Graphically Speaking: Expanding Landscapes of Scholarly Writing Using Sketchnotes

Scholarly writing for academic publication follows discipline-specific constraints where alpha-numeric forms of text are common modes of communication. While figures can be integrated into scholarly publications, graphics are required to fit specific style guides depending on the established criteria for the academic journal. When preparing teaching materials, constraints on communication and production can limit thinking and understanding. In this paper, we outline how we incorporate graphic creations called sketchnotes into our academic writing practices. Sketchnotes are one-to-two-page, free-form, image-rich documents focusing on a topic, concept, or presentation. For our purposes, academic writing is defined as not only peer-reviewed publications but also web-published scholarly works, including research outputs and writing relating to and including our teaching materials. With this definition, we hope to open up a model for expanding the landscape of academic writing, which supports our sketchnoting as part of an open educational practice. Our open practices using sketchnotes include peer-reviewed journal publications, open web publications on our blog sites, and the learning objects we have created as alternative readings of course content.