This innovative session engages participants in an exploration of digital video production and website design utilized to revitalize educational research and community engagement through post-qualitative inquiry (St. Pierre, 2015). We introduce the methods used for this project to create and launch a public website and listen to what administrators, teachers, and students have to say about their quest for love, learning, and equal education in the Kansas City, Missouri school desegregation period (1971-1997). Participant: Video and Website Construction with Administrators, Teachers, and Students Who Experienced Kansas City’s Desegregation Era Jennifer Friend, University of Missouri - Kansas City; Loyce Caruthers, University of Missouri - Kansas City; Candace Schlein, University of Missouri; Edward Underwood, University of Missouri - Kansas City This innovative session will share the action-oriented scholarship process used to design and launch a public website that documents African Americans’ quest for equal educational opportunities in Kansas City, Missouri. The purpose of the project was to preserve and make accessible oral histories, narratives, and artifacts related to the experiences of educational leaders, teachers, and students who formed the legacy and struggle for educational equity during the school district’s desegregation era (1971-1997). The project co-investigators used digital video to record approximately 35 oral histories with school and district administrators, teachers, and students. The video clips were edited and posted on the project website, enabling educators and students to benefit from the abilities and talents of parents and elders, “to improve the performance of underachieving students from various ethnic groups—one that teaches to and through personal and cultural strengths, their intellectual capabilities, and their prior accomplishments” (Gay, 2010, p. 26). The significance of the project resonates with the conference theme of “Revitalizing Education in Complex Contexts” by introducing a post-qualitative inquiry (St. Pierre, 2015) that explores what community members have to say about student success, leadership, and equity in urban education. The website also includes digitized historical artifacts, maps, documents, and images from archives and personal memorabilia that were contributed for this project by community members. Future plans in Spring 2017 include launching a ‘Community Yearbook’ website feature that will allow individuals to upload photos and narratives for this project, and designing teaching guides and 1-credit-hour online continuing education courses to assist educators in utilizing the project website content as instructional resources for students.
