Lab Activity: Digital Humanities

Digital Humanities

This blog is assigned by Dr. Dilip Sir Barad as part of the Lab Activities in Digital Humanities. In this blog, I describe my experience of the Moral Machine activity and also reflect on the topic “A Pedagogical Shift from Text to Hypertext: Teaching Language & Literature to Digital Natives.” For background reading, I referred to the given materials and video lecture. Click here.

Moral Activity :

In this activity, I was given a situation where an autonomous machine (like a robot or self-driving car) had to make a difficult choice. The scenario showed a robot with its eyes blocked and a character called “goodgeek.” The machine had to decide between different outcomes, and I had to choose what I thought was the right action.

This activity made me think about how machines should act when both options involve some kind of harm or loss.

Importance of the Moral Machine

Thinking about technology and ethics – The activity shows that machines are not just about programming; they also have to make moral decisions when faced with accidents or danger.

1. Understanding human values – It collects people’s choices from around the world and shows how culture, background, and beliefs affect moral decisions.

2. Helps in future design – The results can guide engineers and policymakers in making safe and fair rules for robots and self-driving cars.

3. Makes us reflect – It teaches us to think about right and wrong in practical ways, not only in theory.

A Pedagogical Shift from Text to Hypertext: Teaching Language & Literature to Digital Natives

In the age of rapid technological change, education can no longer remain tied only to traditional, linear methods of teaching. The talk “A Pedagogical Shift from Text to Hypertext: Language & Literature to the Digital Natives” highlights how classrooms must adapt to the learning styles of a new generation—students who are born into and shaped by the digital world.

From Text to Hypertext

Traditional pedagogy has always relied on text: fixed, linear, and sequential. Books, lectures, and essays follow a straight path where knowledge flows from the teacher to the student.

Hypertext, on the other hand, opens up a very different experience. It is non-linear, networked, and interactive. A single idea can branch into multiple links, connecting to videos, images, articles, and related texts. This way of engaging with information mirrors the way digital natives already think and learn.

Decentering the Subject

The shift from text to hypertext also reshapes authority in education. In text-based teaching, the teacher and the content stand at the center, while the student is a passive receiver.

With hypertext, authority is decentered:

• The content becomes fluid, open to multiple interpretations.
  
  

• The teacher becomes a facilitator rather than a sole authority.
  
  

• The student becomes an active navigator, choosing their own learning paths.
  
  

This decentralization mirrors postmodern thought, where meaning is no longer fixed or controlled by a single source.

Digital Natives and Their Learning Habits

Today’s learners—often called digital natives—are used to browsing, linking, and multitasking across digital platforms. For them, linear and one-way teaching feels restrictive. Instead, they thrive in environments where they can:

• Explore information through links and branching paths.
  
  

• Learn using multimodal resources like videos, podcasts, and images.
  
  

• Actively participate in constructing knowledge.
  
  

This demands a new pedagogy that aligns with their natural learning habits.

Challenges of the Shift

Adoting hypertext pedagogy is not without difficulties:

• It may fragment knowledge, making coherence harder to maintain.
  
  

• Teachers may struggle with balancing freedom and structure.
  
  

• Both students and educators need to adjust to this new environment, which can be uncomfortable at first.
  
  

Despite these challenges, the shift is necessary to keep learning relevant and engaging.

Applications in Language and Literature

Hypertext pedagogy opens exciting opportunities in literature classrooms:

• Linking texts with historical background, critical essays, and multimedia adaptations.
  
  

• Designing alternative learning pathways based on themes, characters, or contexts.
  
  

• Encouraging students to build collaborative hypertexts such as digital annotations or interactive essays.
  
  

• Using multimedia to expand understanding beyond the written word.
  
  

Conclusion

The transition from text to hypertext is not just about using technology—it represents a deeper pedagogical transformation. It challenges traditional authority, encourages active learning, and matches the cognitive style of digital natives.

For literature and language education, this shift opens new horizons where students do not just read and interpret texts but also interact, connect, and co-create meaning in a vast web of knowledge.

ppt :1

The PPT explains Hypertext, digital tools, and how teaching methods are changing in the digital era. It highlights the shift from traditional, linear teaching to interactive, student-centered digital learning using hypertext, multimedia, and online platforms.

Key Points in Easy Language

1. What is Hypertext?

• A system to store text, images, audio, and other files.

• Lets you create links to related content (like clicking a word and going to another page).

2. Important Tools

• HTML → Language to create web pages.

• HTTP → Protocol to transfer hypertext over the internet.

3. Hypertext in Literature & Media

• Makes reading non-linear: students can explore links instead of following a story straight.

• Supports postmodern ideas: the subject (self or character) is unstable, fragmented, or decentered.

• Computers let learners engage actively and even influence how content is used.

4. Pedagogical Shift in Digital Era

• Traditional classroom → teacher-centered, linear teaching.

• Digital teaching → student-centered, interactive, flexible.

• Both teachers and students take new roles; learning becomes more exploratory.

5. Objectives of the FDP (Faculty Development Program)

• Teach language and literature effectively online without losing the essence.

• Explore innovative online teaching methods.

• Encourage active student participation.

6. Digital Pedagogy Models & Tools

• Blended Learning → Combines traditional and digital content.

• Flipped Classroom → Students learn theory online; class time used for discussion.

• Mixed Mode Teaching → Face-to-face + online sessions.

