In education, we’re of the mind that keeping up with the cutting-edge is what is going to help students succeed in the real world. Sure, technology is becoming incredibly powerful with things like artificial intelligence and blockchain dominating a lot of the headlines these days, but there are other new arrivals that are more scaled towards classroom use. While not necessarily brand new, wearable technology is demonstrating it can play a viable role in creating or enriching 21st century learning experiences for students. Whether it’s virtual reality headsets or other tech tools, it’s no longer unheard of to use wearables in education.
Wearable Technology is Weaving its Way into Learning
When you hear the term ‘wearable technology,’ you might instinctively think the people discussing it are referring to some really cutting-edge stuff. The fact is that, these days, most of us have experienced wearable technology in one form or another. It’s no longer that uncommon, fancy, or expensive. Take Fitbit’s for example. Those are wearable. So are virtual reality goggles, smart glasses, and even things like heart monitors. These are some of the more conventional examples, but, now, wearables have expanded to include eye trackers, smart clothes, body patches that monitor health, and a lot more. Many of these even connect to the cloud and collect data for the people wearing the devices (or others) to analyze. This method is being used a lot in sports training so athletes can easily calculate their times or amount of energy used, for example, while training.
Now, there is much discussion about wearable technology impacting the ways in which we learn—both adults and students. Like athletes, it’s believed that students using wearable devices will be better able to collect data that educators can use to revamp the way they teach, bettering the approach they deploy and improving the eventual outcomes for their students. These kinds of technologies, which are still in the very early stages, would work in the same way as a Fitbit or other trackers. It would basically boil down to educators tracking the ways in which students learn, what they pick up on, what they miss, and how to best fill in the gaps. This would also help teachers measure why student performance is better on one day versus another day and hopefully provide options to correct this. While we’re not quite sure of wearables’ impact on education yet, there is a good chance that it is going to be substantial.
To understand how wearables can be used in education, it’s important for educators to know how to use them, what they can be used for, and how to properly integrate them. Wearables are described as an intimate two-way interface between the people using them and the world. While phones and computers collect information about us when we use them, wearables collect information about the user automatically. Two of the most important things wearables collect is a person’s heart rate and their body temperature. Scientists are then using this information to determine if a student’s physiology ever has an impact on their learning. So, while wearables may not necessarily help kids learn directly, they can provide scientists and educators with invaluable information that will help their teachers create a more personalized and, hopefully, successful experience in the classroom.
One of the Latest VR Innovations: Oculus Go
Since they fit onto user’s heads and faces, yes, virtual reality headsets are considered pieces of wearable technology. The new Oculus Go is even more so. This non-tethered headset is perhaps the first to offer such great quality without needing to be connected to any other equipment. It’s smaller than the previous Oculus model, but this reduction in size has also come with a reduction in price as the Oculus Go costs only about half as much as the full model. The appeal of the Oculus Go is that it allows virtually anyone to simply slip on a headset and immediately dive into a virtual world. It’s comfortable, sturdy, vivid, and already allows users, including students, to access tons of great, interactive, and virtual content. Even without the tether, some people have been saying that the Oculus Go is just as good as the Oculus Rift!
Those who have used the Oculus Go so far, which sadly does not include us, have been praising it. It’s been described as a premium device based on its price point, which most people would consider to be very affordable. And, it now includes Oculus TV, which we won’t get into because it’s not exactly educational, but it does create the opportunity for people to watch TV shows, movies, live streams, and more without any distractions at all. More importantly, the standalone nature of Oculus Go is a huge step for VR experiences this powerful. Previously, the Samsung Gear VR offered a decent, cordless VR experience, but we’re hearing it’s nothing like Oculus Go. It also means that there is no smartphone insertion required to run the Oculus go, another reason why it is so approachable.
Unlike the Oculus Rift, the Oculus Go does not require any expensive PC to complement its immersive experience. Also, since this new model is less bulky, it gives off the impression that the VR experience will not be as intense, which is great for students and others who are not fully comfortable with virtual reality. In terms of education, Oculus Go will provide teachers with access to many of the same VR apps and experiences as other headsets. The caveat is that the headset costs much less than the Rift. With the more affordable price point, educators may now be able to purchase more and provide one for every student or every two or three students rather than just one for the whole class. While it’s not perfect either, the Oculus Go is a step in the right direction for immersive VR, education, and, of course, wearables.
There are So Many Ways to Use Wearable Tech in the Classroom
Like most innovations in educational technology, teachers are finding new and exciting ways to pair the latest gadgets with their own creativity. This creates new learning experiences for their students—ones that are engaging, exciting, and just as relevant to their development. Using wearables in any number of ways, teachers can create beneficial engagement for their students and help build their tech skills and familiarity at the same time. Combing through teacher posts, we found a bunch of innovative ideas for how they’ve used wearables with their students, so we are going to share a few of our favorites at this time. Hope that’s okay. One of the coolest examples we discovered was students using a wearable mini camera (basically a Go Pro) to film themselves working on a project. They would then watch the footage later on and see where they were working well together and what they could improve upon.
