Register for the AI & Metaliteracy Workshop at SUNY CIT 2026

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Generative AI is reshaping how we design assignments, support student learning, and think about authorship and participation. The question is no longer whether to engage with AI in our teaching—but how to do so in ways that are ethical, reflective, and effective.

At the Conference on Instruction & Technology 2026, we invite you to register for a hands-on preconference workshop focused on applying the AI & Metaliteracy OER Toolkit in your own teaching.

Learn to Apply Ethical, Effective Learning with AI Using Metaliteracy
🗓 Tuesday, May 26, 2026
🕒 2:30–5:30 PM ET
📍 SAC 304, Stony Brook University

This interactive session will also mark the official launch of the AI & Metaliteracy OER Toolkit, developed through a SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology Grant by a collaborative team at Empire State University. The project is led by Principal Investigators Nicola Marae Allain and Thomas P. Mackey, with Alena Rodick serving as Project Manager and Eugenio Solis de Ovando leading digital video and AI avatar development. It also includes collaboration with Kathleen Olmstead and Logan Roth, Ph.D., both at SUNY Brockport.

This is a working session designed for direct application. Participants will explore the AI & Metaliteracy OER Toolkit, identify sample assignments and rubrics to adapt for their own courses, and revise those materials for their specific teaching context. Participants will also have the option to use AI as part of this process, modeling reflective and ethical engagement in their design choices. We encourage you to bring a learning activity you would like to develop or revise for your instructional setting.

Participants will leave with practical strategies for integrating AI through the metaliteracy framework, along with adapted assignments they have developed for their own course. They will also gain access to a wide range of resources from the AI & Metaliteracy OER Toolkit, including customizable assignment templates, guidelines, rubrics, learning modules, and implementation strategies. The workshop will also provide opportunities to connect with colleagues engaged in this work, with the potential to continue sharing ideas beyond the session.

AI is not just a new tool—it is reshaping how learners engage with information, create content, and participate in knowledge production. This workshop focuses on how metaliteracy can guide that work in practice, supporting learners as reflective, responsible, and active contributors in AI-mediated environments.

This work also reflects a broader commitment to open and collaborative dialogue about teaching and learning with AI, and we look forward to sharing additional updates as the toolkit becomes more widely available.

The session will be led by Dr. Nicola Marae Allain, Dr. Thomas P. Mackey, and Dr. Eugenio Solis de Ovando.

Please bring your own device and come ready to work with your own course materials.

Register today to join us at the workshop!

From Information Literacies to Metaliteracy: Learner Agency in an AI-Mediated World

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An invited virtual keynote was delivered by Tom Mackey of Empire State University, exploring the intersection of AI and metaliteracy. The presentation focused on the shift from information literacies to metaliteracy and examined how learner agency is understood within an increasingly AI-mediated information environment. The keynote opened iConference 2026, hosted by the iSchools Organization—a global network of universities advancing research and teaching on the role of information, technology, and society across disciplines.

The conference theme—Information Literacies, Authenticity and Use: The Move Towards a Digitally Enlightened Society—foregrounds key questions about how individuals and communities engage with information in complex digital contexts. It also reflects on how Enlightenment ideals of reason, education, and the ethical use of knowledge continue to inform—and are being reinterpreted within—contemporary information environments. The virtual academic program took place March 23–26, 2026, followed by an onsite event in Edinburgh from March 29 to April 2, hosted by Edinburgh Napier University.

Tom’s keynote, From Information Literacies to Metaliteracy: Learner Agency in an AI-Mediated World, was presented on Monday, March 23, 2026 and engaged a global audience in examining how metaliteracy offers a comprehensive and human-centered framework for learning in relation to artificial intelligence.

“This keynote argues that evolving approaches to information literacy, AI literacy, and digital authenticity require a shift beyond discrete or skill-based methods toward a more comprehensive and reflective model of learning. Rather than positioning AI as a standalone competency, metaliteracy operates as a holistic pedagogical approach that centers the self-aware learner. It is grounded in metacognition, ethical reasoning, and active participation in AI and emerging technology environments.”

The recorded keynote is available via Vimeo and is embedded below. It explores the implications of AI and metaliteracy for teaching, learning, and participation in digital environments.

The accompanying slide deck is available as a resource for exploring the core components of metaliteracy and AI-related learning activities in greater detail.

