Proposed Use Case: Immersive Content in Scholarly Publishing

[sueneu]

As a recent recipient of a doctoral degree, I need to publish my work to further my career. Because part of my thesis was an interactive presentation, traditional academic publishers cannot publish a significant element of my work.

Explanation:

1. Users: Graduate students, professors, researchers, and academics who must publish to further their careers:
   
   It is a trend in academia for researchers or grad students to use technologies other than the written word to present their thesis or research. This is not limited to any single discipline. In the humanities, immersive experiences are superior to books and journals for preserving and expressing culture. Medical education is exploring simulations, 3D modeling, and 3D printing technologies. Berklee College of Music has developed a multi-disciplinary program.
   
   

2. A professor whose thesis presentation includes a video game. They wished to publish immersive/interactive experiences as part of their research.
   

3. Benefits:
   
   If academic publishers could publish non-traditional “outside the book” formats, scholars could use the published works to further their goals
   

• Tenure review boards could consider all of a candidate’s work.
• An author/researcher can show all facets of their work when applying for funding for research
• Better Expressions of Culture — interactive or immersive projects are better than books and linear content for expressing and preserving culture.
• Community Engagement — interactive content can be a bridge from academia to interested non-academics.
• More Immersive Experiences for K–12 students would be possible.
• Remote learning in science and engineering would benefit from 3D technologies
• If academic publishers knew they could disseminate this kind of work they would be willing to take more chances

4. Future Need:
   
   Academics are considering more expansive forms of scholarship in the future, like “This article about Guidelines for Broadening the Definition of Historical Scholarship" from The American Historical Association.
   

…the guidelines proposed here are intended to be expansive and flexible enough to accommodate forms we have yet to anticipate. —Jim Grossman, The American Historical Association executive director.