Consistent with current trends, we will rely upon short-form video to tell our own stories (with original characters, etc.), and we will continue the MiND tradition by encouraging others in the community to use our platform to tell their stories, too. Short-form videos include stories, mini-documentaries, animations, expert interviews (longer-form versions available), and more.
Although children may associate "learning" with "school," adults recognize that we learn in many different ways. We observe, read, debate, listen, watch...the list is a long one.
And so, we intend to make use of every available means to help adults to learn. The internet and mobile devices are central to our thinking because they are efficient means to deliver media. Live and local events are wonderful in their own way: there's a buzz associated with live action that cannot be replicated on a screen, and a sense of shared community purpose, too.
How do we plan to communicate, to disseminate ideas, to collaborate? Below, an initial rundown. Also, initial thoughts about each character's use of media.
Transmedia:
Many Approaches to Learning
VIDEO: Short-Form
Our interactive environment will be designed so to accomodate in-depth explorations. Enjoyed the short-form video? Why not watch the whole documentary in our online theater (which encourages friendly interaction at appropriate times). When you, or we, find a long-form video or film worth sharing, there will be a place, a contextually sensible place, to watch it.
VIDEO: Long-Form
At least two approaches. First, every Question will become a collection of media assets and stories that we will publish as an eBook. Second, we will create and publish our own mid-sized digital books about a variety of subjects, and encourage those who participate in our community to do the same. An eBook may as brief as 10 or 20 pages, and in our world, probably not much longer than 100 pages.
READING MATERIAL: eBOOKS
READING: ARTICLES & ESSAYS
VISUAL ART: Photography
We will present, publish, re-publish articles, essays and other short-form reading matter. Everything in context, so that articles do not randomly appear, but are, instead, tied directly to related curriculum topics. Some articles will be written by experts we promote, and, in order to highlight specific points of view, our characters may write articles under their own names, too.
The remarkable thing about 21st century photography: lots and lots of people are taking pictures, digitally enhancing them, and sharing them. This vital, immediate form of communication about ideas in the curriculum sits next to high-quality professional work, student work, and so on. Our goal: to increase visual literacy and understanding through the best images and through a variety of collective visions.
VISUAL ART: Graphic
The creation and exhibition of art--new and old--allows us to extend our use of visual imagery to communicate ideas. With digital technology, images may be still, or they may move--allowing us to explore the space in-between. Easily collaborative, and a wonderful showcase for political cartoonists, poster/propaganda makers, young children, students with lots to say, even scrapbookers, graphic arts will play a signficant role in our collaborative, participatory world.
MAPS
For certain types of maps, digital screens provide a wide range of capabilities unavailable in other media. Besides visual navigation (zooming-in, moving quickly from one place to another), maps display data to encourage a level of understanding unavailable through other types of visuals, such as charts or spreadsheets. (We're expanding on what John Snow had figured out in 1854: maps provide an storytellers with an extraordinary and underutilized tool.
Infographics have become a very popular way to tell a story through categorization, timelines, comparisons, and other structured forms. Since we're playing to digital screens, we can reasonably add animation and sound. With Quant, we can go further: we can employ an original character to own the whole process of presenting visual data and analysis.
ANIMATION
INFOGRAPHICS (Still, animated)
COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS
Distinct from short-form video, and also a part of it, we plan to provide a workshop for talented animators (from around the world) to show off their ability to convey important ideas through a form most often used for children's cartoons. Our characters, or others, will help adults understand complex ideas through visuals that take full advantage of the imagination and the creative process.
There is no term yet, but what we mean here is a graphic novel that may or may not be a novel, or a comic that may or may not be funny. Consistent with Scott McCloud's stunning look inside the visual/comic storytelling form, we see great opportunity to convey ideas in clever, compelling ways. Our intention: provide an appropriate forum for this kind of work, within our curriculum structure.
GAMES: Interactive
GAMES: Collaborative
We're seeing the beginning of a game development community that collaborates on small projects to communciate important ideas in compelling ways. The work that the CDC has done under Dan Baden, for example, and our own work on The 'A' Game demonstrate how serious games can educate (great list on Wikipedia).
Sure, we'll do polls, but imagine what we could do if a few hundred, thousand, tens or hundreds of thousands of adults are all working through the same curriculum topics, having fun, being willing to share, or compete, or compare their thinking with the whole group. In addition to a large-scale macro game that we are developing at the workshop to encourage mindful consideration of the Questions, we plan for many smaller collaborative games invented by us and by the participating community. Fun to learn together...
MUSIC, SONGS
PLAY
This is a page directly out of Sesame Street's songbook--original songs that are fun, funny, silly, provocative, thoughtful. Sung by our own characters and with celebrities, and, no doubt, by large numbers of participants who will come together in various digital compilations, mash-ups, and other yet-to-be-invented ways. We have identified several songwriters for our team (see, for example, Andrea Green, and her musical, On the Other Side of the Fence).
Not everyting ought to be structured or scheduled. We believe in unstructured play, not for competition (although that's fun, too), but for the sheer joy of having fun, for the exploration, for the unexpected. Whether it's improvisation or a walk in the woods, we will encourage play (yes, for adults) by offering and promoting things to do, just because. Some of it will be (cleverly) tied back into the curriculum, but we won't tell anyone that.
TV, RADIO, LIVE EVENTS
SOCIAL MEDIA
We're not forgetting our roots. Television is still the very best way to reach a lot of people in their homes with audio-visual programming. In time, we hope to package our video work shown on the internet so that it plays on TV, too. And on radio. We are deeply impressed by the ways in which TED: Ideas That Matter has combined live events, video, audio, and interesting ideas, and, later on, we would like to create something with similar impact, especially for local markets, perhaps with local public television or radio stations.
Of course, social media is part of the plan. It's easy to imagine how Facebook would fit in, even more interesting when we consider the potential of our various characters tweeting to promote their unique points of view, but we are certain that there is much more that can be done in this area. Further development needed. Your assistance and involvement is welcome.