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User Instructions

Headline History is a fascinating educational website. It is presented in newspaper format and you are encouraged to become reporters, interviewing witnesses to the events in each of the 24 lead stories and, like a real reporter, choosing the best quotes to add to the story to give it real impact. There are four newspapers in all covering the Romans, the Tudors, the Victorians and World War Two. Every paper has six separate editions and is packed with true stories from each era. You can also write your own stories about events in your neighbourhood, from any of the four featured eras, and send them in to us. We'll include some of them on the site.

Also, the Timeline will help you put that era's events into context while the Events and Venues section is a great way of finding out what historically-themed venues are in your county and what events are on too.

We really hope you enjoy using the site.

  • Instructions

  • 1.0 Basic InstructionsTop

    • 1.0.1 Website Specifications

      • Headline History is best viewed at 1024 x 768 resolution or above. The website requires that you have Macromedia Flash Player Version 7,0,19,0 installed on your machine. If you go the Home Page and you can't see the words Start Here then you need to upgrade to the latest version of Flash. If you have any extra toolbars present in your browser, such as Google Search, ebay, or anything that reduces the window space within your browser, then we recommend that you temporarily turn them off to enjoy Headline History to the fullest, especially if you are to view the site at less than the recommended screen size.

    • 1.1 How To Best View This User Guide

      • The Headline History website will open in a separate window which may hide these instructions at just the point you want to view them. To make sure you can see the instruction you can do two things:

    • 1.1.1 Print These Instructions

      • At the top of your screen click File, then Print and you will have the full user guide.

    • 1.1.2 Switch Between Windows

      • Press ALT and TAB together and you will be able to switch back and forth between these instructions and the website. (Command and Tab will do the same on a Mac).

  • 1.2 Navigating The SiteTop

    • 1.2.1 The Cursor

      • Normally your cursor will look like an arrow, but when it passes over something you can activate it will turn into a pointing finger. Keep an eye out for this as it will reveal hidden content.

    • 1.2.2 How To Click

      • Click once to activate anything on the site.

    • 1.2.3 Forward and Back Buttons

      • The two arrows at the middle left of the site will take you forwards and backwards through the newspaper pages.

    • 1.2.4 Mute

      • If you want to turn the sound on or off then press the blue button that looks like an audio speaker.

    • 1.2.5 Exit

      • Press the red X to leave the site.

  • 1.3 The EditorTop

    • 1.3.1 What Does He Or She Do?

      • The Editor of the Victorian edition of Headline History is called Alfred Harmsworth, you'll recognise him by his moustache. Like all the editors, he is incredibly informative and it is worthwhile reading what he says in his speech bubble. The Editor of The Roman Times is called Maximus Circulation, the Editor of The Tudor Times is called Thomas Platter and the Editor of The War Times, about World War Two, is called Evelyn Penn.

    • 1.3.2 How To Read What He Says

      • Sometimes, when he has more than a few words to say, buttons marked PREV and NEXT will appear in the Editor's speech bubble. Press these buttons to move back and forth through what he has to say. You can keep track of where you are in the Editor's text because of the numbers which might, for example, say 2/3. This means you are on the second of three speech bubbles.

    • 1.3.3 How To Switch Off The Editor

      • Click on the Editor's head to make him go away.

    • 1.3.4 How To Get The Editor Back

      • Click on the blue question mark.

    • 1.3.5 Rollover Help

      • If you roll your cursor over something on the site, like an icon or a button, the Editor will tell you what it does.

  • 1.4 RegistrationTop

    • When you want to save work for the first time Headline History will ask you to register your details. This is so we can keep all your work together and you can find it easily. You will need to enter a username (this can be your real name or a nickname), a password (this should be something you can remember but not so obvious it could be easily guessed) and, finally, you should enter your email address. We need this so we can let you know what your details are if you forget them. Once you have registered you can log in, save and load work.

  • 1.5 Logging In

    • To be able to save and load work you'll need to Log In (or let us know you are here). Enter the username and password you chose when you registered and click Log In.

  • 2.0 Using The Site

    • OK you're ready to get going in Headline History!

  • 2.1 Enter The Site

    • Click on "Start Here" to get started.

  • 2.2 Chooser PageTop

    • 2.2.1 Region and Era selection.

    • The first page you see is called the Chooser page. Step 1 is to choose the region where you live by clicking on the map. Step 2 is to choose which era you want to study by clicking one of the four historical eras (Roman, Tudor, Victorian, World War Two).

