Reading on Screen

Today's technologies allow readers to access content and share their interpretations on a scale and at a pace hitherto impossible. However, some readers find these technological changes bewildering or are angered by the perceived threat to an activity that has defined them since childhood. Book retailers and publishers rarely even acknowledge such readers, while academic research is often guilty of treating readers like data. Discussion of digital reading is also beset by reliance on crude stereotypes such as those of the digital native or the silver surfer.
Two previous projects on digital reading based at Bournemouth University ('Researching Readers Online' and the 'Digital Reading Network') set out to engage with readers in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Both projects used a variety of methods to stimulate discussion with different user groups and stakeholders. Although we set out to explore 'big data' approaches to reading, one of the main conclusions of our research was that the lived experiences of readers, so diverse and often contradictory, is something that quantification is unable to fully capture. We were also surprised to discover that experts in the field argued strongly for the need to find creative means to capture the fluidity and complexity of reading experiences, and to map the myriad ways in which readers increasingly migrate across devices. Bringing readers together to share their experiences forces into the open the complex and contradictory attitudes and emotions that the digital revolution has excited. Allowing space for reflection and discussion raises awareness of both the possibilities and problems that new technologies bring, and provides new insights into the affordances of the digital.
Reading on Screen is a new collaboration between the universities of Bournemouth and Brighton, bringing together researchers and practitioners skilled in managing interdisciplinary projects, designing public engagement activities and producing multimodal stories. The project will use innovative methods to capture the stories of readers living through the momentous changes brought about by technological advances and to share those experiences with new audiences to stimulate further discussion and debate. Readers are already taking to social media and vlogging to vent their frustrations and document their reading journeys, but not everyone has the necessary skills or confidence to use these platforms, and the views represented are therefore limited in scope.
The project has been designed in consultation with organisations dedicated to supporting readers, as well as stakeholders from the creative industries and public sector. Reaching out to include new groups of readers from different geographical locations, we will collaborate with DigiTales, a participatory media company, to host workshops that will introduce readers to new skills, as well as giving them the opportunity to creatively map their personal reading journeys.
The benefits of digital storytelling as a tool for public engagement have long been recognised by industry, the public sector and academia. We will use the workshop model to enable participants with limited or no technical capacity to work with sound, words and visual imagery to express themselves and to produce stories that are highly engaging. The stories will provide a valuable resource for schools, reading charities and libraries, stimulating debate and demonstrating the effectiveness of digital storytelling for empowering participants. All of the stories will be available via a dedicated website and video sharing sites such as YouTube. A public exhibition of the stories at the conclusion of the project will further stimulate public interest and debate around the issues raised.

The project provides a timely and important opportunity to deliver new approaches to understanding reading in the digital age that will challenge many of the stereotypes and preconceptions that currently exist. The stories produced in the workshops will provide an innovative and powerful means of presenting a wide range of experiences and opinions from diverse groups of readers in a format that can easily be shared online and via public screenings and exhibitions. They will also provide a valuable resource to be used in educational, public and commercial sectors. Involvement from reading charities, publishers and community organisations demonstrates the need for further insights into how digital technologies are affecting reading practices, and the importance of engaging with readers rather than simply treating them as research data.

The project has been carefully designed and planned with impact in mind. Each workshop will reach out to diverse groups of readers, ensuring inclusion of underrepresented groups so that a wide range of opinion and experience is captured and shared. Digital storytelling has been used in numerous projects to provide engaging and stimulating discussion of key social and cultural issues, and the stories produced will provide a further means for the project to extend its reach through screenings and a public exhibition.

The project website will provide a space where reaction to the stories can be captured and where a strong sense of a community can be fostered among project participants. A curated blog will allow for contributions and provocations from participants and members of the Advisory Group. Comments and news sections will also encourage participation from visitors to the site. The digital stories and details of the project will appear on project partner websites, facilitating further engagement with new audiences. The Project Team will capture responses to the stories from social media, and record reactions from visitors to the public exhibition, using a variety of digital and non-digital methods. A digital story based on the project will be produced by the Project Team, using photographs and audio content from the workshops. This will provide a further resource to be shared via the project website and at the final exhibition, documenting the methods used in the workshops and the experiences of participants. Further video footage (vox pops) will be recorded by the Co-I and students from Brighton at the exhibition, and a final edit of the digital story will be produced and uploaded to the project website.

Outreach activities in schools, community groups and libraries building on established links in both Brighton and Bournemouth will further facilitate knowledge exchange and public engagement. The model for the workshops can easily be replicated in these settings, and the project website as well as video sharing sites such as YouTube will provide a space where the stories can readily be accessed and circulated.