IRAAL Online Lecture: Digital Activism: Challenges and Opportunities for Language Learning

Speaker: Dr Katerina Zourou

September 16, 2021 (Thursday) - 5:30 pm (Irish time)

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86459520133?pwd=b25CbDg1RWtsbEdBakVHY213VjVlQT09
Meeting ID: 864 5952 0133
Passcode: 219703

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Recent developments in language learning and teaching pedagogies broaden the scope of language education by expanding the "social turn" in language education. Thus, socially informed Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) research emphasizes learner centeredness, autonomy, and agency, as well as informal, “wild” ways of learning. This comes at a time of increasing civic participation, namely the engagement of citizens in digitally mediated actions claiming for fairer and more sustainable societies on a diversity of topics (indicatively: climate change, social justice, crisis response).

By resituating the L2 learner as a social actor in light of contemporary activism for a social purpose, this presentation aims to illustrate and discuss some prevailing forms of digital activism: citizen science, maker movement, open innovation challenges (hackathons), and open data/open educational practice. The challenges and opportunities for language learning and teaching practice and research will be discussed with the audience.

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Katerina Zourou, PhD, is a senior researcher in language learning and teaching from an open perspective (open educational resources and practices) and from a networking and collaboration perspective (collective learning, social networked learning). She is also head of Web2Learn in Greece. She acts as project leader or partner in transnational projects funded by the Council of Europe, the European Commission, and national funds.