    • 2.2.2 Load Previously Saved Work.

    • If you have saved work before then you can bypass the normal route into the site. Click here to enter your username and password and retrieve your work.

    • 2.2.3 Pick a Skill Level

    • You need to pick a skill level to get into the site. Skill levels are represented by job titles. The job title you pick will decide how much story editing you can do in the site when you become a Headline History reporter. If you're in school your teacher may decide which level is best. Whatever level you choose, all the stories you can read stay the same.

    • 2.2.4 What The Skill Levels Mean

    • Trainee Newshound is the simplest level. If you enter at Trainee Newshound level you will be able to interview three witnesses for each edition of the paper and add one witness quote to the lead story.
    • Senior Journalist is the middle level. If you enter at Senior Journalist level you will be able to interview four witnesses for each edition of the paper and add any four quotes to the lead story.
    • Chief Reporter is the most complex level. If you enter at Chief Reporter level you will be able to interview all five witnesses for each edition of the paper and add up to 15 quotes to the lead story. You can also edit individual paragraphs within the story (but not the quotes themselves) and edit the headline. You must however keep the story to the right length like a real reporter would.
    • Veteran Hack is the top skill level. Users must write the entitre story themselves rather than simply adding quotes to the pre-written story as with the other three skill levels. The headline can be changed too.
    • Download a tutorial about getting started in Headline History (302k). This is a zipped file that contains an executable file. Download it by clicking on the link and saving it onto your computer. Then unzip the file and run the executable file it contains.
      It will take aproximately a minute to download on a slow connection.

  • 2.3 Select An IssueTop

  • Each era's newspaper has six issues, identified by the lead story. Each issue follows a particular theme, transport for example or schools and education. Pick the one you want to work on and you'll be taken straight to that issue of the newspaper.

  • 3.0 The Times

  • You should see a headline, a big photograph and a news story. On the left of the screen you'll see four big buttons. Roll your cursor over them and the Editor will tell you what they are called and what they do. If you click once on one of them another set of buttons will be revealed. We'll deal with each of the four buttons from the top.

  • 3.1 My Work

  • This is where you can save, load and print your work, among other things

    • 3.1.1 Load Your Work

    • Click here to load any work you've saved on previous visits. You'll need your username and password to access your work.

    • 3.1.2 Save Your Work

    • Press this to save your work for later. We store it so you can come back to it later. The first time you save anything you'll need to register by giving us your email address and creating a username (nickname) and a password. You'll need to remember these so you can load your work later.

    • 3.1.3 Send Your Work To The Editor

    • We really want to find budding Headline History reporters. We want you to go out into your local community and find stories about the Romans, the Tudors, the Victorians and World War Two. If you find a story, write it up and send it to us using this form. You can either type the story directly into the form or cut and paste it in from a word processor. We'll need your email address and your name so we know who has written it.

    • 3.1.4 Print This Page

    • If you want a printed version of any newspaper page then hit this button. Make sure your computer is connected to a printer.

    • 3.1.5 Interview Witnesses

    • This will take you to the editable second page of the newspaper. (See below).

    • 3.1.6 Pick Another Issue

    • If you want to have a look at another issue of the paper, clicking this button will let you do that. It will present the six headlines from that era. If you want to work on another era the click on the Change Region, Era Or Skill Level button.

  • 3.2 The PaperTop

    • Click on one of the newspaper pages to view that page. The first five pages are unique to each issue, while each era has two pages which are common across all of that era's six editions.

  • 3.3 Other Features

    • 3.3.1 Timeline

    • The Timeline is designed to give an overview of the key events in the chosen period and when they happened. The information in the Timeline is divided into seven topics, which are listed across the top of the screen. When you first go to the Timeline it will display the information for all the topics. If you don't want to look at a particular topic simply click in the small coloured box next to the topic title. A cross will be displayed next to that title and that topic's information will be removed from the Timeline. The big oval in the middle (called a reticule), shows you which year you are looking at. Click on a year to look at it or use the arrows at either side of the screen to move the reticule through the history of the period. So let's say you were reading the Victorian times and wanted to look at Crime in 1867. You would move the Timeline with the arrows until 1867 was in the reticule (the year will look bigger). Then put crosses in the boxes next to all the topics apart from Crime and you will see only what Crime-related events happened in 1867. Don't forget you can view as many topics as you like for any year between 1837 and 1901. To get back to the main site click the Return To Newspaper button in the bottom right of the screen.

