Michelle Thomason is Senior Lecturer and leads the PGCE Further Education at the University of East London. A former curriculum area leader for media studies at an inner London sixth form, her research interests lie in creative pedagogy, media education and the netnography of subject-specialist communities of practice on social media. She is currently completing a doctorate in education at Bournemouth University’s Centre for Excellence in Media Practice and her research is focused on the impact of the recent curriculum reform on media studies at post-16. She has also written journal articles, blogs and resources for a range of publications and websites related to media education. Michelle is an executive board member of The Media Education Association, the UK subject association for media and film studies educators.