SPECIMEN #2025-B: Video Testimony and/as Collective Witnessing

• In Event: Digital Ecologies of Hope: A Natural History of Emerging Media Futures

Abstract

This research analyzes how personal narrative sharing on YouTube creates alternative support networks among adult learners. Through ethnographic analysis of "storytime" videos documenting educational journeys, this study reveals community-building practices that address gaps in institutional support. Creators transform individual struggles with financial crises, family responsibilities, and academic setbacks into collective resources through public testimony. Comments demonstrate genuine mutual support and mentorship across geographic boundaries. The practice creates valuable peer networks while highlighting limitations in formal educational structures designed for traditional students. This research contributes to understanding how marginalized students develop survival strategies through digital storytelling, revealing both platform potential for community building and ongoing institutional inadequacies in serving diverse learners.

Author

• Sonia Kim, Teachers College, Columbia University