Reflecting on our First Semester – Practical 12

Over the course of this semester there have been many new thoughts, perspectives and ideas introduced to me as a media practitioner. Below is a small list of the things we’ve done this semester starting with the one you’re most familiar with:

  • The Blog: A new practice for the majority of the class, having us operate on a public platform and conform to copyright. The blogged has been aimed at developing our understanding of course material and making connections with our own experiences. It has involved evaluations, analyses, reflection and critical thinking – it has taught us to draft and edit material to be published to an audience.
  • Workshops: In our practical lessons this semester we were introduced to processes of research, creation and reflection. The most important aspect has been learning ways to think critically of presentations.
  • Production: There was talk of the technical skills in software and hardware that would be required for the course. However, there was limited involvement in actually developing our proficiency. Areas of text, image, sound, video and editing were discussed with a lack of emphasis on specifically how to translate ideas into media artefacts. We have not touched on the techniques or of filming, sound recording, editing or photography and this has greatly impeded my progress in the course.
  • Readings: Our weekly readings from scholarly articles have given us a theoretical base of knowledge on which to build. They have been specific to certain events or media areas, which is not in line with the idea of an “introduction” to media. I still feel as useless with the basics elements as before I started.
  • Lectorials: We have been walked through the central concepts and ideas in the creation and communication of media. The content has developed our understanding of the media industry, the roles of agents, institutions and audiences.

This is a brief infographic I made in class that expresses how I have progressed in certain aspects of this course:

infographic

 

The writing up the top is illegible to most, they are questions about how we’ve developed. Basically:

Black = thinking critically and creatively.

Blue = the role and value of the blog.

Red = working independently with new systems and tools.

Green = making media objects/stories.

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