Literature in the Digital Age: Hypertext, AI, and New Ways of Learning
This blog is a reflection on the learning and insights I gained through the FDP presentations, video lecture, and digital activities introduced as part of our learning experience under Dr. Dilip Barad Sir. The FDP on “A Pedagogical Shift from Text to Hypertext: Language & Literature to the Digital Natives” helped me understand how digital technology is transforming the ways in which language and literature are taught, studied, and interpreted. Along with exploring hypertext, digital pedagogy, Generative Literature, Digital Humanities, and digital assessment, I also engaged with the MIT Moral Machine activity, which encouraged me to think about the ethical questions involved in Artificial Intelligence and autonomous decision-making. These activities helped me move beyond simply reading theoretical concepts and allowed me to experience how digital tools can encourage critical thinking, reflection, and active learning. In this blog, I have brought together my learning from these activities and reflected on how they have influenced my understanding as an English literature student in the digital age.
Introduction
As autonomous vehicles (AVs) move closer to mass deployment, the boundary between engineering and moral philosophy is rapidly dissolving. Self-driving cars must be programmed to react in unavoidable accident scenarios where every possible outcome results in harm.
To explore these dilemmas firsthand, I completed the MIT Moral Machine experiment an interactive platform that presents users with 13 moral dilemmas involving autonomous driving decisions
2. Analysis of My Results (Personal Data vs. Global Average)
The simulation evaluated my choices across several core ethical dimensions. Below is the breakdown based on my results summary
Key Highlights
Most Saved Character: Business Executive / Professional
. Most Killed Character: Elderly Male
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pdf of result :click hereDetailed Breakdown
Saving More Lives (Utilitarian Focus): My choices placed a heavy weight on minimizing the total loss of life, scoring much higher on "Matters a lot" than the global average
. When forced to choose between one person or multiple individuals, I consistently saved the larger group . Protecting Passengers vs. Pedestrians: I strongly prioritized saving pedestrians over vehicle occupants, rating passenger protection as "Does Not Matter" in critical scenarios
. My reasoning was that pedestrians are vulnerable road users who did not opt into taking a risk by stepping inside the vehicle. Species & Demographic Preferences:
Species: I strongly prioritized saving human lives over animals/pets, aligning with the global standard
. Age: Unlike the global average ("Others"), which leans toward saving younger individuals, my results leaned slightly toward protecting older individuals
. Social Value: My results showed a distinct tilt toward sparing characters with higher perceived social status (e.g., executives/professionals) over lower-status characters
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3. Ethical Frameworks & Critical Reflection
My decisions during the experiment revealed a mix of philosophical frameworks, along with implicit biases exposed by the forced constraints of the test
Utilitarianism vs. Deontology
Utilitarianism (Consequentialism): My strong preference for saving the maximum number of lives reflects a classic utilitarian approach—seeking the greatest good (or least harm) for the greatest number of people
. Deontology (Duty & Rules): My willingness to sacrifice vehicle passengers to protect pedestrians reflects a duty-based framework where the system holds a fundamental obligation to protect innocent bystanders who have no control over the vehicle's trajectory
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Uncovering Unconscious Biases
The most challenging part of this exercise was seeing the demographic results
4. Key Learning Outcomes for AI Engineering
Moral Consensus is Difficult to Standardize: There is no universal "correct" formula for solving ethical dilemmas. What seems logical to a utilitarian engineer (e.g., swerving to hit 1 person instead of 3) might violate legal or duty-based ethics.
The Danger of Codifying Bias: If AI algorithms are trained on crowd-sourced data or reflecting human choice patterns, they risk inheriting human biases regarding age, gender, or social class
. Policy Over Pure Code: Engineers should not be the sole decision-makers regarding moral parameters in AI. Establishing ethical guidelines for autonomous systems requires input from ethicists, policymakers, legal scholars, and the public.
