Austral Comunicación

Fundamentals of socio-technical mediatization

Gonzalo Andrés — 2025-06-10

he purpose of this paper is to dispense with the anthropocentrism of the analysis of technological and symbolic production and appropriation by proposing the notion of ‘socio-technical mediatization’ which includes the performative capacity of technologies. To this end, the theoretical guidelines of the semio-anthropological perspective of mediatization are recovered, although it postulates the relevance of incorporating a socio-technical and symmetrical approach that does not over-determine human actions over the qualities of communication technologies. To this end, it draws on studies of technology and archaeological findings that postulate that technological innovation and use were the driving force behind the evolution of the human species.

Challenges of media literacy in the face of misinformation and fake news

Patricia de Casas Moreno — 2025-07-18

Este monográfico reúne una serie de investigaciones que abordan los desafíos actuales de la desinformación y la alfabetización mediática desde diversas perspectivas y contextos. En primer lugar, las autoras María José Hernández Serrano, Marta Martín del Pozo y Noelia Morales Romo en el artículo “Serious Game para la autorreflexión y el pensamiento crítico ante la desinformación”, nos presentan el uso de videojuegos educativos como herramientas eficaces para el desarrollo del pensamiento crítico en el ámbito docente, destacando su potencial en la formación frente a la desinformación.

Por su parte, los autores Marco López-Paredes y Andrea Carrillo-Andrade con el título “Desinformación y mal información en Ecuador: Ultramediaciones en contextos de analfabetismo digital”, examinan el contexto ecuatoriano, subrayando la importancia de la alfabetización digital y la necesidad de comprender las dinámicas de la información en la era de las ultramediaciones.

Finalmente, Sergio Walter Salguero presenta en la sección Informes de cátedra su trabajo “Periferia asediada. Reflexión sobre una práctica docente educomunicativa”, una presentación que muestra una experiencia innovadora en Córdoba, Argentina, que utiliza el storytelling y la gamificación para promover la alfabetización digital y la reflexión crítica en la formación docente universitaria, destacando la importancia de enfoques educomunicativos reflexivos que fomenten una ciudadanía digital activa.

Using serious game for practicing self-reflection and critical thinking to combat disinformation

Maria Jose Hernández-Serrano — 2025-07-18

Disinformation, defined as a widespread phenomenon involving the manipulation and dissemination of false information, is a global challenge, which is evolving alarmingly within our society. The rapid consumption of information and disinformation highlights the urgent need to train skills in reflection and critical thinking. Serious games are presented as effective educational resources for the training of these abilities, alongside other media and information literacy skills. This study focuses on the design and implementation of a serious game with nine scenarios inspired by cases of disinformation, simulating classroom environments. It examines the perceptions of a sample of Spanish teachers (n=133) regarding the use of this serious game and explores differences based on socio-demographic variables (gender, age, teaching experience, and familiarity with educational video games). The results show that teachers positively assessed the video game as a learning resource. The majority of participants perceived that it had helped them to develop critical thinking and assess their learning. Gender-based differences were observed, with female teachers rating the game’s utility for solving practical problems more highly than male participants. However, no significant differences were found based on age, educational level or familiarity with educational video games. We conclude with the need to use this type of educational resource to improve teachers’ literacy in addressing the new competences required to deal with misinformation. The serious game analyzed demonstrated strong applicability for being used across several educational levels, formal and non-formal.

Disinformation and misinformation in Ecuador

Marco López-Paredes — 2025-07-18

This study expands on the initial findings presented at the 2024 Alfamed Conference under the theme Social Networks and Citizenship, where the paper Disinformation and Misinformation in a Context of Ultramediations was introduced. It explores the relationship between disinformation and ultramediations within the contemporary Ecuadorian social context, with particular emphasis on the implications of digital illiteracy.

The theoretical framework draws on key concepts such as media ecology, social mediations, and hypermediations, applying them specifically to the Ecuadorian case. The analysis highlights the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in widening the digital divide while proposing digital literacy as a crucial tool to counteract both disinformation and hate speech.

The methodology integrates both qualitative and quantitative approaches: a literature review aimed at strengthening and expanding the theory of ultramediations, and an analysis of data from Ecuador’s National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) covering the period from 2019 to 2022, with a focus on pandemic-related developments.

Among the key findings, the study reveals a paradox: although internet access has increased, its use as a source of information has declined. This underscores the importance of understanding how users interact with and appropriate digital environments within a networked information flow model. The study argues that the theory of ultramediations offers essential conceptual tools for analyzing these interconnected dynamics.

Finally, the research emphasizes the urgent need to design educational strategies that promote digital literacy in Ecuador, as a vital step toward critically and effectively confronting the challenges posed by disinformation in today’s media ecosystem.

The invisible persistence of the audionaute´s figure in Las cuatro revoluciones invisibles by José Luis Fernández

Santiago Videla — 2025-07-03

The study of sound mediatization has generally been a fairly niche area of research. Argentine researcher José Luis Fernández offers a perspective that frames it as a phenomenon with far-reaching structural consequences. The book explores the reconstruction of the "audionaut" figure as a central thread across four revolutions over the past century and a half. This perspective allows him to show how certain social practices that emerged around radio and phonographic consumption laid the groundwork for how internet users engage with media today.

Periferia asediada

Sergio Walter Salguero — 2025-07-18

This report reflects on an innovative educommunicative practice that combines storytelling and gamification in university teacher training. It explores the use of ICT alongside narrative strategies to motivate teacher education students to integrate digital resources into their teaching practices, promoting both digital literacy and critical reflection on their use.

The project, developed in Córdoba, Argentina, presents a cyberpunk-themed narrative inspired by the comic El Eternauta. It consists of ten chapters with multimedia storytelling, incorporating challenges related to the use of ICT tools and a point system to encourage participation. Platforms such as Genially and WordPress were used, providing an immersive and collaborative experience that fosters meaningful learning.

This report situates the experience within the field of educommunication, warning against technicist approaches that prioritize the instrumental use of ICT. Instead, it advocates for a reflective perspective that emphasizes the development of learning autonomy and knowledge construction.

Framed within the concept of convergence culture, the implemented project highlights the importance of designing pedagogical proposals that integrate media and platforms to foster active digital citizenship.