Press Release
Date: Wednesday 18 August 2004 (NR/22/04)
Northern Ireland GCE students get into the big picture with first live online exam
The first ever set of students to sit an online GCE examination anywhere in the UK will receive their eagerly awaited exam results today. Sixty-nine students from seven schools across Northern Ireland have completed GCE AS level Moving Image Arts, an exciting new qualification developed by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment in cooperation with the British Film Institute and supported by the Nerve Centre in Londonderry.
CCEA Chief Executive, Gavin Boyd, comments:
“Moving Image Arts allows students to develop an understanding of the images they watch every day in films, television programmes, music videos, computer games and on the internet.
Students participate in hands-on digital film-making in the classroom and are assessed on the basis of their own three minute film production and a unique online exam, which we believe to be the first of its kind anywhere in the UK.
During the exam, conducted for the first time in June 2004, students log on to a secure website and are presented with a series of film clips, which they are asked to critically analyse. Having filled-in their answers on-screen, their completed exam is submitted online to a central database and marked on-screen in our headquarters in Belfast.
The moving image can only be fully appreciated when viewed on-screen. For this reason, it is crucial that the Moving Image Arts examination is presented in an electronic format. The online nature of the exam allows students to demonstrate the ‘tools of the trade’ about which they are learning. Many of these young people aspire to a career in the creative industries. As a movie producer or a special effects co-ordinator, for example, much of their work would be conducted using a computer, a keyboard, a mouse and the internet. It is crucial that they given the opportunity to learn how to use these tools in the context of the creative arts whilst still at school.”
Martin Melarkey, Director of the Nerve Centre, said:
"New digital technology is making creative industries such as film, music, animation and multimedia ever more accessible and attractive to young people. The impact is increasingly being felt within the classroom where pupils are seeking opportunities to learn technical skills and to express themselves creatively. As a Creative Learning Centre, the Nerve Centre is delighted to have been involved in the development of a new qualification, within the arts curriculum, which connects with the aspirations of young people. It is through subjects such as Moving Image Arts that the creative talent of the future will emerge. The results are an amazing tribute to the art teachers who rose to the challenge of teaching a new subject for the first time. Their dedication is an inspiration to us all."
Bernard McCloskey, Head of Education at the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission comments:
“The NIFTC congratulates all the students who have taken part so successfully in this innovative course. We have been working closely with CCEA and the Nerve Centre in the development of Moving Image Arts at AS and A2 Level and are currently looking at ways of providing access to an even wider range of moving image resource material using our Digital Film Archive. The combination of theory and practical filmmaking skills which form the basis of this qualification will provide students with a valuable grounding for those wishing to follow careers in the creative industries.”
CCEA has received excellent feedback from the students and teachers involved in the AS level pilot scheme. As a result, the pilot is being extended and Moving Image Arts will be offered to GCE A2 level as of September 2005. For further information please visit www.ccea.org.uk/movingimagearts.
Moving Image Arts
The AS level Moving Image Arts was first introduced to 7 schools as a pilot scheme in September 2002. The first set of 69 students to be taught the syllabus completed the course in June 2004. They will receive their results on 19 August 2004. The schools are as follows:
• Dalriada School, Ballymoney (12 students)
• Ulidia Integrated College, Carrickfergus (7 students)
• St Genevieve’s High School, Belfast (20 students)
• St Malachy’s College, Belfast (11 students)
• St Louise’s Comprehensive College, Belfast (8 students)
• Thornhill College, Derry (6 students)
• Oakgrove Integrated College, Londonderry (5 students)
Assessment:
30% of assessment is based on a 40 second short video production and accompanying essay. Each student can choose the topic on which to base their video production. The aim of this exercise is to allow students to demonstrate their practical skills and prepare them for the production the second piece of coursework (a 3 minute video production), as outlined below. For the written essay, students are asked to choose a film genre (e.g horror, crime/gangster, science fiction) and analyse various approaches to film production within this genre.
40% of assessment is based on a 3 minute video production and accompanying written materials through which each student has the opportunity to demonstrate their ability in directing, lighting, camera, editing and soundtracking. The students can choose their own topic on which to base their production. They submit their production along with written materials supporting their planning and production process e.g. story-boards, scripts etc. This coursework is marked internally by their own teacher and moderated externally by CCEA.
The remaining 30% is based on an online examination. Students are presented with three film clips on a secure website, which they are asked to critically analyse. Answers are filled-in on screen and submitted online. Examiners then mark the exam online at CCEA headquarters in Clarendon Dock, Belfast. The students must answer three questions, based on three separate film clips. For the third question they are asked to compare and contrast the third film clip with one of the first two clips.
CCEA has created an online exemplar examination using clips from the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission’s Northern Ireland Digital Film Archive. This can be viewed at www.ccea.org.uk/movingimagearts
The Nerve Centre
The Nerve Centre was established in 1990 as a focal point for youth culture
in Derry/Londonderry. By bringing popular music, film, video, animation
and interactive multimedia together under one roof, the Nerve Centre promotes
creative collaboration and fusion between artists and provides a stepping
stone into the creative industries for young people throughout Northern
Ireland. The centre offers a wide range of vocational training programmes
and organises the annual Foyle Film Festival. The Nerve Centre's artistic
output has gained an international reputation with an Oscar nomination
for the short film, Dance,Lexie,Dance in 1998. The Nerve Centre aims to
demonstrate in practical ways the educational benefits of creativity and
the myriad ways in which film, music, animation and digital technologies
can enhance current teaching practices. The centre has created strategic
partnerships with government departments, funding bodies, education providers,
ELBs, schools and colleges to pilot innovative education programmes. These
partnerships have led to the development of a new model of teaching and
learning - the Creative Learning Centre. Three Creative Learning Centres
have been established Derry/Londonderry, Armagh and the greater Belfast
area within the past six months. www.nerve-centre.org.uk
The Northern Ireland Film & Television Commission
The NIFTC was established in 1997 to accelerate the development of a dynamic
and sustainable film and television industry in Northern Ireland by integrating
industrial, educational and cultural policies and actions. The NIFTC has
an important remit to broaden access to, and develop awareness and understanding
of moving image culture and heritage in Northern Ireland. They play a
crucial role in relation to Moving Image Education by working with policy
makers in NI and nationally to embed the study of moving image media and
the creative use of digital technologies in the curriculum in Northern
Ireland. Further information can be found at www.niftc.co.uk
Media enquiries to Ruth Maguire on (028) 9026 1216, Mobile 07796947993. E mail rhmaguire@ccea.org.uk
ENDS
Note to Editors
CCEA is the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment.
CCEA places learners and those who have a concern for their educational and personal development at the forefront of its thinking. CCEA's mission is:
"To enable the full potential of all learners to be achieved and recognised"
What we do
CCEA is a unique educational body in the UK , bringing together the three areas of curriculum, examinations and assessment.
Advising Government – on what should be taught in Northern Ireland ’s schools and colleges.
Monitoring Standards – ensuring that the qualifications and examinations offered by awarding bodies in Northern Ireland are of an appropriate quality and standard.
Awarding Qualifications
– as Northern Ireland’s leading awarding body we offer a diverse range of qualifications, such as GCSEs, including the new GCSE Double Award specifications in vocational subjects, GCE A and AS levels, Entry Level Qualifications, and Graded Objectives in Modern Languages.
- CCEA also offers a range of Awards and Certificates in Education, Training and Skills (ACETS) targeted at learners who want to get
the knowledge, understanding and skills needed
to hit the ground running in the world of work.
