Course outline for 'What's the Story?' summer school delivered in partnership between Lewisham Library & Information Service and Goldsmiths School of Journalism, August 2017. The course educated 15 young people (aged between 13 and 21) in the principles and practices of information and media literacy, mobile journalism and local history, focusing on the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Lewisham. Course tutors: Robert Freeman (Goldsmiths School of Journalism) and Alice Corble (Goldsmiths Sociology/Library Studies). Supported by Arts Council England Libraries Innovation Fund.

1. Course Outline
Produced in partnership with Lewisham Library and Information Service,
Lewisham Community Development and Goldsmiths School of Journalism

2. Learning Outcomes: information & media literacy
By the end of the course, students will have the following skills:
• Gain familiarity with the range of information sources and services accessible through
Lewisham libraries and archives
• Understand how local history can be researched through multiple information mediums
including archival resources, online sources and news databases, cultural ephemera and
walking and talking in the local area
• Apply search strategies and techniques to web search engines and the library service’s
online databases to retrieve relevant content
• Evaluate online news sources and images to determine their accuracy, authority,
relevance, purpose, and bias
• Compare controversial news content from different points in history to evaluate changes in
the way social issues are framed, represented and mediated
• Identify areas of interest for further research and educational/career development

3. Learning Outcomes: journalism & filmmaking
By the end of the course, students will have the following skills:
• Be able to assemble the equipment needed to record interviews and take photos, and keep it in good condition.
• Demonstrate the steps required to use audio / video recording software on a phone or tablet and transfer the finished file
to another storage medium.
• Understand the importance of simple file naming conventions in storage and retrieval of media.
• Demonstrate the ability to take good-quality digital photographs, using available light.
• Have knowledge of and practical experience in using microphones to make a high-quality sound recording.
• Be able to set out an interview plan and arrange appointments in a calendar.
• Recognise the difference between closed and open-ended questioning and be able to consistently use open-ended
questions in a short interview.
• Analyse interviews, by themselves or others, for key points of interest.
• Have practical experience in using simple audio / video software to make shorter edits of full-length interviews, and use
photo editing software to crop and resize images.
• Be able to assemble text, pictures and other media into an online story presentation.
• Evaluate the final work, discovering and solving editorial problems prior to publication.

4. Day one: Introduction (AM)
• Refreshments and introductions from tutors and
participants including an ice-breaker game
• Schedule, timings, ground rules, health and safety and
fire briefing
• Background to the project:
• Introducing the complementary fields of expertise that
librarians, archivists and journalists provide
• Introducing project research focus: The Battle of Lewisham
• Watch film by Goldsmiths media graduate Nachael Catnott: The
Battle of Lewisham – The Rise of the People + director Q&A
• Short group discussion: Why we should / should not
learn about events in the past
Lunch on college green

5. Day one: Introduction (PM)
• Introduction to the equipment, cameras and
microphones
• Recording exercise in pairs: Summarise this
morning’s discussion in no more than 60
seconds, rehearse and record each other on
camera
• Briefing: Journalism - The role of the journalist
and how we find and tell a story to the world
• Discursive exercise in small groups: come up
with the top three things a reporter does and
why. Keep notes for future blog post

6. Day two: Libraries, Localities & Literacies
A.M.
• Meet in foyer of Lewisham Library. Tour of library
and introduction to services available. Non-members
can join library.
• Visit to Lewisham Local History and Archives
Centre. Tour of Battle of Lewisham exhibition, with
talk by curator and guide to archival resources.
• Talk by Goldsmiths Politics graduate who used
Lewisham archives to research institutional racism
for dissertation. Q&A and debate on media, history,
power and inequality.
• Travel to Deptford Lounge via DLR, stopping at the
Lewisham Clock Tower on the way to talk about the
significance of site in the history of the Battle of
Lewisham.
Lunch at Deptford Lounge

7. Day two: Libraries, Localities & Literacies
P.M.
• Lecture & seminar at Deptford Lounge on how to
navigate the infosphere in a ‘post-truth’ and ‘fake
news context.
• Tutorial: Use library online databases to search for and
critically evaluate news and information sources.
• Film: The 5 Filters of the Mass Media Machine
• Exercise: Compare controversial news content from 1977 and 2017 to
understand changes in the way social justice issues are framed,
represented and mediated.
• Guided walk from Deptford Lounge to New Cross
Learning along route that includes some historic Battle
of Lewisham sites.
• Tour of New Cross Learning, a community library run
by volunteers. Talk from volunteer manager on
services available and challenges facing libraries
under austerity.
• Discussion, evaluation & feedback.

