Why teach writing in the age of AI?

A free national (hybrid) symposium on digital writing in the Age of Gen AI

Is learning to write obsolete, or more important than ever?

If machines can “write”, what might humans do and learn?

What would a meaningful, relevant and useful contemporary writing education be?

This provocative and participatory symposium is for all English/Literacy teachers, teacher educators and academics who are interested in the impacts of generative AI on the teaching of writing.

The symposium:

• shares the findings of a four year (2022-2025) Australian Research Council study on the teaching of digital writing, including the latest research.
• provides practical learnings from the development of digital writing labs that are applicable to both schools and higher education.
• offers opportunities to express and address concerns through debate and collaborative development of pedagogy in workshops.

And ultimately:

• culminates in the collaborative development of a manifesto for the teaching of writing in the AI age, for presentation to the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO).

Speakers

Speakers/workshop leaders include:

• Associate Professor Lucinda McKnight, lead researcher in the Teaching Digital Writing project, Deakin University
• Mr Leon Furze, project PhD candidate and consultant expert in teaching with generative AI, Deakin University
• Professor Julian Sefton Green, Professor of New Media Education, Deakin University
• Professor Jo O'Mara, Professor of Education, Deakin University
• Professor Kevin Leander, Professor of Literacy Education, Vanderbilt University

This symposium will be hybrid - attend in-person (Docklands) or online (Zoom).