MediaNumeric

The goal of MediaNumeric

MediaNumeric was an Erasmus+ funded programme to develop learning resources for multimedia data-driven journalism and media production. Although we live in a data-driven society, creative professionals are often unaware of how they can use data — and how doing so will strengthen their work.

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How did Inholland approach this research?

Inholland was both a research partner and an education partner in this project. Our focus was on making creative professionals 'data literate' across the creative industry disciplines we teach.

We began with a needs analysis: what should we offer in our curricula according to experts and future professionals in the creative industry? We designed pilot versions of workshops for students that grew into modular courses, which ultimately became freely available online.

Inholland collaborated with six European partners in France, Poland and Estonia for this project. The project was led by the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (Hilversum).

What are the outcomes?

As a result of MediaNumeric, we developed an online course for students, journalists, content creators and others who use (or want to use) data in journalism or storytelling. The English-language online course consists of three modules:

• Search & Exploration of Multimedia Data
• Telling Stories with Data
• Tracking & Debunking Misinformation

Today, many databases are freely available and misinformation is widespread. This makes the course especially valuable: participants learn how to find, investigate, understand and evaluate data.

Even after the rapid rise of AI, the course remains relevant — working with data stays the same. AI can make data easier to interpret, but critically evaluating AI output remains an important skill that is still underrepresented in many curricula.

Within the European Media Management Association research hub, follow-up research is currently underway: a literature review into the emotional components of 'technology acceptance in digitalisation'. The researchers on this project are using the MediaNumeric dataset and assessing the data for emotions and triggers. The research findings will be published shortly.

What is the significance for education?

Inholland students were able to participate in the pilot workshops. A key outcome of this project is that they now benefit from a more comprehensive curriculum in the areas of data use and data analysis.

How is the professional field involved?

We actively collaborated with our research group partners in the professional domain. For example, Gijs van Beek (TextGain) delivered part of the pilot course in Paris in the spring of 2022.