Tools Used:

• Digital Portfolios

• Online Assessment

• Asynchronous Learning (learn anytime)

• Synchronous Teaching (live sessions)

• DCLS, CMS, LMS (digital teaching platforms)

7. Practical Examples Discussed

• Using Glassboard / Lightboard for online teaching.

• Flipped classroom for teaching business letters.

• Teaching literary works like Lockdown by Simon Armitage using OBS and multimedia.

• Deconstructing poems like Sonnet 18 via TED-Ed.

• Mixed mode teaching combining online and offline sessions.

PPT :2

 

Summary of the PPT

The PPT discusses how teaching language and literature can be transformed using hypertext and digital tools. It highlights the challenges of teaching online, such as making students understand pronunciation, stress, modulation, cultural context, and the essence of literature. Hypertext pedagogy allows teachers to engage students interactively by linking texts with multimedia, images, mythological references, and online exhibits. Using tools like Google Drive, image searches, or online museum resources helps students visualize abstract ideas, connect with texts meaningfully, and explore literature in a non-linear, interactive way. The PPT emphasizes decentering authority, meaning students navigate knowledge actively, and teachers guide rather than dictate learning.

Main Points in Easy Language

    1)Challenges in Language Teaching

• Pronunciation, stress, and modulation are hard for students to learn online

•   Students may find it difficult to grasp the correct way to pronounce words or the meaning of linguistic units.

     2)Using Technology Tools

• Tools like Live Caption in Chrome help students follow spoken words in online classes.

• Extensions like Meet Transcript or Tactiq can record meetings and provide automatic notes.

• Google Drive can be used for sharing resources and collaborative learning.

     3) Engaging Learners in Literature

• Teachers can use hypertext to link poetry, prose, novels, and plays with multimedia resources.

• Students can explore texts along with images, videos, and online exhibits for better understanding.

   4) Challenges in Teaching Literature Online

• Foreign literature can be difficult due to:

  • Cultural differences

  • Social codes of conduct

  • Religious references

  • Mythical references

  • Historical and geographical distance

     5) Teaching Ideas Using Hypertext

• Example: Explaining a poem using Google Image Search to visualize “Noon’s blue pitcher” or Hawthorn flowers.

• Example: Using online exhibits like “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” to teach myth and literature.

    

    6)  Hypertext and Learning Outcomes

• Helps students understand myths, literary techniques, and theoretical concepts like decentring the centre.

• Makes learning interactive, non-linear, and more engaging.

• Conclusion

• Hypertext pedagogy allows students to explore knowledge actively rather than passively.

• Teachers act as guides, and digital tools help make literature accessible, meaningful, and visually connected.

PPT : 3

 

Summary :

1. Generative Literature: Literature produced by computers, continuously evolving, challenging traditional ideas of authorship.

2. Digital Humanities: Computational methods to analyze literature at small and large scales, uncovering patterns and trends in texts and culture.

3. Digital Assessment: Digital portfolios and other tools making assessment interactive, long-term, and student-centered.

The overall message is that digital tools and hypertext pedagogy are changing how we read, teach, and assess literature, making learning more dynamic, interactive, and meaningful.

Key Points in Easy Language

1. Generative Literature

• Created by computers using rules, dictionaries, and algorithms (Jean-Pierre Balpe).

• Texts are dynamic and evolving, not written by humans.

• Example: Poem Generator Machines that produce Haikus, Sonnets, or song lyrics automatically.

• Learning Insight: Shows how humans and machines can collaborate creatively in literature.

2. Digital Humanities: New Analytical Methods

• Allows study of literature both closely and on a large scale.

• Microanalysis: Detailed reading of individual texts.

• Macroanalysis: Computational study of large collections of texts to identify trends and patterns.

• Culturomics: Using big data (like Ngram) to track cultural and linguistic changes over time.

• Corpus Linguistics in Context (CLiC): Computational analysis of 19th-century literature (e.g., Dickens) using tools like Key Word In Context (KWIC).

• Learning Insight: Combines traditional reading with computational analysis, making literary study more powerful.

3. Digital Assessment and Pedagogical Shift

• Digital Portfolios: Students’ work is collected online, hyperlinked, and continuously updated.

• Purpose: Encourage students to curate, expand, and share work, while building digital literacy.

• Impact: Assessment becomes interactive, evolving, and student-centered instead of static.

4. Key Learning Outcomes

• Generative Literature: Raises questions about creativity, interpretation, and authorship.

• Digital Humanities Tools: Reveal patterns in literature and culture not visible through traditional reading.

• Digital Portfolios: Give students ownership of learning, creating a permanent, meaningful record.

• Overall Insight: Hypertext and digital tools redefine reading, teaching, and assessment for the digital age.

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  Conclusion : 

      The presentation showed that the digital era is transforming literature and teaching. Generative literature challenges traditional ideas of authorship, Digital Humanities provides powerful tools for analyzing texts, and digital portfolios make assessment more interactive and meaningful. Together, these changes allow teachers and students to engage with texts in dynamic and creative ways. By using hypertext and digital tools, literature teaching becomes more analytical, student-centered, and engaging, preparing digital-native learners for a future where learning is continuous, interactive, and globally connected.

Thank you for reading......

Reference :

Barad, Dilip. Pedagogical Shift From Text to Hypertext: Language and Literature to the Digital Natives. blog.dilipbarad.com/2021/09/pedagogical-shift-from-text-to.html.