Aside from that, students could use a wearable camera to film themselves creating a how-to video explaining how to build or design something for a beginner. Then, there’s the option of supplementing field trips (or class time) with quick, hands-free photos or video recording. Or, students can participate in learning like that right at school. Taking them outside to learn about weather, the environment, plants, or anything within nature can be enhanced by picture taking or video recording with a wearable tool. Back in the classroom, students could wear a camera while solving a math problem so that they can see the steps over and over and never forget any of them on their way to mastering math. The list just goes on and on. (Sorry, but the rest of this section is just going to literally be examples of using wearable technology in an educational setting. You’ve been warned).
Okay, next example. This one’s for teachers. They can use a wearable camera to record themselves teaching and watch it later to see their own strengths and weaknesses. It could also help capture student engagement during classes and help teachers recognize ways to get particular students more involved in the class. On more advanced levels, students could use tech like Google Glass when they’re out of the classroom to help them identify buildings, for example. They could also use it to pull up supplemental materials during lectures or search for examples of how to do a particular lab or experiment ahead of time. The previous two examples are geared more towards college students as is this one: Medical training for med school students. Like they use virtual reality to visualize a procedure, students could also use a wearable like Google Glass (or a VR headset) to help them get a feel before trying the real thing.
Wearable Tech and the Classroom
In recent years, wearable tech in the classroom has gone from just starting out to an explosion of new ideas and possibilities. Using wearable tools, educators have been able to launch new learning experiences for their students and achieve true 21st century readiness. The possibilities for educational wearables are just as exciting as those designed for gaming. Not only are wearables revolutionizing how students learn, but they’re also helping teachers transform the ways in which they teach. Virtual reality, in particular, is something that’s already shown promise in taking learning to the next level. Despite this technology still being in its early years, we’re already seeing its benefits and additional potential.
One of the reasons virtual reality has become so popular in education is due to the content that’s available. Students aren’t just flying through space and seeing pretty scenes. They’re actually being immersed into new environments and given detailed lessons while they travel through these places. Leading organizations, like the White House, National Geographic, Google, and plenty more have all created educational VR content to supplement student learning. Whether students are traveling inside some of the world’s most famous museums or art galleries or heading back in time to somewhere with huge historical significance, virtual reality is helping to make it possible.
The potential for VR in the classroom (when used right) is obviously off the charts. One other current wearable option that would fit into a classroom is smart watches. Students can do a lot of the same things with a smart watch as they can do with a smartphone or computer. They can take notes, record lectures, and perform searches while saving the battery of their other devices. Enabling speech-to-text software can even allow students to take notes without any effort at all! Perhaps even more useful in physical education classes, students can track their movements, distances ran, calories burned, and a lot more and try to align their performance with their nutritional goals. Plus, the added accessibility of a smart watch makes sharing that data a piece of cake. There you have it—more ways education is changing.
Wearable Tech and the Future of Education
The latest innovation in educational technology is always waiting in the wings, slowly creeping up on teachers and ready to disrupt the classroom. As school leaders experiment with the implementation of different technologies, like 3D printing or virtual reality, wearables are still lurking. As a whole, wearable devices have the potential to change the way students learn and prepare for the future. Heck, they’ve already changed the way a lot of us live. Since these devices are lightweight and easily portable, wearable devices are fairly practical in the classroom and could very easily continue to be. Despite all the different technologies now available to us, wearable technologies are those attached to the body and those that collect some sort of data.
Though they have really only become mainstream in the last few years, wearable devices have actually been around for a few decades. It’s just that they used to be a lot more bulky, expensive, and experimental in the past, but now they are used for real, purposeful reasons. In the classroom, wearables give students much, much greater access to content, communication, and data right at their fingertips. And, the debate among teachers and parents is whether to control it or embrace it as a part of modern education. Regardless of your beliefs, there is a good chance a lot of teachers will be taking wearables into account (if they haven’t already) and shifting their teaching methods to cater more to this pervasive technology. It’s just about using the technology in the right way.
In order for wearables to enhance the classroom, like with any new technology, the role the teacher plays is paramount. Their objectives should remain to be maximizing the learning experiences of their students by maximizing the potential of the technology. This means educators need to have professional development in order to get comfortable with wearables before they fully integrate them into their teaching. While some teachers may be comfortable with certain wearables already, others, undoubtedly, will need a lot more training. Though it certainly is a different way of teaching and learning, it is important for school leaders to at least consider using wearables from time to time. As we have seen, turning a blind eye to the latest ways students learn and interact with the world tends to only hinder instruction.
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