    • 3.3.2 Events & Venues

    • This is where you can find out about historical events, divided by the era you're interested in, to attend and all sorts of places you can visit in your area. Choose a region then choose one of the six counties you'd like to visit by clicking the circle next to the county. You are automatically directed to the Venues section. Use the two tabs Events and Venues tabs to switch between the two.

      • 3.3.2.1 Events

      • Now you've chosen your county and selected Events a scrollable list of events will appear in a big "pop-up" style window. These events are listed by date. As we become aware of new events we will add them to the list.

      • 3.3.2.2 Venues

      • When you select Venues two new "pop-up" style windows will appear. The smaller red one on the left will allow you to select what kind of venue you'd like to visit. In the larger window to the right the list of that type of venues in your chosen county will appear giving address details. Use the scroll bar on the right to scroll through the alphabetical list. Where the title is underlined you can click on it to be taken to that venue's website. NEP is not responsible for the content of external websites. If you want to return to the main website then click the Exit to Site button. If you want to change the county or region you are viewing click the Choose County or Region button.

    • 3.3.3 View Submitted Work

    • Headline History encourages its users to send in their newspaper stories based on their own research. This is where anybody can view them.

    • 3.3.4 Hotseat Chat

    • Headline History will hold live, fully moderated, chat sessions with famous historical characters (played by actors), newspaper reporters and editors, and historians on a regular basis.
      You can access the Hot Seat Chat feature either directly from the home page - click on the icon on the right hand side - or from the Other Features section inside the site. Simply click on the left hand navigation bar and choose the Hot Seat Chat icon.

      • 3.3.4.1 Submitting Questions

      • You can log on to our Hot Seat Chat sessions on the day they are held, or submit questions in advance. Just click on the Hot Seat Chat icon, on the home page, to be taken to the instructions page. Here, select the online form link or click on Ask this guest a question. This will open a new box. Fill in your nickname (not your email address) - and your question and click Submit. We cannot guarantee we will be able to use your question - but we will certainly consider publishing it.

      • 3.3.4.2 Important Note For Parents And Teachers

      • Hot Seat Chat sessions are fully moderated. All questions, whether sent live or in advance are checked by our moderator before publication - and the answers written by an expert in their field.

        We make sure that each question and answer is suitable for the young users of the site. Safeguards also make it impossible for anyone at NEP or the people acting as hosts during the chat session to instigate any contact with anyone using Hot Seat Chat.

      • 3.3.4.3 Instructions for Use

      • Clicking on the Hot Seat Chat icon on the home page opens up the instructions page. If a Hot Seat Chat is in session, an icon will be visible on the top left hand side of the page.

        Clicking on this icon opens a new window. Tick the guest box, enter your user name (for security reasons please do not use your email address) and click login - this will take you into the chat session.

        Once in, a box will appear at the bottom of the screen. Write your question here and click the send button. Your question will be read by the moderator who will decide whether to use it or not.

        You can send as many questions as you wish. Please keep them as clear as possible and do not use swear words. They will be deleted before they reach the live chat screen. Or you can simply sit and read the questions and answers appearing on your screen.

        If the Hot Seat Chat session is very busy, you may be advised to try again a few minutes later.

        You can leave the room at any time during the chat session. The moderator will announce that the session has ended after 30 minutes.

        If you have missed part of the session, or want to read all the questions and answers again, or see what has happened in previous chat sessions, you can do so on our archive. This will be published after the chat session has been completed.

      • 3.3.4.4 Flash Player

      • These sessions can only be accessed by users who have upgraded to Flash 7 or 8. If your computer has Flash 6 installed, you will not be able to see our Hot Seat Chat icon - an advisory note will appear in its place. Click on this, and it will take you through to the Macromedia Flash site, which will instruct you on how to download and install the latest version.

      • 3.3.4.5 Feedback

      • We will be very interested to hear your opinions on your Hot Seat Chat experience, as well as suggestions for future guests. Use our feedback form to tell us what you think.

    • 3.3.5 Survey

    • We like to know what you think about the website so this form asks some simple questions. Click the buttons next to the answer you want to give and then click submit when the form is completed.

    • 3.3.6 Feedback

    • If you'd like to give some more general feedback or comments about the site this is the place to do it. Enter your name, email address and your comments in the boxes provided then click Submit.