As metaliteracy continues to evolve in response to AI and emerging technologies, this keynote invites further reflection and application. Readers are encouraged to consider how these ideas might inform their own teaching and learning contexts—whether by integrating metaliteracy principles into course design, developing new learning activities, or engaging students as active and ethical producers of knowledge. The embedded materials—including two Slido surveys, reflective prompts, and examples of assignments—offer opportunities to explore these concepts in practice and to extend the conversation across diverse educational settings.

We encourage readers to apply these ideas in their own contexts and to share examples of their work with us for possible feature on the Metaliteracy blog.

-Tom and Trudi

Watch the Workshop Recording: Advancing OER with Metaliteracy and AI

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The interactive workshop Advancing OER Through Metaliteracy and AI Integration, presented by Prof. Tom Mackey of Empire State University, explored the application of metaliteracy and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the design of Open Educational Resources (OER). ​This online session was organized by Prof. Dorothy Laubscher, UNESCO Chair at North-West University (NWU) in South Africa, and was featured as part of the NWU OER Fellows and the SADiLaR Digital Humanities OER Champions Project.

The workshop introduced key concepts from metaliteracy and emphasized the updated Metaliteracy Goals and Learning Objectives to address the challenges and opportunities of AI for teaching and learning. ​ Participants engaged in several interactive surveys and two workshop activities that emphasized ethical, creative, and collaborative applications of AI in open learning environments. ​The session illustrated how careful planning and inclusive engagement reinforce the learning experience through the development of sustainable OER. ​

Real-world examples from the Digital Media Arts program at Empire State University illustrated how metaliteracy supports self-directed and multimodal learning in AI-driven environments. ​

The video recording from the session is now available:

Video recording of OER + Metaliteracy + AI Workshop

Watch the video to learn how to integrate AI and metaliteracy to support effective OER development. Try the workshop activities or adapt them to your OER projects. ​ We invite you to share the outcome of your work via this blog, and we’ll gladly support you in doing so. If you have any questions, let us know!

Tom and Trudi

Metaliteracy Examined at the Faculty360.org Global Summit on AI

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At the Faculty360.org 2025 Summit, hosted virtually by Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates, Tom Mackey delivered a presentation titled “Developing Metaliterate Learners for Generative AI.” The summit theme, Beyond the AI Hype: Faculty Futures in a Changing World, provided the context for a session that introduced metaliteracy as a holistic pedagogical framework for teaching and learning with generative AI. The presentation examined how the model supports critical thinking, knowledge production, and collaborative learning in AI environments.

The talk outlined the key elements of the metaliteracy framework and illustrated how its learner domains, roles, and characteristics guide effective engagement with generative AI. The 2025 revision of the Metaliteracy Goals and Learning Objectives was discussed as a transferable resource for educators seeking to support ethical, reflective, and empowered engagement with AI across disciplines.

Several examples of learning activities from the Digital Media Arts program at Empire State University illustrated how the integration of AI and metaliteracy can foster creativity, critical reflection, and informed decision-making. The session also introduced new versions of the metaliteracy diagrams, offering updated visualizations that show how the framework enhances multiple modality learning in a wide range of educational settings.

The slide deck from this presentation is now available and can be accessed below.

If you would like to contribute your own take on these ideas, particularly as they relate to the metaliteracy framework and the updated Metaliteracy Goals and Learning Objectives, we would be glad to work with you on a guest blog post.

Tom and Trudi

Plan to Attend an Online Workshop About Integrating AI and Metaliteracy to Develop OER

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Are you interested in learning how to apply AI to create Open Educational Resources (OER)? Tom Mackey will explore this topic in an online presentation entitled “Advancing OER Through Metaliteracy and AI Integration” on November 12, 2025 at 8:00AM EST (New York) / 15:00 SAST (South Africa).

AI-generated image using ChatGPT 5 to show the integration of Metaliteracy, AI, and OER.

This virtual event is organized by the North-West University (NWU) UNESCO Chair and part of the NWU OER Fellows and the SADiLaR Digital Humanities OER Champions Project.

As noted in the event description:

The presentation introduces key concepts from metaliteracy and emerging AI literacy models, focusing on the updated metaliteracy goals and learning objectives, which have been revised to address the unique challenges and opportunities of AI-enhanced teaching and learning. Participants will engage in a practical workshop where they adapt and apply these themes to their own OER projects. Real-world examples from the Digital Media Arts program at Empire State University will illustrate how metaliteracy supports self-directed and multimodal learning in AI environments.

