23 Feb 26: Talk on 'Digital multimodal composing in the age of AI: Rethinking language education again.'

In language and literacy education, one response to increasing multimodality in digital media has been to develop and implement the pedagogical approach of Digital Multimodal Composing (DMC). This is an approach that involves students in a range of multimodal projects, designing texts that combine words, (moving) image, sound, and other modes, as with infographics and videos, for example.

This approach is thought to both: 1) promote multimodal literacy in tune with contemporary digital communication practices; 2) meaningfully engage and motivate students in ways that also develop 'traditional' writing skills. Recently, the advent of multimodal generative AI (GenAI) has presented new challenges and opportunities for DMC researchers and practitioners, leading to a rethink of current practices. Integrating GenAI in the DMC process requires balancing the need to develop critical digital literacies for GenAI with a range of possible risks, ranging from student over-reliance to issues of accuracy, bias, voice and authenticity, among others.

In this presentation, I will outline core elements of the DMC approach, consider how GenAI potentially disrupts the DMC process, and suggest a range of ways in which GenAI can be meaningfully and productively integrated.