Suzanne Smythe:  Before joining the university, I worked in community and family literacy settings in Canada, South Africa and Nicaragua. These experiences opened me to the socio-politics of literacies and to entanglement of technologies and literacies. I bring this sensibility to the Automated Literacies project and to collaborations with community-based digital literacy groups as we explore how automation is transforming ‘literacy-as-usual with implications for fairness, consent, sovereignty and rights.

Nathalie Sinclair: My work is mainly related to teaching and learning mathematics, focusing on the role of the body and the material in shaping meaning, often in contexts involving digital technologies. The non-dualist, quantum-inflected feminist theories guiding my research are useful in the context of this project as we grapple with issues such as the temporality of consent and the ethico- and onto-epistemological consequences of automated processes prevalent in everyday practices: applying for jobs, accessing government services, and finding information and resources.   

Rajeeta Samala: I’ve worked with EAL and literacy learners for over 10 years. For this research project, I assist in data generation for our digital literacy classes. Additionally, I support communication between researchers and participants and assist in curricula development and various knowledge mobilization activities. Coming from a culture where we often consent without questioning, it was fascinating to participate in a research project studying Consentful Tech. I was drawn to the idea of making online consent a choice so that individuals can make informed decisions about their online data privacy.  

Sheree Rodney: I am a postdoctoral fellow at SFU’s Faculty of Education with a background that includes extensive experience in mathematics education for higher education and K–12. I am especially interested in embodiment in math education, technology-supported learning, the emotional dimensions of learning, and STEM education. A key area of my current work investigates how curiosity-driven learning supported by digital tools promotes deeper mathematical understanding. Additionally, I have broadened my research interests to include teacher education and exploring social justice issues in the context of mathematics education.

Gwénaëlle André: Building on my work as a digital literacy educator in a community setting for several years, my doctoral project aims to provide a renewed digital literacy approach focusing on relational ontologies rather than individual skills. This reading of digital phenomena asks us to question both individual and collective processes and consider the mode of existence of digital objects. For this project, I mainly focus on analyzing platform socio-politics and carrying out literature reviews about data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence in relation to digital literacies.