Session Takeaways:

  • Gain practical insights into how AI tools can be effectively applied to the development of Open Educational Resources (OER) through the lens of metaliteracy.
  • Participate in guided discussions and interactive learning activities that emphasize ethical, reflective, and collaborative engagement with AI in OER creation.
  • Explore strategies to empower educators and learners as metaliterate creators who design, share, and adapt OER for a global learning community.

Don’t miss this virtual event. Add it to your calendar and join via the Microsoft Teams link in the event announcement.

Workshop 6 Prof Tom Mackey 3Download

(Digital image generated in ChatGPT 5 for this post)

Humans in the Loop: Advancing Metaliteracy for Generative AI Learning Environments

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This year’s 2025 European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL) hosted in Bamberg, Germany featured an international panel that presented on Humans in the Loop: Advancing Metaliteracy for Generative AI Learning Environments. The presentaton took place on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 and explored how metaliteracy provides a holistic framework for responding to the global opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI).

Framed around the idea of learners as “humans in the loop” (Wu, et. al., 2022), the session highlighted diverse case studies that offered practical strategies for empowering individuals to engage with AI critically, ethically, and collaboratively.

Representing the team in person were Matt Moyo (North-West University, South Africa), Kristine N. Stewart (Zayed University, United Arab Emirates), and Tom Mackey (Empire State University, USA), (all pictured above). The panel also drew on the important contributions of Brenda Van Wyk (University of Pretoria, South Africa), Megan Eberhardt-Alstot (Pepperdine Graduate School of Education and Psychology, USA), and Kristen Schuster (University of Southampton, UK).

The case studies showcased during the session reflected a wide range of perspectives and areas of inquiry, including Generative AI and the Metaliterate Learner, Responsible Use of AI in Postgraduate Research, Misrepresentation in AI, Inclusive Curriculum Design, and the Ethics of AI in Digital Media Arts. Together, these themes underscored the value of metaliteracy as a framework for engaging with AI while emphasizing the human capacity for metacognitive reflection, ethical responsibility, and collaborative knowledge construction.

As part of her Information Literacy Weblog, Sheila Webber blogged about our session: Humans in the Loop: Advancing Metaliteracy for Generative AI Learning Environments.

The conference also featured a second panel related to AI and Metaliteracy based on a paper co-authored by the IPILM Project Team, entitled “Combining Information Literacy and Metaliteracy to Advance Transnational Group Learning about AI. Learning Process and Learning Outcomes, Results from a Case Study.”

If you would like to share your own explorations with AI and Metaliteracy, feel free to reach out to us and we would be happy to share via our Metaliteracy.org blog.

Tom and Trudi

Reference

Wu, X., Xiao, L., Sun, Y., Zhang, J., Ma, T., & He, L. (2022). A survey of human-in-the-loop for machine learning. Future Generation Computer Systems, 135, 364–381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2022.05.014

AI and Metaliteracy to be Featured at ECIL 2025 in Bamberg, Germany

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Two international panels on AI and Metaliteracy have been accepted for presentation at the 2025 European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL). The aim and scope of this year’s conference are focused on Information Literacy in an AI-driven World. It will take place September 22–25 at the University of Bamberg in Germany.

The two metaliteracy panels are featured as part of the full conference agenda and include:

Panel Presentation: Humans in the Loop: Advancing Metaliteracy for Generative AI Learning Environments

This international panel on Tuesday, Sept. 23 2025 will explore the transformative potential of metaliteracy as a holistic framework for addressing the global challenges and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence (AI). The panelists will present descriptive case studies from around the world that demonstrate actionable strategies for empowering learners as humans in the loop through metaliteracy.

Panelists:

  • Thomas P. Mackey, Empire State University, USA
  • Brenda Van Wyk, University of Pretoria, South Africa
  • Megan Eberhardt-Alstot, Pepperdine Graduate School of Education and Psychology, USA
  • Kristine N. Stewart, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates
  • Kristen Schuster, University of Southampton, UK
  • Matt Moyo, North-West University, South Africa

Paper Presentation: Combining Information Literacy and Metaliteracy to Advance Transnational Group Learning about AI. Learning Process and Learning Outcomes, Results from a Case Study

The global panel on Thursday, September 25, 2025, will present findings from a co-authored transnational case study on learning about AI. The paper combines insights from information literacy and metaliteracy to highlight collaborative learning processes and outcomes across cultures. Panelists will discuss collaborative teaching and learning in the global virtual exchange Intercultural Perspectives on Information Literacy and Metaliteracy (IPILM).

