The Purpose of Wearable Technology: Ways to Integrate It, Solve Problems, Collaborate, and Communicate
Wearable technology serves many purposes in both the educational and business worlds, and many of the purposes for wearable technology overlap in these two "worlds". Wearable technology means that you "don't need to be there to experience" real-life situations (Winske, 2014). For instance, through the use of Google Glass, a professor could be abroad on a live feed and students could experience a museum "without ever leaving the classroom" (Winske, 2014). Along the same lines, a professional could interact with someone in the field to "connect while in the field" for "seamless collaboration" (Stanley, 2014). Essentially, wearable technology provides a virtual experience that is highly interactive yet also contains easily-accessible information for use in that experience-- especially in the case of technologies like Google Glass.
Along the same lines, this highly-interactive experience means that "voice activation and gesture seem to be replacing touch" (Winske, 2014), so these devices will continue to work seamlessly into our everyday interactions and gestures. This fact can enhance the classroom or the business world because data can be collected based on everyday movements within certain environments. You will be able to see data without it "interfering with your line of vision" (Stanley, 2014). Furthermore, these technologies will serve the purpose of gathering data for a more "quantified self" (Educause, 2013) whereas data is collected and used simultaneously in either education or business. In this case, the student and the businessman can observe, report, and participate (Educause, 2013) in an enhanced world without changing normal interactions or gestures.
In addition, wearable technologies will be especially useful in education because of their impact on distance learning (Winske, 2014). If a student could learn through others' experiences firsthand, that student will experience an entirely different learning environment than they would have in the past. Education would be more like real-world or training situations, especially because of how these technologies will be used in the business world. This fact alone can improve education because students will be better prepared for the workforce. According to Stanley (2014), who interviewed a number of experts on the topic, these technologies allow people to be connected at all times. Everyday life would become field experience, full of problem solving and the ability to connect with experts while participating in the experience itself (Stanley, 2014). Some experts commented on the fact that these technologies could even greatly impact healthcare because devices such as smartwatches could display checklists of tasks that need to be completed at specific times and locations, and the recording of procedures in this way would eliminate infections, as everything is being tracked and recorded (Stanley, 2014). This idea echoes in the educational realm because wearable technology will give students access to informational in real time as well. Mostly, these technologies give students access to all of the data that is available in real time so that students can interpret and adapt information (i.e. using higher order thinking skills) rather than simply locating information. Wearable technologies moves us beyond the area of memorization and rote learning. Students will be creating, collaborating, and communicating with the world without needing to leave the classroom (or will only further enhance their learning when they do leave the classroom and can virtually interact with the world around them).
In order to integrate the application of these technologies into the school, family, and community, teachers and students will need to use these technologies to support higher levels of thinking. As there are so many devices available, teachers and students will need to manipulate these devices to serve specific purposes in the classroom, so research in regards to these technologies can become a part of the learning process, as students will need to evaluate the best technologies for specific tasks. For instance, in the infographic below, it is suggested that wearable technology can be used for a variety of purposes, including lifestyle, entertainment, and health. Personally, I believe schools and businesses will most benefit from the lifestyle purposes that "simplify tasks" so that more time can be dedicated to more complicated tasks, as education is headed in that direction already (Dudenhoeffer, 2014):
According to this graphic, different forms of wearable technology will serve these three core purposes. To truly integrate these applications to learn, teach, and research, educators will need to evaluate technologies based on which of the choices will fit seamlessly into the learning environment. For example, some of the best uses of these technologies can include work training, how-tos, distance learning, virtual field trips, or providing supplemental materials to the lessons. These ideas are summarized by Grossnickle-Batterton & Maltzan (2014) in the second infographic below:
As this graphic suggests, wearable technology, specifically Google Glass, has so many different purposes in education, but the core of the purposes is that of simplifying tasks so as to truly apply information. Data collection would not require any work, so teachers could create content specific to student needs and interests. Before now, true differentiation was not actually possible. As Pearson (2015) suggests in the "School of Thought" videos (embedded below), "information can be delivered to students in the exact moment in which [he or she] needs it" so instruction will be personalized. In this way, these technologies can be integrated to learn, teach, and research by making everything accessible-- even past lectures or related supplemental information-- when students need it. This fact allows students to problem solve and use higher order thinking because locating information is no longer the task, but evaluating, interpreting, and applying the information is now the task.
