Growing and learning in this digital age

Contact

Please contact me via email: trinarobb@hotmail.com

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 36 other subscribers.

Email Address

Twitter Feed

english and tech Kat Robb

ChatGPT in an HE context
With the current popularity of ChatGPT and the looming development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) how is this affecting the English language learner? The advent of ChatGPT has had a significant impact on language learners worldwide. In addition, there are impactful consequences for both teachers in higher education (HE) contexts that are evaluating learners on […]
What can we learn from the ELIZA effect?
Weinbaum’s experiments with ELIZA proved that when we know we aren’t being judged we are happy to talk about anything and even divulge personal information. The ELIZA effect as it is known, addressed the idea that we as humans presume that the behaviour of computers is as analogous as that of humans. Created as a […]
Our expectations of digital language learning partners
My current investigation into speech interfaces as language-learning partners is revealing that one of the main problems companies are facing when developing these tools is that they do not behave how they would like them to. This refers to the product often lacking the necessary layers of programming necessary to design a bot that can […]
Enthusiasm to learn is emotionally driven
Enthusiasm can be displayed in different ways and it can also be present in a learner, but they do not show any visible signs of being enthusiastic to learn, they are simply enjoying the learning and keen to learn. My current research investigation focuses on how learners demonstrate their enthusiasm when interacting with a speech […]
Less is more: the argument in defence of HCI for speaking skills
Less is more, or is it? I was taught from a young age that the wise man is the one who observes and says very little. However, for foreign language learners I think it is quite the opposite, and the more they try to speak and express themselves orally the more they can practise and […]
AI vs EQ
According to The Oxford Dictionary, intelligence is the ability to learn, understand and think in a logical way about things, and the ability to do this well. Emotional intelligence, otherwise known as emotional quotient (EQ) is the ability to manage and understand emotions. I am making a parallel between AI and EQ because I strongly […]
Don’t make me laugh!
The role of humour in conversation We know it feels good to laugh and it is argued scientifically that humour in general can decrease emotional distress and anxiety in stressful situations (Nijholt, 2003; Szabo, 2003). In addition to the feel good factor, several studies argue that another function of humour is to create solidarity among […]
Teaching & learning in the Covid-19 era
There is a reason why The Open University is still going strong some 51 years after it was founded in 1969; it was created for the specific purpose of distance learning, and based all its principles on sound pedagogy to reach the learning objectives they set out. Distance learning and online teaching and learning are […]
Is EdTech trying to reinvent the wheel?
I attended the Digital Learning Colloquium at Cambridge last week, and it was a fascinating insight into the future landscape of EdTech painted by a broad spectrum of attendees from different backgrounds: product development, research, academia, consultants, product design, and the odd ELT teacher and trainer. While there were clear threads of discussion regarding the […]
What does it mean to be human?
With the surge of interest and investment into AI, the question at the forefront of my mind is ‘What does it mean to be human?’ The apparent obsession with AI is to replicate human intelligence on all levels, but the problem I have with this is that I don’t think we fully understand what it […]

Proudly powered by WordPress · Theme: Suits by Theme Weaver