culture where citizens not only consume information, but actively participate in its production and distribution. New information and communication technologies (ICTs), for example, have opened up opportunities for greater audience participation in information and knowledge sharing, and are encouraging people to actively engage in the democratic process, causing more societies to open up.

In effect, new media and converging technologies are creating new spaces for self-expression and participation in public discourse on a wide range of social, economic and political issues. New media platforms are allowing citizens to consciously engage in the democratic process in their societies, and helping to bring global news and issues much closer to local societies.