Overall, wearable technologies will also increase collaboration and communication because they allow for anyone to be connected to anyone else in real time. A teacher could connect with another teacher (Pearson, 2015) to discuss and observe students unobtrusively or to share data automatically collected about student learning. Experts can "come" to class or students can go on virtual field trips to interact with experts in the expert's environment and to see from others' perspectives. Again, wearable technologies such as Google Glass would allow for these situations to occur naturally and within a person's usual movements. Rather than just listening to a lecture, a student could record it and take notes-- all without obstructing his or her view to the real-life lecture (Winske, 2014).Along the same lines, this highly-interactive experience means that "voice activation and gesture seem to be replacing touch" (Winske, 2014), so these devices will continue to work seamlessly into our everyday interactions and gestures. This fact can enhance the classroom or the business world because data can be collected based on everyday movements within certain environments. You will be able to see data without it "interfering with your line of vision" (Stanley, 2014). Furthermore, these technologies will serve the purpose of gathering data for a more "quantified self" (Educause, 2013) whereas data is collected and used simultaneously in either education or business. In this case, the student and the businessman can observe, report, and participate (Educause, 2013) in an enhanced world without changing normal interactions or gestures.
In addition, wearable technologies will be especially useful in education because of their impact on distance learning (Winske, 2014). If a student could learn through others' experiences firsthand, that student will experience an entirely different learning environment than they would have in the past. Education would be more like real-world or training situations, especially because of how these technologies will be used in the business world. This fact alone can improve education because students will be better prepared for the workforce. According to Stanley (2014), who interviewed a number of experts on the topic, these technologies allow people to be connected at all times. Everyday life would become field experience, full of problem solving and the ability to connect with experts while participating in the experience itself (Stanley, 2014). Some experts commented on the fact that these technologies could even greatly impact healthcare because devices such as smartwatches could display checklists of tasks that need to be completed at specific times and locations, and the recording of procedures in this way would eliminate infections, as everything is being tracked and recorded (Stanley, 2014). This idea echoes in the educational realm because wearable technology will give students access to informational in real time as well. Mostly, these technologies give students access to all of the data that is available in real time so that students can interpret and adapt information (i.e. using higher order thinking skills) rather than simply locating information. Wearable technologies moves us beyond the area of memorization and rote learning. Students will be creating, collaborating, and communicating with the world without needing to leave the classroom (or will only further enhance their learning when they do leave the classroom and can virtually interact with the world around them).
In order to integrate the application of these technologies into the school, family, and community, teachers and students will need to use these technologies to support higher levels of thinking. As there are so many devices available, teachers and students will need to manipulate these devices to serve specific purposes in the classroom, so research in regards to these technologies can become a part of the learning process, as students will need to evaluate the best technologies for specific tasks. For instance, in the infographic below, it is suggested that wearable technology can be used for a variety of purposes, including lifestyle, entertainment, and health. Personally, I believe schools and businesses will most benefit from the lifestyle purposes that "simplify tasks" so that more time can be dedicated to more complicated tasks, as education is headed in that direction already (Dudenhoeffer, 2014):
According to this graphic, different forms of wearable technology will serve these three core purposes. To truly integrate these applications to learn, teach, and research, educators will need to evaluate technologies based on which of the choices will fit seamlessly into the learning environment. For example, some of the best uses of these technologies can include work training, how-tos, distance learning, virtual field trips, or providing supplemental materials to the lessons. These ideas are summarized by Grossnickle-Batterton & Maltzan (2014) in the second infographic below:
As this graphic suggests, wearable technology, specifically Google Glass, has so many different purposes in education, but the core of the purposes is that of simplifying tasks so as to truly apply information. Data collection would not require any work, so teachers could create content specific to student needs and interests. Before now, true differentiation was not actually possible. As Pearson (2015) suggests in the "School of Thought" videos (embedded below), "information can be delivered to students in the exact moment in which [he or she] needs it" so instruction will be personalized. In this way, these technologies can be integrated to learn, teach, and research by making everything accessible-- even past lectures or related supplemental information-- when students need it. This fact allows students to problem solve and use higher order thinking because locating information is no longer the task, but evaluating, interpreting, and applying the information is now the task.
In terms of how all of this impacts the practitioner, perhaps one of the best uses for wearable technology in the classroom is that of making the real world more accessible to students. Often, students are engaged with and motivated by materials that serve a real purpose or that can be applicable to the real world. With wearable technology, the real-world is a part of the classroom, so students will inevitably be motivated to learn and sculpt their own learning environments within teachers' parameters. Finally, one of the most practical uses for these technologies are for those with handicaps. Students who physically cannot complete certain tasks could now experience those physical movements. Supporting students' needs and expanding their horizons will be possible with these technologies because wearable technologies are so unobtrusive to the real environment yet enrich the experience greatly. Of course, with all of these advantages, there are also alternative, less desirable purposes taking shape with wearable technologies, including hacking issues, privacy infringement, and other security issues (Educause, 2013), so there will be limitations to wearable technologies in certain situations or for some of the above purposes.
1 comment:
I love the graphics you've chosen to add to this page. I had NO IDEA there were so many wearable technologies available. But I think part of it is me taking technology for granted and not really thinking about it.
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