Augmented reading experiences with Artificial Intelligence: training paths for teachers from a narrative point of view

Abstract

The alliance between paper-based books and generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the focus of a paper that recounts the professional experience of a teacher trainer. Numerous studies document that the reduction of paper-based reading practice has a negative impact on students' text comprehension skills. This evidence directly challenges the educational world, both on the teaching and training side, to create a dialogue between traditional text reading practices and the digital ecosystem. The potential of generative AI offers great opportunities. Several local and national training activities have taken place over the past two years. Proposals have been submitted for workshop training courses to develop teachers' digital pedagogical skills that can be replicated in classrooms to enhance students' reading experiences, making them more enjoyable, interesting and intellectually stimulating through the integration of generative AI tools. The paper documents the experiences aimed at facilitating a dialogue between AI and book-form in teaching practice, with reference also to the reception and satisfaction of teachers. The detailed steps for implementing and replicating the workshops are presented, along with reference scenarios and explanations of the methodologies, strategies, and tools that can be adopted. An articulated repertoire of free online resources is also provided.