Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Participatory Media Production Project

This assessment is both underpinned by, and designed to teach students, a participatory approach to media production - a collaborative approach to the production of media (audio, video, still images, text) that emphasises working with a group or community in creating their media for learning, making themselves heard, and enabling positive change and transformation. In the case of this assessment was paired with a reflexive essay where students linked the practice of participatory media to the theories discussed in class and from in required readings. In the context of COMU7016, this assessment aimed to teach students foundational skills and knowledge related to participatory media theory, facilitating participatory production processes, and creating and evaluating participatory media products relating to a complex social issue. The media products developed in collaboration with external participant groups are then screened during designated class time. Beyond the context of community development, this assessment has wide applicability as it teaches highly transferable skills in video production (pre-production, filming, and post-production), the ability to liaise effectively with external groups to produce media outputs that align with their needs and agendas, and skills in collaboration and facilitation. In COMU7016, all students were expected to participate in basic digital media skills courses offered by UQ's MaPS team.