Possibilities of Wearable Technology in Education

Introduction
Imagine you have just gotten a call to be a substitute teacher at a school you have never
been in before. In the past substitute teachers may have fretted about finding their way around a
new school, but those are worries for a past generation. You enter the building and your smart
contact lenses are able to locate a map of the school. You can now find the classroom with
ease. You enter the classroom and make your way to the front. As you look at your students and
introduce yourself the facial recognition software in the lenses has now completed your
attendance. There was no roll call or a chance for students to give you a hard time with a fake
name. Then the fire alarm goes off. You dont panic because even though you were not briefed
on the schools safety procedure, the protocol comes up on your lenses. You direct students to
the door and they follow you outside to safety. Alerts pop up on your lenses to let you know
which students have health concerns like allergies or anxiety. You assist a student with anxiety
issues as he attaches a Thync device; the neurosignalling waveforms activate and calm him
immediately. Although this scenario is not a reality in schools yet, wearable technology is a
growing field and the possibilities of wearable technology in education are exciting. This paper
will examine the history of wearable technology, current wearable technologies, their
applications to education as well as the challenges to consider when including wearables in the
classroom.

A Brief History of Wearable Technology

When a new wearable hits the market there is much fanfare and pomp surrounding it,
but wearables are not a new idea. Humans have been creating wearable technology since the
invention of the first set of eye glasses. Invented sometime between 1268 and 1289 in Italy,
eyeglasses were first worn by scholars and monks (Museum of Vision). An increasingly literate
population gave way to mass production of eye glasses. Fast forward a few centuries and the
technology of wearable glasses made way for Google Glass. Early this year Google announced
that it would no longer sell Glass due to disappointing sales. Although there was a lot of
excitement when Google Glass debuted, there were several issues with Glass ranging from
privacy concerns to the creation of the term glasshole for people that could not seem to
function normally while wearing the device. In October Astro Teller, who runs Google X, the
companys experiment lab, told Vanity Fair that the company is revamping Glass. Wearables is
tough, Teller said. Theres no point in having [Glass] be on your body unless you can give
people something they really couldnt get otherwise. It has to be qualitatively better for it to be
worn. (Makarechi, 2015)
The invention of the first portable time piece is generally credited to Peter Henlein, a
German craftsman who lived in the 16th century. Early wearable time pieces were heavy and
only had an hour hand. They were not worn for practical time keeping reasons, instead they
were made as jewelry and novelties for the nobility, valued for their fine ornamentation, unusual
shape, or intriguing mechanism, and accurate timekeeping was of very minor importance
(History of Watches, 2015). The 20th century saw many versions of digital watches, including a
calculator watch in the 1970s and a version in the 1980s that allowed the wearer to play a basic
arcade game. The 21st century has seen an explosion in smart watches that are also, as their

16th century ancestors were, valued for their novelty as their time keeping ability is of very minor
importance.
Morton Heilig is called the father of virtual reality by some. Heilig was a cinematographer
intrigued by 3D movies. By late 1960, Heilig had built an individual console with a variety of
inputsstereoscopic images, motion chair, audio, temperature changes, odours, and blown air
that he patented in 1962 as the Sensorama Simulator, designed to stimulate the senses of
an individual to simulate an actual experience realistically. (Lowood, 2015) This technology is
somewhat wearable, (3D glasses), but is very experiential and has paved the way for the 4D
movie experience.
If you were asked to name a device that rocked the recording industry and
fundamentally change how people experienced music, you would probably think of an Apple
product; however, the Walkman, a portable cassette player introduced by Sony in 1979 was the
first portable music player (Haire, 2009). Sales of the Walkman peaked in the late 1980s and
early 90s. Compact Discs became more popular and portable CD players began replacing the
Walkman. Popularity of CDs would fade as Apple introduced the first iPod in 2001 and many
other companies followed suit with their own brand of MP3 players.
In 1973 the first call was made from a Motorola mobile phone prototype. It weighed over
a kilogram, only allowed for 30 minutes of talk and took 10 hours to charge. (History of Mobile
Phones, 2015) To say that cell phones have impacted more than just the way we communicate
with each other is an understatement. Several wearable devices have spawned from mobile
phones and Bluetooth capability.
The 21st century has given rise to new forms of technology. Some have their roots in
past technologies that seem primitive to us now. Let us now explore some current technologies
and consider their application to education.

