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