Analysis Vs Production in media education

Media education has experienced an ongoing tension between critical written analysis and media production, as evidenced by the following:

- In Australia at least, contemporary media education has descended from 1950s and '60s film appreciation which was usually conducted in English classes and film making which took place in Art classrooms. As media studies became more formalised, there was often a distinction between the "academic" approach of analysis and the vocational and practical approach of production. Often these were studied by quite distinctive groups of students, with some schools opting for one approach or the other.

- During the 1980s the legtimisation of media studies through the application of cultural studies theories marginalised student media production which was seen to reinforce dominant ideology, and anti-intellectual.

- Students often choose media studies because they want to learn how to make media, not because they want to become media analysists. This is sometimes reflected in courses where media theory is much less emphasised than production.

- Very little media analysis work seems to be based around students reflecting on, or being critical about, their own work.

It is this last point that I think is important - because this is where the potential lies for students to better understand the media ed key concepts. The media KCs should be fundamental to media education. Unless students are involved in activities that help them to make the media key concepts explicit, they are experiencing technology or multimedia education rather than media education.

Media education is education about media, and therefore production work should serve the purpose of helping students to learn about media languages, audiences, institutions, representations and technologies. They should be able to explicitly reflect on how these concepts relate to their own and others' productions.