What about the future of writing?

It's difficult to predict exactly. I think we will write differently in the future. What we do now with pen and paper - taking notes, using it to come up with ideas - will be outsourced more and more. We will write much more with digital devices, perhaps even dictate more. Perhaps certain writing activities will be taken over by the devices entirely.

So will the pen soon be obsolete?

The good thing about writing with a pen is that we combine writing and movement, which helps a lot with memorisation. This means that writing with a pen is really important for learning to write in primary school. But we have also seen that writing media have changed a lot. We used to write with a pen, then came the fountain pen. Now we write a lot with a pencil or biros. We see students taking notes with a pen on a tablet. We can now choose the form of writing that we particularly like, but you have to have a certain repertoire first.

So why is it important that we learn to write by hand?

Pupils should definitely continue to learn it in order to get an idea of letters in the first place. Through movement, they learn that letters are realised in a very specific form. Even if writing with a pen is relatively difficult in terms of fine motor skills (more difficult than typing or swiping), I would say that it is worth the effort.

How are digital devices changing writing? Even primary school pupils are now working with tablets...

The devices can be put to good use. And there are great apps, for example for co-operative story writing. But that's not a sure-fire success. It always needs a didactic framework. If this framework is missing, there is a risk that it will only be used in a playful way and not in a way that promotes learning. As a teacher, you have to think carefully about what you are using the device for. And to what extent do I use it? The screen size of a tablet - which is less of a problem than a mobile phone - is limited. With paper, you can think in larger dimensions and this can be important for pupils, especially at the beginning.

In addition to digital media, AI will also change our writing processes. Do I still need to learn things like spelling and grammar now that AI tools are doing the work for me?

I'll answer this question from the perspective of someone who is interested in writing texts. It's less relevant for that, because the computers can do the spelling and grammar quite well. But it still makes sense for me to learn spelling. It helps to understand how language works. However, it also seems relevant to me that focussing too much on spelling and the associated handling of spelling mistakes ties up a lot of resources. It also leads to frustration among writers and, in the meantime, to a certain amount of writing fatigue. Many no longer dare to write a sentence at all for fear of making mistakes. Or they only write words that they already know, which makes the texts uninteresting. And if we were to develop a more relaxed attitude towards mistakes - in view of the fact that there will be enough supporting software later on - then this could encourage and inspire the writing and learning process.

How should this be implemented at school?

I would like to see teachers become a little more confident in this respect - and within their means. Teachers must of course be able to understand their pupils' texts, i.e. the pupils must at least write in such a way that you get an idea of what they wanted to write and they should of course learn spelling. The only question is whether this needs to be so heavily weighted in the texts. I'm not talking about dictation here. But when writing texts independently, there are so many cognitive processes that need to be coordinated: You have to think about the content, the structure, you have to think of words for what you want to express, and then you have to put it all into practice - it's really quite difficult and that's where I would really like to see a bit more thought given to whether, for example, the focus on spelling should be shifted to the revision phase.

Do you think AI tools and digital media are more of a blessing than a curse?

It's great what we can do with them. Take a florist, for example. He may be excellent at his job, but he doesn't like writing texts and writing offers may be a burden. If they can do this with tools like this, it's a huge benefit. I believe that AI tools enable access to language and writing and help overcome barriers.

Is it about discovering such access points in the "Virtual Competence Centre: Teaching and learning writing with AI"which you co-founded?

We launched the VK:KIWA before the publication of ChatGPT (November 2022), until then AI was still a niche topic in education. We were then somewhat overrun by developments. We combine various objectives with the competence centre, we conduct joint research, are involved in further training and help stakeholders in educational institutions with the transformation processes that are now imminent. In addition, think tanks have been set up in which specific issues are discussed and stakeholders network with each other.

What about academic writing? What changes and challenges do you see here? Are term papers or even theses passé?

We definitely need to think about alternative examination formats. I believe that it has never made much sense for some subjects to write a Bachelor's thesis and these subjects are of course taking advantage of the discussion to abolish it. For the humanities, for example, written theses are very important because they are a form of thinking that suits our type of academic enquiry very well. I don't know whether so many theses are needed because it's also difficult to supervise them all well. And if they are not well supervised - and the students don't realise what exactly they are doing it for - then there is a relatively high probability that they will use AI at such points and that this use will not be effective.

So do you find that problematic?

ChatGPT does not write an entire thesis. You have to design it yourself with prompts - i.e. the instructions you give the AI - which is very time-consuming. Student theses often also discuss topics that are still new and where - at least ChatGPT - is not so useful. But of course it can be helpful at certain points. I don't think it's a problem at all to try out initial ideas via ChatGPT. Or if you have a Chinese article summarised in German because you wouldn't read it otherwise. You just have to check exactly where you use AI in the process. So that you still have some form of control and gain new insights. However, the situation for students and lecturers is still quite unregulated. In this respect, I very much welcome the initiatives surrounding the mission statement for teaching and the soon to be published handout on AI at the University of Wuppertal.

What do you do with your students?

I myself teach a seminar on AI in German lessons. And of course it would be very strange if I were to say that you're not allowed to use the relevant tools for homework. My students are allowed to use anything they want, but they have to identify it and include the prompts in the bibliography. This is a bit tedious and perhaps leads to them preferring to write the texts themselves after all. It is important to me that the students reflect on what they are doing. And we discuss in advance exactly which tools are suitable for what. For example, that there are very good search engines and reference management programmes and that neither of these apply to ChatGPT. I want them to be familiar with many tools and know what they can specifically do so that they can then use them in a targeted manner. A critical and constructive attitude is therefore fundamental.

Do you dare to look ahead: In which direction could things go?

I would like to see AI helping us with routine tasks to a certain extent. I would like us not to react, but to be the ones in control of the whole thing like puppeteers. In other words, that we provide relief for the strenuous tasks and routine tasks when we need it, but that we take matters into our own hands when it comes to critical and important aspects.