  • 3.4 Interview WitnessesTop

    • This will take you to the second page of the newspaper, ready for you to interview the witnesses to the event and add their quotes to the story.
    • Download a tutorial about the editing process in Headline History (557k). This is a zipped file that contains an executable file.
      Download it by clicking on the link and saving it onto your computer. Then unzip the file and run the executable file it contains.
      It will take aproximately a minute and a half to download on a slow connection.

  • 4.0 How To Interview A Witness

    • Interviewing witnesses and editing a story is a four-stage process, select a witness, ask the questions, add their quotes to the story then view the story in newspaper format.

  • 4.1 Select A Witness

    • At Trainee Newshound level you can interview three witnesses, at Senior Journalist level you can interview four and at Chief Reporter level, five. In the bottom left of the screen is a five-window panel called The Witnesses. If you can't see it there will be a glowing arrow, click this to reveal The Witnesses. To select a witness for interview, click on their face. We recommend that you interview all the witnesses you can.

  • 4.2 Ask The Questions

    • When you select a witness a window will open up in the middle of your screen with a picture of your witness and three questions that you can ask. The Interview The Witness box appears across the top. The questions are pre-selected for you. Simply click on the question you want to ask then watch and listen to the witness' answer (sometimes it takes a while for the video to load). We recommend that you ask all three questions.

  • 4.3 Add Their Quotes To The StoryTop

    • If a witness says something particularly interesting then a quote will appear in your Notebook at the top right of the screen (not all the answers will produce quotes). To add a quote to the story click and hold the mouse button and drag the quote towards the text of the story. You'll see the Interview The Witness window close and the format of the text will change. When you've got the quote where you want it in the story release the mouse button. If you don't like it where it is then pick it up and move it. If you'd rather not use the quote at all then drag it back into the notebook. Quotes you've used will be in italics. As you interview more people you'll notice more faces being added to the Notebook. Click on a face to see that witness' quotes.

  • 4.4 View The Story In Newspaper Format

    • Click the View as Newspaper button and you'll see the story, with the quotes you've added, in newspaper format i.e. in columns. Click Write/Edit Story to see it in editing mode.

  • 4.5 Keep Interviewing!

    • Click in the Notebook to go back to the editing mode where you can ask more questions, move the quotes around and change them about. You can keep doing this until you are happy with the story. When you've finished why not print it out or save it.

  • 4.6 Trainee Newshound Special FeaturesTop

    • 4.6.1 Read This?

    • At Trainee Newshound level the original story - before quotes are added - can be read aloud by the Editor. At the bottom right of the screen you will see a Read This? button, press that, follow what the Editor says and you will hear the story.

  • 4.7 Chief Reporter Special Features

    • 4.7.1 Edit Headline

    • To change a headline simply click it and it can be edited as though you are using a word processor.

    • 4.7.2 Edit Text

    • As well as adding quotes and changing headlines Chief Reporters can edit each individual paragraph (as long as you've already asked some questions). Click on the Notebook to go into the editable page mode. Pick the paragraph you want to change then click the Edit button; you'll then be able to click on that paragraph's text and do change the text. You can even cut and paste text from another document using the standard Windows shortcuts (Ctrl+C to copy and Ctrl+V to paste). You can move paragraphs around as well. When you've done click the Finish button next to the paragraph you've been editing. You can't edit witness quotes but you can move them around or place them back in the Notebook.

    • 4.7.3 Letter Count

    • Although you have plenty of flexibility at Chief Reporter level you must keep within a letter count for length, just as a real reporter would. At the bottom right of the screen you'll see a Word Count button (we've called it this because that is what it is called in most word processors, although it actually counts individual letters including spaces). It will tell you how many letters you have left to use; you are aiming for a total of 3000 characters.

  • 4.8 Veteran Hack Special Features

    • 4.8.1 Writing the story

    • Veteran Hacks have to write the whole story themselves by reading the facts, interviewing the witnesses and then writing it up in the white writing space. This space behaves in the same way as any standard word processor permitting cut and paste, deletions and so on. You can also print and save your story.

    • 4.8.2 Adding Quotes

    • At this level you CAN'T drag and drop the witness quotes from the notebook to the main story. To add the quotes you can highlight them in the notebook and cut and paste them into the story. Or you can simply type it in directly the writing space.

    • 4.8.3 Letter Count

    • Although you have plenty of flexibility at Veteran Hack level you must keep within a letter count for length, just as a real reporter would. At the bottom right of the screen you'll see a Word Count button (we've called it this because that is what it is called in most word processors, although it actually counts individual letters including spaces). It will tell you how many letters you have left to use; you are aiming for a total of 3000 characters.

