AI on our minds, but there’s also time for themes from Psychology, Business and Entertainment: Log in to learn a thing or two at The English Café this winter: Once a fortnight, 6 – 7 pm
No registration required – just join us at this Zoom link at the appointed hour
Rounding off our 2024 line-up: Dr Judit Háhn of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Monday 25 November
Dr Judit Háhn
Will AI replace teachers? Historical and critical perspectives on educational technology
Distinguished Senior Lecturer – that is Dr Judit Háhn’s title at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland where she teaches courses in Multiliteracies, Communication Skills and The Language of Advertising for future teachers and other students of the Humanities. A prolific researcher with more publications than you can shake a stick at, she will bring another perspective to the theme of the month In her own words: “I will explore the relationship between education and technology through a historical and critical lens. By examining key milestones, such as chalkboards, early teaching machines and modern AI-driven tools, I will critically address past and present beliefs about technological advancements in education. Will AI replace teachers, or is this just more hype?”
Get your year off to a good start by attending Isabelle Kuhlmann’s talk
Monday 13 January
Isabelle Kuhlmann, M.Sc.
Algorithmic Approaches for Inconsistency Measurement
She garnered a gold medal at the 2019 RoboCup World Cup Sydney games and is no stranger to the European Robotics League. However, all things AI are more than mere fun and games for Isabelle Kuhlmann, a Research Associate and Lecturer at the FernUniversität’s Chair for Artificial Intelligence. Her talk will be based on her doctoral research.
Join us to hear what Educational Scientist Lars van Rijn has to say
Monday 27 January
Lars van Rijn, M.A.
Homegrown Innovations: Some findings from the ongoing AI.EDU and IMPACT projects
Lars loves research, and thus he currently has his fingers in two concurrent investigations – the AI.EDU Research Lab and IMPACT which are conducted under the auspices of CATALPA – the FernUniversität’s Centre of Advanced Technology for Assisted Learning and Predictive Analytics. His latest publication is a co-authored study entitled Guiding Students Towards Successful Assessments Using Learning Analytics From Behavioural Data to Formative Feedback.
Log into The English Café to profit from Johanna Profft’s wealth of knowledge
Monday 10 February
Johanna Profft, M. Ed
Transforming Education: Digitalisation, Inclusion and what School Leaders have to say
Anglophile Johanna Profft has always taken some time for both internships and teaching stints in England and the US. She is a Research Associate at the Chair for General Education at the FernUniversität, and in her doctoral research, which is being conducted via Europa-Universität Flensburg, she is looking into how school leaders negotiate and implement the topics of inclusion and digitalisation, with a focus on how the two mega-topics are interlinked.
Prof Brigitte Biehl will no doubt give us a reality check in her presentation
Monday 24 February
Prof Brigitte Biehl
Leadership Lessons from the Kardashians
A leader on the project Gender and digital leadership, Prof Brigitte Biehl of the FernUniversität’s Faculty of Business Administration & Economics also serves as Director of the Institute for Professional Development in the Creative Industries at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences. Alongside her teaching responsibilities, she also manages to sit on the board of several academic publications, and she is also an Associate Editor at Organisational Ethics. She will spare an hour for us this winter to discuss themes from her new book: Leadership Lessons from the Kardashians – Bodies, Emotions, Success.
Let Niklas Lettow enlighten you in his English Café presentation
Monday 11 November
Niklas Lettow, M.Sc.
Generating University Exams with Large Language Models
A Research Assistant at the FernUniversität Chair for Business Administration, esp. Corporate and Management Accounting, Niklas Lettow is a maestro in both Mathematical Statistics, Financial Accounting and Accounting for Innovation. His talk will give us a glimpse into how assessments are evolving – both worldwide and here at home – and what that means for you.
The English Café will be buzzing when Dr Jan-Bennet Voltmer schools us on Mental Labour
Monday 28 October
Dr Jan-Bennet Voltmer
What is Mental Labour?
Dr Voltmer has disparate research interests: Collaborative Learning, Diversity and Mental Labour – a niche area of Psychology. He plies his academic trade at the FernUniversität’s Chair for Social Psychology where, among other things, he coordinates workshops on R and statistics in R. In his English Café talk, he will share some snippets from his research into Mental Labour.
İpek Aksu is new to studyFIT, but not to English language teaching
Monday 14 October [CANCELLED]
İpek Aksu, M.A.
All about IELTS
Find out about our new synchronous IELTS course directly from the horse’s mouth. An experienced language teacher, İpek Aksu will be at the helm of the Zoom-based IELTS Preparation course whereby students will exercise the four language skills, whether or not they wish to sit the final assessment at a British Council-sanctioned venue. On her visit to The English Café, İpek will fill attendees in on why IELTS is a certification worth having and how taking the new studyFIT course will prepare students for the all-important exam.