"I thought it was brilliant. A week is the right length. The facilitation was the right amount. The voting was a nice extra touch. The number of videos was good. The community was wonderfully positive - somehow, they didn't fall into a hyper-critical mode of commentary, but instead gave true constructive feedback and helped us think about our work."
"We reached so many people and had interesting discussions during the time it was up and running. Really effective---much more so than a conference poster!"
"This was a great experience for me as a first-timer. I learned a lot about other projects and liked reading the comments and responses on our own video."
"I think that the effort each person put into their presentation, including making the video, posting and answering questions, and disseminating the event, is directly related to the value of attending the conference. Translation: the more you put into it, the more you got (and continue to get) out of it!"
"Seeing all the different projects is such an education! Even in the three minutes, you get an idea, and then asking questions and/or reading posts is also very informative."
"It helped us to think about which aspects of our project were the most important and distill them into a three-minute video that would be understood by peers and the public. It helped us to work as a team - we are a collab with 6 institutions."
"These short videos allow you to feature your project in a way that cannot be conveyed in print. The voices of youth are especially compelling. The video can be used for multiple dissemination purposes beyond the showcase itself."
"In addition [to] the benefits of participating throughout the showcase week, the video that the research team produces lives on as an easy-to-digest representation of the project -- an outcome that we're already finding to be incredibly useful."
"We rarely have the chance to connect with others in the field in this way. Conferences provide an opportunity to share, but the showcase highlighted other grants and could be sorted so we could find others that are doing similar work."
"I think we all tend to be very focused on our own work and have limited time, so the 3-minute video format of the showcase allows you to get a good idea about what others are doing fairly quickly, and in an enjoyable way."
"It was great to get connected to other projects. It was surprising to learn what other projects were happening in our backyard."
"It is a great way to share our project with others and connect with people working on similar initiatives. It was also helpful to view other people's videos and learn about programs and resources that we might utilize..."
"[I] discovered related projects and potential collaborators, learned about new work from old friends, was an excellent way to spend 3 minutes for each one to get a sense of what they are doing. Very efficient use of time for someone who tries to keep up!"
"[I made] several new contacts on projects in my geographic area and in areas of professional interest."
"We were able to connect with programs with like-minded goals."
"Helpful to find other experts in the field / seeing what those other experts are working on when to date have only been able to read about their work."
"We made a contact with someone who is trying to achieve a similar goal … and will be following up with them post-showcase."
"I found people in K-12 spaces that wanted to use my work, so it served as a networking event."
"A participant said the app was exactly what she had been looking for, for her class to work with in the outdoors."
"It was exciting to hear people wanting to use our curriculum, and asking how they can get ahold of it, or participate."
"Our video was widely viewed and we've had several teachers and administrators contact us via email expressing interest in working with us."
"The questions were most valuable because they got me to think more deeply about what was interesting about the project, and where the gaps in the research were."
"The video showcase starts conversations and new trains of thought. I would encourage that researchers consider presenting their findings in this format."
"We got a sense of what other people value and find interesting, so perhaps it gave us a big of a push for what a subsequent spin-off project might be... and the comments seemed reminiscent of what we might hear as feedback in the publication process at some point. So, it is helpful to have those questions/insights now in order to explain better, or provide supporting information around those areas of concern or interest."
"When folks asked about questions that were deeper than just the project -- for example, about professionalizing the role of a preschool teacher -- the conversation was really interesting. These are big, societal questions, and it shows that just one project cannot do it all, but that together our contributions can make a difference."
"We received a lot of positive feedback from others in the STEM education community and as we are at an early stage of our project, that was really motivating to hear!"
"There is much to learn from others, and this showcase provides a forum in which to exchange ideas in a casual and convenient way."
"Our video was much more widely viewed than if we had tried to do this on our own. A great way to connect with other academics as well. All the supports on social media promotions were also helpful."
"It's a really good way to get people familiar with your project quickly, and to generate discussion about it."
"This was a very important dissemination piece for our project! I was surprised at how many people viewed our video, and at the quality of the discussion."
"I appreciated the impetus to communicate our work to other practitioners and the public. It also just happened that the timing was perfect for our project's development, since we needed to introduce the project to our audience."
"It provides publicity for your project and helps you to think critically about your project and why it is worthwhile to 'showcase' it. It also helps to demonstrate the broader impacts of federal funding."
"I think all researchers should do this at least a few times, as how we communicate about our work is so important, and this is new and different for so many."
"…It was very well organized, I really appreciated the tips given in the webinars."
"I was happy with the support leading up to the showcase, and the reminders to engage throughout the showcase."
"IThe whole process was very well run. The seminars were useful, organized, and possible questions are anticipated. The group that runs it seems very experienced."
"This was a great experience! Everything was very well run, and the assistance from the Showcase staff was superb."