Tuesday, February 2, 2016

#3 Digital Tools Evolving to Track Students' Mindsets, Emotions

Benjamin Herold writes about the evolving technology in schools that tracks student’ mindsets. This technology is put in place to understand the different ways of learning and have teachers be able to cater more to each individual student. The research gathered is from things such as students’ facial expressions, heart rate, and pupil dilation. This research is then analyzed for signs of boredom, confusion, or engagement. Organizations are working to use digital resources to measure noncognitive competencies. The software they use is to recognize each student’s strengths and weaknesses. Other companies are using technology for assessing how individuals learn. Although there are privacy concerns, many district leaders are excited to see the evolvement of this new wave of technology.

After reading this article, I both agree and disagree with this advancing technology used in schools. Benjamin Herold presented the material with factual information and gave viewpoints from different approaches causing me as the reader to be more inclined to pay attention to what was being said. Although the content of this article did not show statistical evidence, it did explain the modes and reasoning behind this technology. Herold’s writing made me think it was a positive thing for teachers to want to understand more about how every student learns differently. However, I was not made as enthusiastic about the research based on students’ emotions. After the issue of privacy was brought up, I do think delving too much into students’ personal lives can make school seem less about getting an education and more about counseling. I think it is important for teachers to know what is causing their students to not do particularly well on assignments, but I also think there is a fine line between wanting the best for each student and getting too involved.

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