Design & print your own CD Label & Cover: Mixtape/Demo

Cherwell YouTube Channel

Hello you lot,

Right, it's finally here - we now have a Cherwell Media YT channel available on www.youtube.com/cherwellmedia . In the first instance, I hope it'll be useful for you to use the 'A2 Useful blogs' playlist to get some practical ideas for excellence in research and planning, but the other playlists should be useful too.
 ENJOY!
Mr Boulter

Work Thurs

Hi all,

Sorry I can't be there on Thurs, but your task is really clear and independent. You need to work on the Research and Planning stages of your blog, by following these steps:

1) Have a good look at the early posts of the blogs from http://a2musicvid.blogspot.com/
2) Make a list of 5 posts that they make which you could make on your own
3) Make those posts!

I don't think you really need any more guidance than that, other than to point out the need for creativity, detail, and looking at research through the key media concepts, eg representations, narrative, media language etc.

Have fun and have a great week off! I've been impressed with the progress you've made recently - next term we are going to go ALL OUT for coursework and make sure we nail it!

Mr Boulter

Essay Powerpoint

We media sample essay

View more presentations from Cherwelllearning.

Sample 'more sophisticated' paragraph

¡One way in which the media can be argued to have become more democratic is through the use of social media to organise and enable political protest. A recent example of this is the ‘Arab Spring’ unrest across the Middle East in early 2011. In Syria, for example, news of an individual protest in a small town was quickly carried via Facebook across the country, resulting in lots of copy-cat protests, riots, and eventually to the downfall of the King. In the past, any such individual protests would have been prevented from appearing on Syrian state television, and therefore prevented from spreading. However, the rise of social networking meant that democratic forces such as access to information and freedom of speech were given a place where they could flourish.

Good hub website for music vids - loads of examples and good stuff here

http://a2musicvid.blogspot.com/

Essay preparation

Hi all,

Well done on the lesson today - some really good debate. We looked at the representation of police in particular, looking at mediated and unmediated texts, and considered the extent to which these texts could be said to add or detract from democracy.
Next week you are doing a timed essay in class, and need to prepare. This will take place during THURSDAY's lesson.
The title is:

Assess whether we-media has made society more democratic.

Before the lesson, you need to decide the points you are going to make - what will your topic sentences be? You could consider:
To support the view that We-Media has increased democracy:- anyone can produce texts now - institutions are not needed
- the role of social networking in promoting democracy in the Middle East
- We-Media's influence on news, eg through comments, blogging, etc
- The impact on representations (eg of police), resulting in more plurality, less dominance of stereotypical representations
To argue against:
- the fact that so much media output is now unregulated, biased, untrue - discuss the lack of regulation and its impact
- the impact of anonymity on truth
- the dominance of some institutions such as facebook / google
- is there too much information to cope with?

Feel free to write about other things also of course.
You will notice that whilst I've provided some points, I haven't given any specific examples. It's essential that you are able to back up your points with clear, detailed case studies and examples, so in your planing, make sure you've done so.
So, to conclude - for homework:
- plan your essay, including points and examples
- think carefully about what you are going to say
BRING YOUR PLANNING TO THE LESSON PLEASE!
Many thanks and enjoy your long leisurely weekend!
Mr Boulter

Today's Learning

All - in today's lesson, we are learning to:
- gather, understand and share case studies of We-Media in action
- understand and describe arguments to support or deny the idea that We-Media are leading to a more democratic society

We are learning this in order to help prepare for an essay next week, with the title:
Assess the claim that We-Media are making society more democratic.

Task:
- select a clear, defined area of the Media, eg the Music Industry, News, Advertising, Politics, TV, Reality TV
- Use the web to investigate your issue, looking for the following:

1) What evidence can you find of we-media being used or present in your area? Try to come up with at least 5 examples.
2) What evidence can you find of institutions controlling or mediating we-media - how are institutions trying to use this new form for their own benefit or gain?
3) What evidence can you find of unmediated we-media on your topic, meaning examples of we-media engaging with the topic without large corporate institutions being involved?

You should aim to produce a THREE SLIDE presentation on this topic, answering the above questions.

How do we do this well?
Skilled work will
- Address each of the three points
- find clear examples

Excellent work will- address each of the three points with increasing precision and sophistication
- show an increasing range of relevant examples, considering a range of we-media and platforms
- Make increasingly thoughtful and sophisticated points about whether or not the we-media is creating more or less successfully functioning democracy - is it increasing levels of freedom, choice, knowledge and power for individuals?

Have fun! Please be ready to present your findings in next Wednesday's lesson,
Mr Boulter

Homework Reading

All - to access your homework reading for this week, please use this website:

http://my.dynamic-learning.co.uk/Default.aspx?cid=15450

Then log in with the following details:
- Centre ID: 15450
- Username: ocrmedstud2
- Password: student

You should read and make notes on the section in We-Media and Democracy on Reality TV. It's on pages 104 - 106.

Mr Boulter

Representations Test

Hi all,

Here's our second go at the Representations test - if you did well the first time, do have another go as there is a bit more detail required in this one:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/323VQ57
Have fun!
Mr Boulter

Habermas' Public Sphere revision film

Homework

Hi all,
OK - so the Representations tests were a bit of a shocker, with 1 A, 1 B, 2 Es and 5 Us. Therefore, we're going to need to do that again I think!

I'll give out more copies of the article, with a reminder that your task is to:
1) Read and learn the content as far as you can
2) If things are unclear, you need to take steps to help yourself learn, eg by looking words or concepts up on the internet, or speaking to other students / me or Mr Wroe
3) If some things really aren't clear (this may happen and that is OK!) come to the lesson with a list of questions you want answering about the materials.

Also, hopefully, we watched the first episode of How Facebook changed the world - this is the link to part 2 which you need to have watched BEFORE NEXT THURSDAY!http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b014s261/How_Facebook_Changed_the_World_The_Arab_Spring_Episode_2/
As we did in class, I would like you to make notes on the key findings of this documentary, ready for me to see in our first lesson after next Thursday.

Homework - watch this

All - well done on today - we now need to start thinking about coursework as well. In time for next lesson, could you please watch and make notes on this video, and make a decision about which production brief you would prefer to work to?
Alongside this, you have a few articles to read and learn - the one I posted on here earlier, but also the ones frmo the twitter feed to the right.
Mr Boulter

A Level Media Studies Revision Hegemony

As promised!

Hello and first task!

Hello!
OK, first task!
As well as the Representations work I set last lesson, could you please make sure that, by next lesson, you have read this article, understood it, and made yourself some notes - mindmap if you wish - to aid revision. It's quite old, and lots has changed since then, but makes a really good starting point for the We Media unit.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4789852.stm

fab - all done by next Weds (21st) please.
Mr Boulter