Summer 2013

Introduction to A-Level Media and Blogging

CHEW

VALLEY

SCHOOL MEDIA STUDIES A-LEVEL

A-Level Media Introduction – Summer 2012

Chew Valley School

Notes Page

A-Level Media Introduction – Summer 2012

Chew Valley School

Blogging for A Level Media All of your coursework across the A Level Media course is assessed via a blog. This blog should

contain all your research, planning, drafts, analysis, audience feedback and completed productions

for each element of the coursework.

Setting up your blog You automatically have a blog set up for you using the Tumblr blogging platform. Access to your blog

is initially through a central Chew Valley Media hub. Follow the instructions below:

1. Go to www.tumblr.com and click “log in”.

2. Sign in using the email address and password as discussed in the lesson.

3. This sign in will take you to the dashboard for the central hub, which is a blog maintained by

me at the address http://chewvalleymedia.tumblr.com/ . This will contain lesson notes,

useful resources, links etc.

4. Across the top of the dashboard you will see options to navigate to your own blog’s

dashboard as follows:

Your blogs have been set up with addresses consisting of your name followed by the word

“media” – for example http://emmymitchellmedia.tumblr.com/

A-Level Media Introduction – Summer 2012

Chew Valley School

5. Clicking on your name will take you to the dashboard where you can post text, photos, links,

and videos to your blog. You can also customize the theme and appearance of your blog, but

remember to choose a theme which displays all types of post clearly and completely.

6. You should also set up a Tumblr account of your own, which you don’t have to use. This will

let you log on to your Media Studies blog using your own details. Whilst logged on as

childrew@chewvalleyschool.co.uk, clicking on the “members” option will allow you to invite

yourself to be a member of your media blog using the email address you have registered to

your personal Tumblr. This will mean that your media blog will appear in your personal

Tumblr dashboard, allowing you to post to your media blog without having to log in and out

each time. Please do not leave the “chewvalleymedia” hub as this will be required for

assessing your work.

Posting to your blog Clicking on one of the posting options across the top of your dashboard will allow you to compose a

new post.

Click here to

publish or save

drafts of posts

Use this box to

tag your posts

so you and your

teachers can

find them easily

Use the HTML

button to

embed videos

from YouTube

or other web-

based content

When adding

pictures always

use the highest

resolution

possible

A-Level Media Introduction – Summer 2012

Chew Valley School

Guidelines for blogging Think of the blog a bit like an Art sketchbook or a Technology

portfolio. The whole blog will be assessed at the end of the

course and should show the development of your skills,

knowledge and understanding.

Posts on your media blog should only be related to your

media course and should be appropriate for academic

assessment.

You should aim to post at least weekly with progress on the work you have

been doing. This might be a reflection on what you have learned in your lessons, an update

on your coursework, or a commentary on a good television programme, film or music video

you have seen.

You can also use the blog to keep notes on important theories and theorists, ideas,

concepts, examples and case studies.

Using tags when you post will enable you and your markers to find posts more easily. You

could use the tag “Foundation Portfolio” to identify all posts related to your AS

coursework, for example, and the tags “Preliminary Task”, “Main

Task” and “Ancillary Task” to differentiate between different

elements of your coursework. Popular tags also include

“research”, “theory”, and “evaluation”.

Before the start of the course in September 1. Make a personal Tumblr account and link your Media Studies blog to it.

2. Customise the theme of your blog. Try to customise it so that it represents your interests and

personality. Remember, media is a creative subject with an eye on design and originality! Make

your blog stand out, but make sure it is clean, clear and easy to read.

3. Post the following:

An introductory text post that explains:

who you are and why you have chosen to study the media

how you’d like to use the subject in the future

what your media interests are (favourite films, adverts, TV programmes etc)

A music video you like, embedded from YouTube or similar, with a brief analysis of why

you like it

A film trailer you like, embedded from YouTube or

similar, with a brief analysis of why you like it

An advert (still or moving image) that you like,

posted as an image or video clip, with a brief

analysis of why you like it

A link to a media website (see overleaf for some

options – but don’t be limited to this list!) that you like

with a brief analysis of why you like it.

A-Level Media Introduction – Summer 2012

Chew Valley School

Research and further reading Media Studies:

www.mediaedu.co.uk

www.mediaknowall.com

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/subjects/media_studies.shtml

News:

www.guardian.co.uk (especially

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media )

www.bbc.co.uk/news

Music:

www.nme.com

www.q4music.com

www.popjustice.com

www.thestoolpigeon.co.uk

www.drownedinsound.com

www.pitchfork.com

Film:

www.totalfilm.com

www.empireonline.com

Media Institutions:

www.ofcom.org.uk

www.aardman.com

www.endemoluk.com

www.itv.com

www.sky.com

www.channel4.com

Follow on Twitter:

@chrishildrew (I use the hashtag #mediatweet)

@arusbridger (Guardian editor)

@mediaguardian

@davidgauntlett (theorist)

@malcolmcoles (theorist)

@JulianMcDougall (theorist)

@TheMediaTweets (media blog)

@tabloidwatch (media blog)