Application of Wearable Technology to

Education
Although Google Glass as we knew is no longer sold by Google, a retooling is in
process. A new version of Google Glass is expected to appear on the market sometime in 2016.
Educators that were part of Google Explorers (beta testing team), as well as teachers who
bought the device when it was made public, raved about the possibilities of Google Glass in
education. An obvious use of the device is creating first person videos. Teachers can show
students experiments, how to use equipment and how to perform specific tasks through a first
person video. Any hands on experience in the classroom could be recorded and shared.
Students in remote areas with limited resources in their own school could watch experiments
from a first person point of view. The augmented reality feature on Google Glass would enhance
field trips and tours to display facts or figures about relevant buildings or landmarks instantly
(Kelly, 2013). Students that are shy or unwilling to raise their hand in class, could send text
messages directly to Google Glass so that the teacher would know which concepts are being
missed by her students. High school students wishing to see what a day in the life of any
profession is like could watch videos of real people doing real work. This would be beneficial
and much more fascinating then videos on career cruising websites meant for students. They
could see what a welder, a pilot, a nurse, an EMT, an engineer do in a day, from a first-hand
point of view.
The ways Google Glass can enhance a students classroom experience seem endless;
however, there are ways that Glass can benefit the teacher as well. Carving out time in a busy
day for administration to visit a classroom to asses a teacher can be a challenge. Video taken
by a students perspective from a class could be uploaded for administration to watch so that

they may evaluate the teacher on their own time. This would also allow the administration to
assess beyond one class. There are countless websites that offer teachers the chance to share
lessons and collaborate on creating projects. Google Glass would offer an enhanced
opportunity for sharing. Teaching can be an isolating profession. Not all schools are able to
allow teachers to team teach, but Google Glass would allow you to watch a lesson, from a
teachers point of view. This would be excellent professional development, as teachers are
rarely given the chance (beyond teachers education programs) to see another teacher in action
the classroom. If a student is being assessed outside of the classroom by a psychologist,
occupational therapist, or other expert, it often results in a lot of paper work for a teacher to fill
out with observations. This can be difficult due to class sizes increasing and teachers having to
complete the observations by memory at the end of the day. Google Glass would change that,
allowing the expert to see the student through the teachers perspective, offering them a much
more detailed and cohesive observation.
Beyond elementary and high school settings, medical students could watch doctors
perform surgery from a first person point of view. A study by Stanford Medical School and Vital
Medicals showed that residents performing the same operation has significantly better results
when wearing Google Glass, as compared to those that were not (Sullivan, 2014). Surgeons
wearing Glass did not have to look up at machines as much, as the patients vital signs
appeared on Glass instead. This allowed them to concentrate and focus more on the task.
There were also able to recognize complications sooner than their non-Glass wearing peers.
Google Glass would also allow medical students to part of an examination in real time. Many of
the same opportunities available for Glass at the elementary, middle and high school level can
be applied to university classes: students can text questions directly to the professors Glass
during a lecture, students can watch video of experiments from a first person perspective and
students could wear Glass to lectures so that they may record the lecture be free to really listen
and not worry about taking notes or missing out on a slide from a prepared PowerPoint. Until

Google Glass comes out with its 2.0 version, some of the benefits of Google Glass in the
classroom could be enjoyed by a less expensive Go Pro. Although it lacks many features of
Glass, the Go Pro would allow for creating video through a first person perspective.
Wearable Clip 2 and Autographer are wearable cameras. They allow the user to be
present in situations and not have to stop to take pictures. The cameras are smart and take
images and videos while you wear them. Both allow for easy sharing. This could be used on
field trips by students to local destinations and beyond. Students would be able to participate in
activities and listen to instructions without thinking they are missing out on photo opportunities.
This could also be worn by children during a school day and reviewed by parents at night, giving
them some insight into their childrens school lives and finally getting an answer to the question
What did you do at school today?
Smart watches are gaining in popularity and seem to be here to stay. The market is
being flooded with smart watches designed specifically for children. The VTech Kiddizoom
allows children to take photos and video and upload them to a computer. This offers students
the chance to create projects with video and images, without needing a lot of guidance on how
to use computer software. It also offers games (educational of course). This could be used by
students who use an agenda, but are too young to write in it themselves. Rather than teachers
signing off on an agenda they could record comments for the day on the students smart watch
and then the message could be played back for their parents after school. Many smart watches
for children are meant as tracking devices for children who are too young for a cell phone. The
GPS coordinates can be sent to the guardians or tracked in real time. The Tinitell watch allows
for preset numbers to be called by voice activation. It has a simple design with only one button
and volume control. It is also water and dust resistant (Kenney, 2014). Smart watches for
children could be used by parents to track their childrens whereabouts during field trips, at
sports tournaments and to make sure their child arrived safely at school. The thought of

