ID: 33730
This presentation examines the practical implementation of a theoretical model initially proposed in response to the 2024 MIT Open Learning call (Bucio, 2025). Building upon that piece, this study evaluates the first implementation of this initiative designed to utilize artificial intelligence to accelerate inclusive open education and bridge systemic opportunity gaps. Specifically, the project tackles the linguistic barrier that Spanish-speaking students in Mexico's public distance education system (SUAyED) face when accessing English-dominant academic research. To translate the original concept into a viable educational intervention, it was embedded within the university's formal administrative structures as an official 480-hour "social service" program, a mandatory graduation requirement. The implementation engaged a diverse cohort of 20 online students. While achieving international reach with one participant joining from Spain, the majority were distributed throughout Mexico (spanning Ciudad de México, Estado de México, Guadalajara, Hidalgo, Morelos, Querétaro, Veracruz, and Zacatecas). This geographical distribution underscores the program's success in uniting distance-education students across physical barriers, bringing them together in a shared postdigital environment where they can collaboratively build and disseminate open knowledge.Throughout the program, students engage in a structured workflow designed to democratize access to specialized knowledge. The process begins with community building, mastering the core pillars of Wikipedia participation, and curating academic sources through critical evaluation. To assist in the deep reading and comprehension of complex texts, students leverage generative AI, though they are strictly prohibited from using it to generate the actual article text.The core activity centers on open-platform editing. Students write, manage, and publish content on Wikipedia, strictly adhering to community standards for verifiability, neutrality, and accurate citation. By identifying and expanding upon missing or incomplete topics, students actively reduce information gaps in the digital ecosystem. Throughout the process, they engage in collaborative work and peer review, exchanging constructive feedback to ensure the quality and accuracy of their final published contributions.Alongside their editing tasks, participants engage in guided readings and asynchronous discussions of academic literature. By reading and commenting on articles that explore the project's foundational theories, students critically reflect on their transition from passive learners to active knowledge contributors, contextualizing their practical work within broader academic and social dialogues. The project is grounded in theoretical concepts such as epistemic agency (Nieminen et al., 2025), epistemic placemaking (Carvalho et al., 2025), postdigital assemblages and affordances (Döğer, 2026), Wikipedia for educational innovation (Evenstein Sigalov & Cohen, 2025).Drawing from editing dashboard data and in-depth interviews from the first cohort, this presentation will highlight students' reflections on their developing postdigital literacies, their transformed relationships with knowledge, and the broader impact of democratizing specialized academic content for the global public.
Speakers 
Associate Professor, National Autonomous University of Mexico
Jackie Bucio holds a PhD in Linguistics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), a Master's degree in Asian and African Studies from El Colegio de México, and a Bachelor's degree in Hispanic Language and Literatures from UNAM. Currently, she is a full-time Associate...
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Friday October 9, 2026 1:40pm - 2:10pm
EDT
5 DR3
MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA
