Generative AI for Digital Multimodal Composing: Implications for Literacy

Generative AI (GenAI) tools bring new possibilities for teaching and learning, garnering significant scholarly interest among researchers and educators worldwide (Chandel & Lim, 2025). In this presentation, Associate Professor Fei Victor Lim discusses a study on pre-service language teachers' engagement with GenAI for digital multimodal composing through a design-thinking approach (Lim & Tan-Chia, 2023).

Viewing GenAI as semiotic technologies (Djonov & van Leeuwen, 2017), we examine the design, application, and the socio-cultural contexts in which the students' semiotic practices are embedded. The findings highlight GenAI's contributions to enhancing efficiency, accessibility, and creative possibilities, thereby expanding the opportunities for multimodal composing.

The study also surfaces challenges related to modal incoherence, ethical considerations, and the potential over-reliance on AI-generated content. Fei Victor Lim concludes by discussing the implications for digital literacies.

Date

Friday 2 May 2025

Time

1 to 2 pm

Location

Online via Zoom

Speaker

Associate Professor Fei Victor Lim
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Suggested pre-reading

Chandel, P., & Lim, F.V. (2024). Generative AI and literacy development in the language classroom: A systematic review. Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal. 18 (2): 31-49.

Djonov, E., & Van Leeuwen, T. (2017). The power of semiotic software: A critical multimodal perspective. In Richardson, J., & Flowerdew, J. (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of critical discourse studies (pp. 566-581). Routledge.

Lim, F.V. & Tan-Chia, L. (2023). Designing learning for multimodal literacy: Teaching viewing and representing. London & New York: Routledge