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So often we are so proud of our students, we complete mini plenaries, AFL and targeted questions based on the content we have delivered, and they respond in detail, with accuracy and confidence. And then we ask them to write it down (the exam board won’t accept verbal answers after all), and sometimes that’s where it all goes to pot. The wave of emotion washes over us and can sometimes rid that feeling of pride and leave us feeling a little dispirited.
What is it that students find so hard, translating spoken words into written?
I find this can be the hardest challenge.
To combat this, and keep the flow of knowledge going, I embed a paragraph structure that fits perfectly alongside Edusites prompts on written tasks:
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What a year that was in GCSE Media. I’m sure many of our colleagues will agree that this has been one of the most challenging we can remember. The dual year we knew had to be faced has been conquered…..hopefully! Those teachers and departments who have found themselves in the unenviable position of managing Y11 through the final days of the much loved (ok..very familiar!) GCSE legacy specs whilst simultaneously getting to grips with the new strengthened course will be looking forward longingly to that final bell, the swift taxi to the airport and the rattle of ice cubes more than most this year.
Dear Edusites Team, Please can I just say a huge thank you for providing such superb resources for us to use in the classroom with our students. Our subscription is worth every penny we pay. We are also grateful for the swift response and support when we contact you! With best wishes, Lucy Hunter. Head of Media Studies Bohunt School and Sixth FormAn Outstanding School named Overall School of the Year by the TES in 2014. Bohunt School is a mixed 11-18 School and Sixth Form. Bohunt are the state school of choice in the region which includes the counties of Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex.Join experts online, by email and on 01604 847689 to answer any questions
Try and listen to some BBC Light Radio stuff, followed by any of the early Caroline tapes. The difference is obvious. While the BBC Light Programme, in particular, produced some genuine classics of the genre (The Goon Show, Hancock’s Half Hour etc), it was the growing demand for rock’n’roll sounds that made the audience for pirate radio so disenchanted with much of the BBC’s offerings.
Try and listen to some BBC Light Radio stuff, followed by any of the early Caroline tapes. The difference is obvious. While the BBC Light Programme, in particular, produced some genuine classics of the genre (The Goon Show, Hancock’s Half Hour etc), it was the growing demand for rock’n’roll sounds that made the audience for pirate radio so disenchanted with much of the BBC’s offerings.
The Rise of Radio 1 and the Influence of the Pirates. When Radio1 began in 1967, the controllers knew that they had to appeal to the young adult market who had become very bored with their dull ‘Light’ Programme or classical music output. They had lost a lot of their audience to listeners who enjoyed the much more upbeat, cool, modern and humorous style of the Pirate Radio DJs like John Peel and Tony Blackburn. They used banter and had a laugh with the audience when presenting. Therefore they could connect with this younger audience much more effectively.
Streaming Music delivered via the Internet Playlist A list of sings that have to be played on specific radio shows Public funding Money paid to the BBC to create their content from TV licence fees Deregulation Doing away with government control or oversight – Freeing up the market Digital/DAB Upgraded technologies a clearer and cleaner sound for streaming broadcasts DAB Digital Audio Broadcasting OFCOM The UK government watchdog – The Office of Communications – Overseas the UK radio Industry Convergence Being able to listen to radio content on a number of platforms Cultural Capital Being believable to an audience – Displaying knowledge and awareness that demonstrates expertise and allows the audience to trust your judgement
As basic as it sounds, always take a minute at the beginning of a new CSP to check in with the actual key skills (Or elements of the somewhat dauntingly sounding ‘Theoretical Framework’) and make sure you have a clear grasp on exactly what’s required. It would be a serious waste of everybody’s time if you career down a path looking in great depth at the audience when, for example, the CSP is only asking you to look at language and representation! Music Video - What two Key Areas? Media Industries Media Audience
“Representation, Across the nation, A celebration, And decimation” (for your chances of a 7 if you don’t understand it sufficiently well enough in the summer – I’ve spent weeks doing these worksheets on those scallies throwing gun signs behind David Cameron so I’m not explaining it again)
What do we mean ‘Media Language’? Well, this is the technical side. It is really, really useful to get to grips with the subject vocabulary for any topic, but it has quite a significance in this task. But as well as that, the language of the CSP itself needs a deep dive into.
It will be beneficial for you to understand as much magazine front cover glossary as possible. There are the clear and obvious ones such as mastheads, fonts and main images. These are the obvious elements of a cover. And they will be there for a reason. They will exist on the cover in such a way that you can read into them and comment on how they have been applied.
Developing a solid understanding of how these essential film industry concepts work will establish a firm knowledge basis for the students to build their understanding of this topic on.
This is one of the AQA GCSE Media CSP rarities, a one skill only CSP. A TARGETED CSP!!!!! Yes calm down. It means you only have to master one of the ‘Big Four’ (As literally nobody ever calls them). But don’t push back too far. A few more two skillers are on the way and before you know it will be time for the four-handed monsters of the media apocalypse – THE IN-DEPTH CSPs (Whatsapp Emoji face in hands).
The scheduling of I Daniel Blake in early January 2019 was, for once, a case of the right thing at the right time. Rarely has a GCSE Media text been so absolutely indicative of its time; so loaded with potential discussion points and so divisive, both politically and culturally.
Hollywood Terminology Research task. Get your student to research and write short paragraphs on the following ideas: The Studio System, The Big Six, Blockbusters, Film Franchises, Merchandising, Video on demand
I’m sure all you cool Media Edutistas are going to agree with me on this one. As much as I love a bit of Great British Bake-Off, I sometimes feel the two production pieces at the beginning and the end are a bit annoying. Knowing the task and the rules before you enter the competition is OK for the inevitable quirky, eccentric, golly-gosh student type who has had all day to practice after their 33 minutes of weekly lectures have finished.
