CCEA's Occupational Studies in Digital Media GCSE Qualification

The Occupational Studies Digital Technology qualification offers pupils the opportunity to learn digital media skills through a practical and an occupationally oriented environment. The Nerve Centre can assist with the delivery of four digital technology units: Digital Music, Digital Imaging, Introduction to Digital Video Editing, and Building a Web Site.

Nerve Centre trainers are industry professionals in these creative fields and have experience delivering these units in school. We can provide teachers with the technical skills needed to deliver these qualifications. We can also provide lesson plans as well as assistance and advice regarding equipment and software.

Below are the units which the Nerve Centre can assist with:

Unit 1: Digital Music
Learners can remain up to the minute with both musical and lifestyle trends with computer-based music production technology. Participants will learn how to use appropriate software to create, record, edit, arrange and mix audio. Software you might use includes eJay, Music Maker, Garageband, Sony Acid and Cubase and learners will quickly gain the confidence to create their own complete and contemporary musical masterpiece. At the end of the unit, learners will be able to save their music tracks in the appropriate formats to play on CD, mobile phones, MP3 players, games consoles and all the latest digital audio devices.

Unit 2: Digital Imaging
Students will develop skills in using image manipulation software to edit digital images for a variety of applications. Adobe Photoshop is a professional image rendering software application and is used to create customised graphics, edit photographs and produce images for the Internet, print and screen media. It is considered the industry standard in most jobs related to photography and graphic design.

Unit 3: Introduction to Digital Video Editing
This unit will enable the learner to record live footage on a video camera and store it on a computer using a video editing package. Candidates will develop an understanding of the video production process from storyboarding through to post-production and rendering for output. Software you might use ranges from free programmes like Windows Movie Maker and iMovie to industry standard packages e.g. Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro.

Unit 4: Building a Web Site
The World Wide Web has now become an integral component of our everyday lives. It is the fastest growing communications medium of all time. It is now possible to display content to a global audience 24/7. There is a wide variety of occupations that use the skills and knowledge required to build a web site including web developers, IT programmers, graphic designers and website managers. In this unit, candidates will learn how to use the appropriate software to build, add content and publish web pages and websites. Software you might use includes Adobe GoLive and Microsoft FrontPage but Macromedia Dreamweaver is widely regarded as the industry standard application for web authoring.

For more information about these units, visit CCEA's Occupational Studies microsite.