From Text to Hypertext: My Learning Journey in Digital Pedagogy
The FDP on “A Pedagogical Shift from Text to Hypertext: Language & Literature to the Digital Natives”, presented by Dr. Dilip Barad, helped me look at teaching and learning from a completely different perspective. Before studying this presentation, I mostly understood literature through books, classroom lectures, discussions, and traditional methods of interpretation. The FDP made me realize that in the digital age, literature can be explored through websites, images, videos, hyperlinks, digital archives, online tools, and even artificial intelligence.
For me, the most important idea was that the shift from text to hypertext is not simply a technological change. It is a change in the way teachers teach and students learn. It encourages students to explore, connect different sources, question fixed meanings, and participate actively in the learning process.
Part 1: Understanding the Shift from Text to Hypertext
If the presentation does not display above, open it directly: Open presentation in a new tab.
The first part of the presentation introduced the basic idea of digital pedagogy. The opening slides helped me understand why traditional teaching methods need to respond to the changing habits of today's students. Digital-native students are already familiar with websites, videos, social media, search engines, and interactive content. Therefore, simply transferring classroom notes to an online platform does not automatically make education digital.
One of the ideas that particularly interested me was hypertext. A traditional printed text generally follows a linear structure: we begin at one point and continue through the pages in a fixed order. Hypertext works differently. It allows us to move between texts, images, videos, websites, references, and other sources through links. While exploring one idea, we can immediately move towards another related idea.
This made me understand why hypertext is useful for literature. A poem, for example, can be connected to an image, a historical event, a painting, a geographical location, a video, or another literary text. In this way, reading becomes an active process of exploration.
This made me understand why hypertext is useful for literature. A poem, for example, can be connected to an image, a historical event, a painting, a geographical location, a video, or another literary text. In this way, reading becomes an active process of exploration.
From Teacher-Centred to Student-Centred Learning
Another important concept was decentering. In traditional classrooms, the teacher and the prescribed text often occupy the centre of the learning process. The teacher explains the meaning and students generally receive that explanation. Digital learning can change this relationship.
With hypertext, students can explore several sources and arrive at different interpretations. This does not mean that the teacher becomes unnecessary. Instead, the teacher becomes a facilitator or guide who helps students find reliable sources, ask useful questions, and develop their own interpretations.
I found this change particularly meaningful because literature itself does not always have one fixed interpretation. Digital resources can give students opportunities to approach a text from historical, cultural, visual, theoretical, and interdisciplinary perspectives.
Digital Classroom and Teaching Models
The presentation also introduced teaching models such as Flipped Classroom, Blended Learning, and Mixed Mode Teaching. I understood that these approaches give students greater responsibility for their own learning.
In a flipped classroom, students can engage with lectures or learning materials before coming to class. Classroom time can then be used for discussion, interpretation, activities, and problem-solving. Blended learning combines face-to-face teaching with digital resources, while mixed-mode teaching provides flexibility between online and offline learning.
The presentation also introduced digital platforms such as Learning Management Systems, Content Management Systems, and digital portfolios. These tools can help teachers organize materials, communicate with students, provide feedback, and document learning.
Learning through Digital Tools
The presentation then moved from theory to practical examples. Tools such as Lightboard and OBS Studio showed me how technology can make teaching more visual and interactive.
A Lightboard allows a teacher to write or draw while continuing to face the camera. When combined with OBS, different visual elements such as images, diagrams, animations, or videos can be included in a lesson. I found this especially useful for subjects like literature and literary theory, where concepts can sometimes feel abstract.
For example, poetry can be taught through a combination of text, sound, images, and explanation. Similarly, difficult theoretical concepts such as deconstruction can be represented through diagrams and visual explanations rather than relying only on lengthy verbal explanations.
The presentation also introduced the Watch → Think → Discuss approach through TED-Ed. This showed me that technology alone cannot make education effective. There must also be a thoughtful teaching strategy that encourages students to observe, reflect, discuss, and respond.
My Learning from Part 1
The first part helped me understand a clear progression:
Traditional text → Hypertext → Interactive learning → Student participation → Teacher as facilitator
I learned that digital pedagogy is not about replacing books or teachers with technology. Instead, it is about expanding the possibilities of learning.
Part 2: Hypertextual Solutions for Language and Literature
The second part of the presentation focused more directly on the teaching of language and literature. It showed how digital tools can respond to some of the difficulties students face in understanding spoken language and literary texts.
