by Laura Schotte, NISV (Netherlands Institute of Sound and Vision), The Netherlands.
This autumn, a consortium of European partners and teachers will be launching a new online course for students, young professionals or anyone interested in the field of data-driven journalism, creative storytelling and fact-checking. The free online course is offered to you by The MediaNumeric Academy.
The future of content creation is data-driven, and the MediaNumeric Academy is here to equip you with the necessary skills. The Academy will provide you with a cutting edge perspective on the most urgent topics in the context of using big data for factual storytelling, content creation and media production. The MediaNumeric Academy is a comprehensive online course that will introduce you to the world of data-driven journalism, creative storytelling and fact-checking by exploring the latest developments and tools in the field. In this course, you will learn about the interplay between archival data and storytelling, data literacy, why working with data is crucial in the digital age, and much more.
The data-driven future of content creation
The online course consists of three modules that address the most crucial skills needed to master data gathering, analysis and storytelling. The course’s first module focuses on the search and exploration of multimedia data. You will be introduced to the stages of a data project, from data collection to data preparation and analysis. Through a series of exercises, you will learn about different data collection techniques, the tools and databases used in the process, and potential biases that can occur.
The second module of the course focuses on telling stories with data. You will learn about the basics of multimedia and data-driven storytelling and the different techniques for designing a data storytelling project. You will also be introduced to free data visualisation tools such as Flourish, rawgraphs, Kartis, and Tableau.
In the final module, you will learn all about tracking and debunking misinformation. You will explore the ethical implications of digital media and data manipulation and learn how to identify and debunk fake news through open-source intelligence techniques.
Throughout the course, you will be asked to complete exercises that will help you develop your data analysis, visualisation, and communication skills. By the end of the course, you will have a solid understanding of data-driven journalism and its role in the media landscape. The course is completed with a final exercise where you can demonstrate the skills and knowledge you have acquired during the programme. The course will go live this autumn, and you can already sign up now! Be sure to add your email to the mailing list and you’ll be the first to be informed when the course is live to ensure your position at the forefront of the data-driven future of content creation.
Background
MediaNumeric started out as an in-person course for students from SWPS University, INA University and Inholland University. We held three in-person courses in Poland, France and The Netherlands each one week long between 2022 and 2023. Read more about the background of the course, experiences of the students and more here.
Editor’s Note: images produced by Laura Schotte from NISV.
Author
Laura Schotte, NISV (Netherlands Institute of Sound and Vision), The Netherlands.
