Service-learning undergraduates using generative AI to create stories with refugee children
What is it about?
Through making digital stories (i.e., podcasts) with refugee children, undergraduates from a service-learning subject in Hong Kong expanded their creative potential with English, which has been considered a conventional instrument for education and career advancement in Hong Kong. With the rapid development of GenAI, the students preferred "owning" their stories to delegating the whole story creation process to the tool. Overall, the students' digital storytelling experience with GenAI enhanced their linguistic, cultural and digital awareness.
Why is it important?
The English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners portrayed in this study learn English beyond more conventional goals such as "grammatical accuracy" or "better career prospects", but for creative and communicative purposes instead. This has implications for motivating students to "use" English in authentic settings rather than merely "learn" it in the classroom. Additionally, GenAI did not overshadow the students' own "voices", as they exercised agency and chose to use GenAI peripherally and support their creative process.