skipping class wouldnt be as appealing to younger students if they knew their parents could
track their movement throughout the day.
Along the lines of smartwatches are wellness trackers. Fitbit, Misfit Flash, and Jawbone
Up2 are smart designed that track everything from your sleep patterns to your heart rate to how
many steps you take in a day. Some offer coaching as well to help you interpret all the data.
The obvious application of these wearables to education is in health and physical education
classes. Coaches and teachers would be able to see exactly how much effort students were
putting in. The participation mark that still exists in PE classes would be very accurate and
would not rely only on a teachers observation or memory. The less than athletic students could
still achieve high grades, as their fitness trackers could prove elevated heart rates, calories
burned and steps taken.
Wearable technology could go a long way assisting students with special or complex
needs. There are several devices to monitor breathing and heart rate, not for fitness purposes,
but for the intention of letting the user know when to take deep breathes to calm themselves.
According to the Spire website, Spire can tell when the user is calm, focused or tense and
provides guidance and exercises when needed (Spire, n.d.). Studies have shown that cases of
students reporting anxiety has increased in the last sixty years (Twenge, 2000). There are
strategies offered to teachers by Learning Support teams to assist with anxiety management in
the classroom, but the Spire may be the most helpful. It a discreet pendant that is clipped to
clothing. It sends notifications to a smart phone with messages such as Your breathing
suggests youre tense. Take a deep breath. These messages could be sent to a students
phone, allowing them to feel more in control of their emotions. Students too young for a smart
phone could still wear a Spire, but the messages could go to the teachers phone, who could
then inconspicuously suggest the student take a deep breath. These moments could be tracked
so parents would be aware of the kind of day their child had. Thync is another wearable
designed to manage stress, unlike Spire it also offers an option to energize you. It works by

sending vibes to your brain from the device that is worn on your forehead. From their website:
Thync uses low-engery waveforms to safely and comfortably signal nerves on your head and
face. These nerves signal specific areas of the brain that cause your body to relax or energize.
(Proven Science, 2015) Gizmag.com gave the Thync an honourable mention in their list of best
wearable tech products for the 2015 holidays (Shanklin, 2015). Princeton Innovation reviewed
the product and declares Thync, a 2015 innovation that compacts recent advances in the field
of transcranial direct-current stimulation into a wearable headset, provides an alternative that
serves the same energizing function as Starbucks trademark elixir of life while also appeasing
the shrill inner voice of health-consciousness. (Li, 2015) Thync could assist students with
complex needs, and those suffering from mental health issues. It could provide teachers and
students alike with a much need boost in the afternoon, or a have a calming effect after a school
event or even recess.
There are countless wearables that exist today that have tremendous possibility in the
classroom or campus. Students that do not like human touch could be calmed by wearing
clothing made of computational fibers that hug them when signaled. Oculus Rift is a virtual
reality device that could allow students to travel the world, without leaving their classroom.
Athena is an example of Smart Safety Jewelry designed for womens safety, but could be used
by students of any age or gender on campuses across the globe (Athena, 2015). With the rise
of wearables in the classroom there are some challenges and considerations stakeholders in
education need to deliberate.

Matters to Consider
As with any technology that enters a school or classroom, the product should be
vetted by teachers and students to assess if it is truly worthwhile. Teachers often feel frustrated
at new technologies that come into the classroom as it feels like just as they are getting a
handle on using it, another tool comes in to replace it. There is no one wearable device that is a
fits-all for fix-all for education. Students with learning difficulties, special and complex needs will
benefit from wearables that other students may not. The question of privacy should also be
raised. If a wearable technology is collecting data from students, like FitBit or Google Glass,
how is that data stored or shared? Are parents comfortable with teachers having access to so
much student information? This goes beyond the basic information like addresses and health
concerns to sleep patterns and weight. Is GPS tracking another example of helicopter
parenting? Are we preventing our children from learning opportunities and decision making skills
if they can always consult a wearable for information? Some people could argue that these
wearable devices are expensive and will therefore really only be available to a select few. In
schools that have a Bring Your Own Device policy, wearables will widen the socio-economic gap
in classrooms. Could students cheat more freely with wearables? Would they offer an unfair
advantage? Some parents are already dismayed to see school budgets going to technology like
laptops and tablets, and not into the purchasing of paper books. Should school boards that are
already strapped invest money in new technology? And finally, what about how it looks? Do we
want our children running around a playground at recess with devices strapped to their heads to
energize them? Or a classroom of students traveling to the pyramids while strapped into a
virtual reality device. At the end of the review of the Thync device, the Princeton Innovation
article brings up some concerns, Finally, is an ostensible utopia in which forehead-bound

electrode strips become a regular fashion statement and in which heightened mental clarity
permanently replaces anxiety and lassitude truly desirable, or perfect to the point of becoming
sinister? (Li, 2015).
Regardless of the concerns, wearables are here to stay. We are only at the edge
of the iceberg when it comes to wearables and particularly how to apply them to education. The
role of the teacher will be questioned and reviewed which will no doubt make many teachers
uneasy. However, educators need to see this as an exciting time of innovation and possibility.
Teachers should be the ones on the cutting edge of wearable technologies in the classroom so
that they may be tailored to suit the needs of the student and the classroom, rather than the
product coming out first and teachers figuring out how to use them in class. Attach the tinted
sunglass shade to your 2016 Google Glass because wearable technologies have a bright future
in education.

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