  • 5.0 Frequently Asked QuestionsTop

    • Are the stories true?

    • Yes. Every single story on the site has been written by real journalists. Most of our information came from local studies libraries.

    • How do I look at a different edition of the newspaper?

    • Click on the My Work icon and then click on the Pick Another Issue (next to bottom). Then you choose which issue to look at. (User instructions section 3.1.6)

    • How do I switch off the Editor?

    • Simply click on him and he will vanish. (User instructions section 1.3.3)

    • How do I get the Editor back?

    • Click on the blue question mark where the Editor normally is and he will appear. (User instructions section 1.3.4)

    • How do I play a video?

    • Open The Witnesses Panel, click on a witness, and then click on a question in the Interview a Witnesses Panel. (User instructions section 4.0)

    • How do I add a quote?

    • Move your cursor to the quote you want in the Notebook then click and hold the mouse button, drag the quote to the main text and drop it in by releasing the mouse button. (User instructions section 4.3)

    • How do I move a quote?

    • Click and hold the quote, drag it to its new position and drop it by releasing the mouse button. (User instructions section 4.3)

    • How do I remove a quote?

    • Click and drag it back to the Notebook and then release the mouse button. (User instructions section 4.3)

    • How do I edit the headline?

    • You can only edit the headline if you entered at Senior Journalist or Chief Reporter level and have asked questions of a witness. Click in the headline and edit it like you would any other piece of text using the keyboard. (User instructions section 4.7.1)

    • How do I edit a paragraph?

    • You can only edit a paragraph if you entered at Chief Reporter level and have asked questions of a witness. Click the Edit button next to the paragraph you want to edit then click in the paragraph itself. You can edit it using the keyboard. (User instructions section 4.7.2)

    • Why do I need to register?

    • You need to register so that you can save your work with us for retrieval.

    • What do you do with my details?

    • We keep them secure where no one can see them. For more details see our privacy policy.

    • What is Flash and who are Macromedia?

    • Flash is the technology we use to run the website. It lets us run the animations and play the videos. Macromedia is the company that produces Flash, which is free to the end user (you). See www.macromedia.com for more details.

  • 6.0 TroubleshootingTop

    • I don't know what skill level to choose!

    • Trainee Newshound is the simplest, Senior Journalist the medium level and Chief Reporter the most advanced. If you're still unsure ask your teacher (if you're in school) or pick Senior Journalist.

    • The video doesn't work!

    • Can you see a loading message? If you can see it then be patient because sometimes streaming video (which is what you're watching) can get a bit held up. If not then there may be temporary fault. We advise that you close the site and start again. Sorry.

    • I pressed View as Newspaper and now I can't edit the story any more!

    • Click in the Notebook to go back to editing mode or click the Write/Edit Story button.

    • I can't add any more quotes

    • At Trainee Newshound level you can only add one quote, four at Senior Journalist level and up to 15 at Chief Reporter level. If you want to remove a quote drag it back to the Notebook.

    • I can't print!

    • Make sure that you are connected to a printer and there are no problems with it.

    • I can't save!

    • Have you registered? If not, click Register. Have you entered your username and password? If not click Log In. if you still can't save make sure you are still connected to the Internet. If you are then there may be a temporary problem with the website. Please try again later.

    • I can't load!

    • Have you entered your username and password? If not click Log In. If you still can't load make sure you are still connected to the Internet. Are you sure you have saved some work before; if you haven't saved anything then you can't load it. If you are then there may be a temporary problem with the website. Please try again later.

    • I can't hear anything!

    • Click on the mute button. If that doesn't work make sure your speakers are switched on and that your desktop volume is turned up.

    • The screen's gone black and nothing is happening!

    • Press Alt+F4 to close the window, make sure you have the latest version of Flash and try again.

    • I've forgotten my username and/or password!

    • If you can't remember your details leave them blank and click Log In. You will be offered a chance to be reminded of your details. Enter the email address you registered with and click Remind Me. Your details will be emailed to you and then you can log in as normal.

    • The bottom of the screen doesn't seem to show in my browser.

    • If you are viewing the site at a screen size of 800x600 you may want to disable any extra toolbars you have active within your browser such as Google Search, ebay, etc.

    • If your problem has not been solved by carrying out the suggestions included on this list, please email The Editor at theeditor@headlinehistory.co.uk, or contact this number 0116 227 3126 and we will do our best to resolve it.