Pushing the boundaries of technology in learning: Professor Mirjam Hauck

Dr Mirjam Hauck SFHEA, from the School of Languages and Linguistics (LAL), has been promoted to Professor of Critical Digital Pedagogies.

Joining The Open University (OU) in 1996 as a Lecturer in German, Professor Hauck’s work has been at the forefront of technological developments at the university. She trialled the introduction of voice-over synchronous audio conferencing in the early 2000s, chairing the first OU module to use this tuition method (a level 2 German module), and then went on to chair the production and presentation of the first OU module to be delivered fully online, in 2011. She has published widely on the use of technologies for the learning and teaching of languages and cultures and across the curriculum, in Virtual Exchange (VE) contexts in particular.

During her time at the OU she has held a number of leadership roles, including Associated Head of School for LAL. Professor Hauck led the creation of the Open Centre for Languages and Cultures, acting as its Director for four years, spearheading a series of distinguished speaker events and introducing over 30 short courses in languages, cultures and communication. Today she serves as part of the leadership team for the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (WELS) and is OU Academic Co-Lead for AI (Artificial Intelligence) in Learning, Teaching and Assessment. Her AI work focuses on critical AI literacy skills development understood as a subset of critical digital literacy and is captured in this AI Literacy Framework.

Commenting on her Professorial title, Mirjam said: “The ‘critical’ stands for ‘through the social justice and inclusion lens’ which is the red thread that weaves itself through my work, both in- and outside the OU. This has historically been in the learning and teaching of languages and cultures, but more recently, as Academic Co-Lead for AI, across the entire OU curriculum. Additionally, outside the OU, where I have been pushing boundaries for over two decades in collaborative online international learning/virtual exchange with partners from around the globe and, again, across the curriculum.”

With her expertise extending beyond the walls of the OU, Professor Hauck is the President of the European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning (EUROCALL), serves as Associate Editor of the CALL Journal and is a member of the editorial board of ReCALL and LLT (Language Learning and Technology). She is a founder member of UNICollaboration.org, a cross-disciplinary professional organisation committed to promoting the development and integration of VE across all disciplines and interest areas in formal and non-formal educational settings, including Higher Education.

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Access (EDIA) are core to Professor Hauck’s work in the AI space and in VE. She has framed Critical VE, i.e. exchanges that are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), promote translanguaging practices and explicitly target learners from widening participation backgrounds,  She is an EDI Champion, both at Faculty and OU level.

Professor Hauck remarked: “What has become increasingly important for me, is to put the EDIA lens on everything I do. I am deeply committed to the OU's social justice and inclusion agenda, most recently in the context of my responsibilities in the AI space and ongoing in my scholarly work in VE. In times of systematic ‘Othering’ by those in power it is more important than ever to use digital technologies in learning and teaching to create a sense of Belonging.”

Testament to this is Professor Hauck’s current work, including the Open Societal Challenge project on which she leads, that aims to address unequal student access to international and intercultural learning experiences, through the integration of VE, as well as her involvement as expert advisor in the EU-funded Critical VE in AI project.

Professor Hauck concluded: “I am an early adopter and don't shy away from taking (well-informed) risks, and I excel at pushing boundaries. When I hear words like ‘impossible’ or ‘hasn't been done before’ or ‘too complicated’ my antennas extend, I feel energised and I get going! As a result, I can say that there has not been a dull moment in my time at the OU and I hope to continue in this fashion for a few more years.”