8. Day three: lights, camera, action, reflection
• Recap from day one and questions
• Playback previous recordings on learning history
• Comparing to TV you watch, professional YouTubers or
similar, how did your first recordings go?
• Equipment tutorial: How to shoot like a pro with just your
mobile
• Stability
• Light
• Focus
• Sound
• Recording exercise in pairs: With the new tips in mind,
record the three things you think are most important about
being a journalist. Record each on in a different place. No
more than 30 seconds for each point.
• Playback and critique of recordings, are we already seeing
an improvement in recording quality?
• Software tutorial: Simple mobile video editing. Edit all the
different examples from the previous exercise together.

9. Day four: what makes a good story?
• Recap from previous day and playback of finished edits
• Journalism discussion: Looking at copies of today’s free
papers, what’s in the news today (and how did it get there?)
• In pairs: Each group reports back with summaries of two
stories. What’s interesting for you personally about the
story? What else do you want to know now?
• Discussion: What makes a good story?
• Audio interview recording exercise: In pairs, interview each
other on what makes a good story.
• Audio editing software tutorial
• Editing exercise: Cut together your interviews, aiming for no
more than 1 minute. Playback
• Discussion: Editing. What are the benefits and dangers?
• Example videos of editing used in confusing and misleading
ways.

10. Day five: blogging and photography
• Recap and questions
• Introduction to WordPress
• Exercise: Create a personal post. What do you remember about the Battle of
Lewisham so far?
• Tutorial: Effective mobile photography. What makes a good shot?
• Exercise: Simple portrait photos of each of the participants
• Display and talk through the results
• Tutorial: Uploading our photos in WordPress. Add them to the previous post.
• Visit to Library
• Introduction to Flickr - our photo gallery tool
• Exercise: Take considered snaps of Goldsmiths. Upload to Flickr, show
metadata and keyword tagging, filenames, how to label things so you can find
them again.
• Discussion on library visit and information storage, access and retrieval.
• Planning for upcoming interviews and historic places in Lewisham.

11. Day six: Interviews & content management
• Tutorial: Interviews recording technique, setting up the
best shots, getting cutaways and shots useful during
editing.
• Group discussion: What are the best questions to ask?
Best ways to prepare for interviews.
• On a chosen topic (or with invited expert guest),
record short interviews using open questions and
follow-up questions. Gather cutaways.
• Exercise: Editing the best parts of the interview
together
• Introduction to YouTube uploading, tagging, metadata.
Upload interview clips. Create WordPress post and
embed video from YouTube.
• Group discussion: Creating a checklist for good
interviews. What needs to happen?

12. Day seven: online research
• Briefing and demonstration: Using the internet for research.
Secret search techniques to find information no one else can
see.
• Tutorial on using links in WordPress
• Exercise: Find information and events around the Battle of
Lewisham. Link to them in the blog.
• Briefing: Sub-editing text and proof-reading. Why is it
important to do this?
• Group discussion: How can we trust what we find on the
internet?
• The CRAAP Test: checking for currency, relevance, authority,
accuracy, purpose
• Exercise: Can you find your own photos / audio / video / blog
posts through a search engine? Verify sources using CRAAP

13. Field work
Independent field work
• Students undertake two weeks of independent
field work interviewing members of the pubic
and expert witnesses about The Battle of
Lewisham and related contemporary issues.
Supported by Lewisham Youth Service.
Organised/taught field work
• Organised field trip led by Lewisham
Community Development team visiting The
Battle of Cable Street mural and interviewing
Ivo Moseley.
• Wikipedia Editathon with Lewisham librarians
and guest Wikipedian teaching students how to
critically evaluate, edit and create Wikipedia
articles using critical information literacy skills.

14. Additional tuition during & after field work
• Planning for interviews and events recording using a central Calendar app.
• Soundcloud for audio hosting and embedding into blog posts, with considered
photos of interview subjects.
• Ongoing feedback on material being recorded in the field
• Summary of what has been gathered, participants record their personal highlights.
What details were most important to them?
• Feedback on what has been learned. What has been most challenging and most
useful for you in the summer school? How will you use it in the future? (School?
College? University? A future job? Something else in life?) Capturing responses on
film
• Participant goal setting: What do you want to do next?

15. Course bonus: making a music video
Workshop with guest professional film maker