Digital Tools for Language Learning
Learning a language is not limited to vocabulary and grammar. Pronunciation, stress, intonation, speed, and modulation are equally important. In online learning, students may sometimes miss words because of pronunciation, network problems, accent differences, or the speed of speech.
The presentation introduced tools such as Chrome Live Caption, transcription tools for Google Meet, and Google Docs Voice Typing. These tools can convert spoken language into written form and therefore make oral communication easier to follow.
I realized that such tools can be useful not only for students who have difficulty understanding spoken English but also for taking notes, preparing assignments, reviewing lectures, and improving listening skills.
Making Difficult Literary Images Understandable
One of the most interesting examples in the presentation involved a poetic description of hawthorns and the image of a blue pitcher. At first, a student who has never seen a hawthorn plant may find the image difficult to imagine.
Here hypertext becomes very useful. Instead of only explaining the meaning verbally, a teacher can show photographs of hawthorn flowers. The student can then connect the words in the poem with an actual visual object.
Similarly, searching for the cultural reference connected with the “blue pitcher” can help students understand the poet's imaginative comparison.
This example taught me an important lesson: sometimes students do not fail to understand literature because the language is difficult; they may simply lack the cultural or visual background required to understand the image.
Digital resources can help bridge this gap.
Google Arts & Culture and Literary Learning
Another example that attracted my attention was the use of Google Arts & Culture for teaching the myth of Icarus and Daedalus.
Instead of simply asking students to read the myth, a teacher can encourage them to explore paintings, exhibitions, historical material, and literary responses connected with Icarus. Students can search for representations such as The Fall of Icarus and compare different artistic interpretations.
This transforms the lesson into an exploratory activity. Students are no longer receiving one explanation from the teacher; they are searching, comparing, connecting, and interpreting.
It also helped me understand the idea of decentring the centre. When students encounter several versions and representations of a story, they begin to understand that meaning does not necessarily come from one fixed or authoritative interpretation.
My Learning from Part 2
The second part taught me that hypertext can act as a bridge between the learner and the literary world.
- A difficult word can be connected to a definition.
- A difficult image can be connected to a photograph.
- A cultural reference can be connected to an archive.
- A myth can be connected to paintings and historical material.
- A literary text can be connected to other texts and forms of art.
In this way, literature becomes more accessible without reducing its complexity.
Part 3: Generative Literature, Digital Humanities and Digital Assessment
The third part of the presentation introduced some of the most contemporary aspects of digital literary studies. It moved beyond using technology for teaching and showed how technology itself is changing the nature of literature and literary research.
Generative Literature
One concept that was new and interesting for me was generative literature. According to the presentation, generative literature involves texts produced through computers, dictionaries, rules, algorithms, or other programmed systems.
This made me think about a basic question: If a machine produces a poem, who is the author?
Traditional literature is usually associated with a human writer who creates a work intentionally. Generative literature complicates this idea because the final text may be produced through a combination of human programming and computational processes.
Poem generators can create forms such as haiku, sonnets, or songs by following particular rules. This does not simply give us a new method of writing; it also creates new questions about creativity, authorship, originality, and the role of the reader.
Digital Humanities and New Ways of Reading
The presentation also connected digital pedagogy with Digital Humanities. This was particularly relevant to me as a student of English literature because it showed me that computers can be used not only for writing and communication but also for literary research.
The ideas of microanalysis and macroanalysis, associated with Matthew Jockers, helped me understand the difference between studying a small part of a text closely and studying a large number of texts using computational methods.
Traditional close reading allows us to examine a particular word, image, character, or passage in detail. Computational methods can help researchers examine thousands of texts and identify larger patterns.
The idea of culturomics, associated with large-scale analysis of cultural data, further demonstrated how digital methods can reveal changes in language and culture over long periods.
CLiC and Corpus-Based Literary Study
The presentation also introduced CLiC, a corpus-based digital tool that can be used for studying literary texts, particularly nineteenth-century literature.
