How can we compete with “Well-Funded White Papers?”
Greg McVerry posted on the Literacy Research Association listserv about this concept of educational stakeholders (e.g. policymakers, parents) not necessarily having knowledge of the important research occurring in places like LRA, but they can expertly quote white papers put out by other, better funded organizations. In the end, these papers and organizations have a greater impact on the community at large. Greg then asked what our thoughts were in terms of alternatives to the current channels we publish in that can counter the “research” published by these well-funded organizations with more expediency while also maintaining high standards required by the places and ways we currently publish.
Inspired by multiple presentations at LRA this past week, where the conversation often shifted to barriers to publication, efficiency, and greater impact in the community (not just number called an “impact factor” but an actual, real impact on learning, schools, and their stakeholders), I crafted this response:
“Thanks for continuing this conversation, Greg. The first thing that came to my head after reading this thread was Bridget Dalton and Blaine Smith’s presentation from this past week about of making information beautiful through creating infographics. Then I thought about the genre of creative educational videos and animations that one can access freely on YouTube, such as the following:
- Ted Ed: https://www.youtube.com/user/TEDEducation
- ASAP Science: https://www.youtube.com/user/AsapSCIENCE
- RSA Animate: https://www.youtube.com/user/theRSAorg
The affordances of this type of platform are numerous — they are relatively short, visually appealing, accessible to multiple audiences, and can convey much more information and complexity as a multimodal ensemble compared to what is afforded by research papers or even talks on a subject. Many of these illustrations and animations are intricate, thoughtful, and quite beautiful. As both a student and an educator, I’ve been in classes where these types of videos have been useful in stimulating conversation and thinking around particular topics. They can serve multiple purposes at varying levels — they function as a quick, introductory dip into a topic or they can analyzed quite deeply and over time, as one might do a traditionally studied text, such as an article or book. For example, the RSA Animate of Sir Ken Robinson’s ‘Changing Educational Paradigms’ is a perfect example of this. This is a five-year old video; I’ve seen it a dozen times, and I take something new away from it with each viewing.
For the “average American” (i.e. not researchers, profs, doc students, people who have learned to navigate traditional types of research writing), this is a quick YouTube video to watch on a break or something posted on Facebook by a friend that catches the eye. Yet, it still can be imbued with a similar complexity that we can expect in papers, articles, and book chapters. These videos have the ability to provide access to incredibly complex, deep concepts using the combination of the visual, spoken/written word, and auditory. Couldn’t this be a viable way to bring our research into the greater community of average Americans? In some ways, I think it already is.
I would guess that this sort of platform/genre is daunting to many of us because of the visual artistic component involved, but this can get us collaborating with illustrators and animators, and that’s a fantastic partnership to make. I love the creative component that this genre brings; it makes us think about how to visually represent our ideas and tell that story in a different way. It gets us thinking about our research in a way that foregrounds the “so what?” Why should people be invested in this, and how can I show this to them in a way that brings all stakeholders into the conversation, rather than intimidating some and privileging others? Where does my research fit into the grand scheme of things, and how can I disseminate this knowledge in a way understandable to someone who isn’t getting/already has their doctorate in education? It brings us back that critical, citizenship-focused component that we need to keep in mind as we do research. While this is something that would indeed take some time to put out there, I don’t think that time would necessarily be measured in years.
What do you think?”
I am curious as to what people think of the viability of an option such as this? What is stopping us from publishing in this way? Are there already examples of literacy research folks that are doing this that we could share and gain inspiration from? Let me know your ideas on this and continue this conversation towards something productive.