Authors:

  • Joachim Griesbaum, University of Hildesheim, Germany
  • Stefan Dreisiebner, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Austria
  • Emina Adilović, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Justyna Berniak-Woźny, SWPS University Kraków, Poland
  • Subarna Bhattacharya, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, India
  • Jini Jacob, Symbiosis College of Arts & Commerce, India
  • Thomas P. Mackey, Empire State University, SUNY, USA
  • Tessy Thadathil, Symbiosis College of Arts & Commerce, India

These two sessions underscore the growing importance of metaliteracy in addressing the opportunities and challenges of AI in global education. They also highlight the collaborative work of international scholars who are shaping future directions for learning in the age of generative AI.

(AI-generated image “AI and Metaliteracy” created using ChatGPT)

Reimagining Course Design with AI: Practical Strategies for Global Learning

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As part of the SDL (Self-Directed Learning) Collaborative Corner on Multimodal Learning and Open Educational Resources (OER) at North-West University, Prof. Tom Mackey, Empire State University, presented an interactive session on Reimagining Course Design with AI: Practical Strategies for Global Learning. The virtual event brought together educators and researchers to explore innovative ways of redesigning courses with artificial intelligence (AI) to support OER and multimodal learning.

The presentation drew on examples from the Digital Media Arts program at Empire State University, highlighting practical strategies from courses such as Digital Storytelling, Information Design, and Ethics of Digital Art & Design. In doing so, it connected the application of AI in course design with a metaliteracy perspective, underscoring the importance of reflective, ethical, and collaborative learning.

Explore the Session

The full session recording is now available, offering an in-depth look at the key themes and interactive discussions (click on the image):

Key Takeaways

  • Revise course content and learning activities with AI to expand opportunities for reflection, collaboration, and creativity.
  • Create original images with AI to enhance open resources and support multimodal learning experiences.
  • Develop transparent and ethical AI use policies to ensure responsible student engagement with emerging tools.
  • Design rubrics for AI-assisted and multimodal projects to provide clear, equitable assessment frameworks.

These approaches demonstrate how AI can be integrated as an effective tool across disciplines and learning environments. Educators are encouraged to consider how such strategies can be adapted to their own teaching practices, fostering inclusive, innovative, and globally connected learning opportunities.

For a closer view of the concepts and examples shared, the slide deck provides a visual overview of the session. Respond to the workshop prompt on slide 26 to reimagine your own learning activity with AI:

This presentation contributes to the ongoing dialogue about the role of AI in education and its potential to empower learners and educators in designing flexible, reflective, and future-ready courses. It offers a metaliteracy perspective to further emphasize the importance of ethical engagement, critical reflection, and collaborative learning in applying AI to course design.

If you have ideas or case studies about integrating AI and metaliteracy into your own course design, we invite you to reach out. We would be glad to feature your approaches as a guest post on the Metaliteracy blog and share your insights with our global community.

Tom and Trudi

Digital Story: Embracing Metaliteracy in the Digital Age

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We welcome this guest blog post from Riaz Laghari. He is an English language teacher, researcher, and writer from Pakistan. His work focuses on digital literacy, education, language, and critical thinking. As a passionate lifelong learner, he is dedicated to exploring how pedagogy and technology intersect to promote responsible digital citizenship.

I completed the Coursera MOOC Metaliteracy: Empowering Yourself in a Connected World offered by Empire State University. It was an incredibly enriching experience that broadened my understanding of how learners engage with information in today’s digital environment.

This story published in Medium entitled Embracing Metaliteracy in the Digital Age reflects my personal journey and learning process. It emphasizes the importance of being a responsible digital citizen in today’s interconnected world. Through the narrative, I explore how embracing metaliteracy has helped me understand the significance of critical thinking. It also highlights the importance of ethical information sharing. Collaboration in digital spaces is another key aspect I have come to appreciate. As I state in the article:

Metaliteracy has transformed my approach to digital engagement, equipping me with the tools to navigate the online world responsibly, ethically, and collaboratively.

