Editorial: visual pedagogies and digital cultures

Sarah Hayes, Petar Jandrić

Research output: Contribution to journalEditorialpeer-review

Abstract

In 2016 the newly formed Association of Visual Pedagogies (AVP) embarked on various activities aimed at advancing practice and research in the field of video education. AVP was founded by the international consortium of 8 institutions: Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research, University of Waikato (New Zealand), Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia, Institute of Education, Massey University (New Zealand), College of Educational Studies, Chapman University (USA), Department of Learning and Philosophy, Aalborg University (Denmark), Faculty of Education, University of Auckland (New Zealand), Department of Informatics and Computing, Zagreb University of Applied Sciences (Croatia), National Taiwan University (Taiwan). (AVP, 2016) Amongst its first activities, AVP initiated a series of annual conferences aimed at developing a new international video education community (Peters, Besley, Jandric and Bajic, 2016a). The inaugural conference, The Association for Visual Pedagogies Conference AVPC 2016: Visual Pedagogies and Digital Cultures, took place at Zagreb University of Applied Sciences in Croatia in June 18–19, 2016. The Conference explored the area of visual pedagogies around three broad dialectically intertwined themes. The first theme was concerned with practical issues. How to produce suitable video learning materials? When, and under which conditions, can we videotape children? The second theme was related to video pedagogies. What is the role of video in physical and virtual classrooms? How to seize the pedagogical potentials of video? Finally, the third theme was related to digital cultures, politics, and emancipation. What is the new role of video in production and dissemination of culture and knowledge? What are the unique features of video research methodologies? What is the role of visual cultures in new social movements and social transformations at large? (AVPC, 2017) AVP invited contributors from various fields to join the debate about multiple aspects of the new movement towards visual cultures in education and academic publishing. Working at the intersection of technology, psychology, sociology, history, politics, philosophy, and visual arts, it welcomed contributions from a wide range of disciplines and inter-, trans- and anti-disciplinary research methodologies. This enabled a fascinating exchange that explored key questions around vision and visuality, acknowledging that what a viewer will see cannot be pre-supposed. How do we see? How are we able, allowed or encouraged to see? What implications does this have in people’s contexts for learning, action and expression? AVPC 2016 had almost 100 participants and 55 presented papers. It attracted approximately fifty percent of educators, one quarter of film-makers, and one-quarter of people working in various fields from video arts to video anthropology and activism. In this way, AVPC 2016 started to build a new transdisciplinary community with a common interest in video pedagogies. The new community would not make much sense if it contained just educators, or just film-makers, or just artists – its main strength is its diversity. However, such diversity produces various challenges. We want to be inclusive, and yet to have quality; we want to foster trans-disciplinary dialogue, and still be relevant for everyone; we want to talk to people working in different media, and we also want these people to talk to each other. Reflecting these challenges, this Special Issue brings selected and expanded papers presented at the inaugural Association for Visual Pedagogies Conference AVPC 2016: Visual Pedagogies and Digital Cultures. pp. 11–13
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)11
JournalKnowledge Cultures
Volume5
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2017

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Editorial: visual pedagogies and digital cultures'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this