Talk
Generative AI and Digital Literacies: Affordances and Constraints for Language Learning
Ron Darvin
PhD, University of British Columbia
Given the rise of ChatGPT and other generative AI (GenAI) platforms that create texts, images, and videos from big data, this talk discusses how these technologies offer various affordances and constraints for language learning, while also presenting potential pitfalls. It recognizes how the use of such tools is circumscribed by various inequalities: the unequal recognition of low-resource and high-resource languages, the differences between free and premium platform versions, and between mobile and laptop access. Drawing on studies of how secondary school and university students use these tools for informal language learning, it demonstrates how learners can develop contrasting dispositions towards GenAI, and how the designs of GenAI platforms can also steer learners towards particular digital practices. Recognizing how GenAI interactions are contextual and situated, shaped by devices, platforms and evolving cultures-of-use, this talk outlines how a digital literacies approach to integrating GenAI in the language classroom can help learners construct effective prompts, validate generated texts, and synthesize information, and encourage teachers to think about the implications of these platforms for genre-based pedagogy, translation, and writing assessment. By fostering critical digital literacy, learners and teachers can engage with GenAI to achieve various intentions in ways that are agentive, equitable and inclusive.
Bio: Ron Darvin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education of The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. His research examines issues of digital literacy, equity, and identity in language learning, and he has conducted multiple workshops for teachers on generative AI for K-12 contexts. He has published in Language Learning & Technology, Computer Assisted Language Learning, and Computers in Human Behavior, and has served as a Guest Editor of a special issue of TESOL Quarterly on digital literacies.
Friday, October 11, 2024
B-4 Dwinelle & Zoom, 3-5 pm
This lecture is sponsored by the College of Letters and Science.