What I found interesting about CLiC is that it allows a reader to investigate patterns that may not be immediately visible during ordinary reading. By looking at words in context and comparing their uses, students can develop evidence-based interpretations.
This connects digital tools with traditional literary criticism. The computer does not replace interpretation; rather, it can provide additional evidence that supports or challenges our interpretation.
Digital Portfolio as Assessment
Another idea that I found useful was the digital portfolio.
In a traditional system, students complete an assignment, submit it, receive marks, and then move on to the next task. A digital portfolio changes this process. Students can collect their blogs, presentations, projects, reflections, videos, and other work in one digital space.
For me, this changes the meaning of assessment. Instead of assessment being only about marks, it can become a record of the student's intellectual development.
A digital portfolio can show not only what I have learned, but also how my understanding has changed over time.
Video Lecture: From Text to Hypertext in Digital Pedagogy
The video lecture further developed the ideas introduced in the presentation. It explained why the transition from text to hypertext has become increasingly important in contemporary education.
One of the strongest points for me was the idea that teachers should develop their own digital presence. Many teachers use platforms such as YouTube, Google Classroom, or other institutional systems, but having a personal blog or website can give educators greater independence in organizing and sharing their academic resources.
The lecture also discussed some challenges of online teaching. Online education can reduce face-to-face interaction and make it difficult to read students' non-verbal responses. Students may also lose concentration or face technical and network-related difficulties.
However, the lecture showed that digital tools can be used creatively to address some of these problems. Glass boards, collaborative Google Docs, captions, transcription tools, and recorded lectures can make online learning more interactive and accessible.
The lecture also emphasized blended and flipped learning. These approaches combine live interaction with digital and recorded materials, giving students opportunities to learn both inside and outside the classroom.
Another important point was privacy and responsible digital communication. Digital education should not simply focus on using more technology. Teachers and students must also think about privacy, security, responsible sharing, and digital citizenship.
My Overall Learning Outcome
After going through all three parts of the presentation and the video lecture, I now understand that the movement from text to hypertext represents a much larger pedagogical transformation.
Earlier, I thought digital learning mainly meant studying through a computer, watching online lectures, or accessing PDFs. Now I understand that digital pedagogy involves a much broader process of connecting, exploring, creating, collaborating, and interpreting.
The teacher's role is changing from being the only source of information to becoming a facilitator who guides students through different sources.
The student's role is also changing. Students are not expected merely to receive information. They are encouraged to search, question, compare, create, and construct meaning.
For literature students, this shift is particularly valuable. A poem can lead us to an image; an image can lead us to a painting; the painting can lead us to history; history can lead us to another literary text. In this way, one text can open into a whole network of knowledge.
I also learned that technology should not be used simply because it is new. The tool should serve the learning objective. A digital tool becomes meaningful only when it helps students understand, question, discuss, or create something more effectively.
Most importantly, this FDP changed the way I think about my own learning as an English literature student. Literature is no longer limited to the printed page. At the same time, technology does not make traditional literary study irrelevant. Instead, both can work together.
The movement from text to hypertext therefore does not mean leaving the text behind. It means opening the text to new connections, perspectives, technologies, and possibilities.
Conclusion
The FDP and video lecture gave me a new understanding of the relationship between literature, technology, and education. I learned about hypertext, digital pedagogy, flipped and blended learning, digital tools, generative literature, Digital Humanities, corpus analysis, and digital portfolios.
More importantly, I learned that the digital classroom should not simply reproduce the traditional classroom on a screen. It should create opportunities for students to become active participants in the learning process.
For me, the central lesson of this entire experience can be expressed simply:
From text to hypertext is not just a movement from one medium to another; it is a movement from receiving knowledge to actively exploring and creating it.
This has encouraged me to think of digital technology not as a replacement for literature or traditional learning, but as a new space through which literature can be explored more creatively, critically, and interactively.
REFERENCE :
Barad, Dilip. “Pedagogical Shift from Text to Hypertext: Language & Literature to the Digital Natives.” Dilip Barad | Teacher Blog, 18 Sept. 2021, https://blog.dilipbarad.com/2021/09/pedagogical-shift-from-text-to.html.
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