In today’s fast-paced digital world, being an informed and ethical participant in online spaces is more important than ever. In this piece, I reflect on my personal journey as a digital citizen. I also consider my professional journey. My experiences are guided by the principles of metaliteracy. This article highlights how this model has influenced my way of learning. It details how I teach and share information. It shows how I evaluate online sources and engage responsibly in digital communities.

As I state in the article:

In my experience, embracing metaliteracy has meant developing a heightened awareness of my role in the digital ecosystem. It’s about recognizing that the content I create and share impacts others, and therefore, I must engage with this content thoughtfully and critically. This responsibility extends to both professional and personal digital spaces.

Besides my own journey, I also apply metaliteracy concepts in my teaching. I encouraged my students to reflect critically on the sources they use. I urged them to recognize their role as both consumers and producers of information. I also motivated them to collaborate more mindfully in digital spaces. For instance, I integrated reflective blog writing into the curriculum. I also added peer feedback activities. These methods helped promote metacognitive awareness. They fostered a more participatory learning environment. It was particularly effective in helping students become more responsible and confident digital citizens.

As I conclude in my Medium article:

As we continue to interact with the ever-expanding digital landscape, it is crucial for all of us to embrace metaliteracy. By doing so, we can foster a more informed, ethical, and connected world, where information flows freely and responsibly.

Riaz is an English teacher, and writes about language and political discourse in Pakistan. You can find his work on Medium and via his personal blog. If you would like to share your personal or professional experience with metaliteracy, feel free to reach out.

Teaching Metaliteracy in the Metaverse

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A guest blog post by Dr Valerie Hill

The metaverse is rapidly expanding and even young children are immersed in worlds like Minecraft and Roblox.  Adult learners have utilized Second Life as a learning space for building in 3D for years now. Educators and librarians must utilize these evolving information landscapes for teaching and learning. The metaverse is ideal for embedding metaliteracy and is a real, albeit virtual, place where critical thinking is needed. To that end, the Winter 2025 issue of the Virtual Education Journal has focused on metaliteracy.

The domains of metaliteracy can be taught in the metaverse and vocabulary can be modified for even very young students.  For example, metacognition is “thinking about our thinking” and one might simplify the metacognitive domain to the word THINK.  The cognitive domain might be simplified to the word KNOW. The affective domain deals with our emotional intelligence and could be simplified to the word FEEL.  Finally, the behavioral domain deals with what students can act upon or simply put, what they DO.

A short video demonstrates these themes, and how they could be taught, by visualizing the four domains on virtual flags.

The metaverse is a perfect place to introduce metaliteracy because metaphors can be built in 3D. (Note the 3D model on page 76 in the Winter issue of VEJ).  When students, embodied as avatars, can enter a model showing the roles, characteristics, and learning objectives of metaliteracy, they are able to better see how these relate to their own personal learning and their responsibilities for digital citizenship. The learner picture below is sitting on the foundational domains of metaliteracy.

By building a prototype model, one can envision how AI will impact metaliteracy. Soon other 3D builders will have the opportunity to revise the 3D model of AI and Metaliteracy in Second Life. Building in 3D is a great way to dig into the metaliteracy domains, roles, and characteristics of the learner.  The picture below depicts AI as a large bubble in which we may navigate in and out of AI applications and still be aware of our own metaliterate roles and characteristics and the domains of our learning process.  The learner is sitting on a beanbag that is scripted to allow the individual to move in and out of AI to illustrate that we can learn to control how we use AI and be aware of when AI is gathering information and producing new content.

A video demonstration of this prototype 3D metaliteracy model was provided at the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life and recorded here:

This prototype demonstrates the power of building in 3D and how we can produce and consume content as prosumers—both individually and collaboratively. This is metaliteracy in action.  To become a good digital citizen, one must be metaliterate (whether you call it by that name or not!).

We appreciate this guest post from Dr. Valerie Hill, Director of the Community Virtual Library and researcher of changing literacy in digital culture. She has been innovative in applying metaliteracy in the virtual world of Second Life and the metaverse. Dr. Hill’s book, Metamodernism and Changing Literacy: Emerging Research and Opportunities, explores the relationship between metaliteracy and metamodernism.