Wearable Devices and Their Impact on Learner Health

Introduction

Because human beings can be understood as systems in which signals are sent and functions performed, wearable devices are viewed as tools to facilitate the processes of the human body (Rodriguez, de Oliveira, Nunes, & de Morais, 2019). Some of these systems include the digestive system, the nervous system, and the respiratory system. Each system plays a part in regulating the body and maintaining the health of the individual. Wearable sensors allow individuals with disabilities to interact with others in meaningful ways (Rodriguez et al., 2019). They are also being used to promote learning and the health of learners. As Nugent, Barker, Lester, Grandgenett, and Valentine (2019) explain, "wearable technology's integration of engineering, computing, and aesthetics promises to be an excellent interdisciplinary context to support students' STEM learning and attitudes at the upper elementary level" (p. 470). Other researchers have studied wearable devices for the purpose of assisting in the transference of motor skills (Camarillo-Abad, Sanchez, & Starostenko, 2021). Carroll et al. (2020) have studied the utility of wearable sensors in monitoring learner engagement. All of these studies point to the growing trend of using wearable technology to facilitate learning.

Wearable Technology in Education

Carroll et al. (2020) note that because distance learning and virtual learning are far more common today than in the past, it has become necessary to monitor learner engagement. Educators must focus on keeping the attention of their students, and one way to do so is to monitor engagement in order to identify when students become disengaged. To assist in that process, "non-invasive physiological and behavioral monitoring technology to directly assess engagement in classroom, simulation, and live training environments" can be used to enable educators to understand when learners are paying attention and when their attention is lost (Carroll et al., 2020, p. 411). Wearable technology thus has clear utility for educators. It also has relevance in terms of learners' health, particularly for students with disabilities (Camarillo-Abad et al., 2021; Nugent et al., 2019). Rodriguez et al. (2019) note, for instance, that wearable technology presents "an opportunity to work with children using Augmented Reality games without the influence of prior knowledge" (p. 2). The overarching goal of using wearable technology in educational environments is to promote the cognitive and physical development of learners.

Impacts on Learner Health

Wearable devices are non-invasive (Carroll et al., 2020). They are designed to monitor rather than intervene in a person's regulatory systems, which facilitate a wide range of bodily processes. As Camarillo-Abad et al. (2021) explain, "the learning process involves psychomotor abilities, which are the cognitive part of motor learning" (p. 411). One significant impact of wearable devices on learners' health is that this technology helps mediate skill transfer in human-to-human interaction (Camarillo-Abad et al., 2021), thereby improving learners' cognitive and physical health in an educative sense. Because they are non-invasive, wearable devices are typically characterized as being "compact, comfortable to wear, esthetically pleasing, and have low power consumption" (Camarillo-Abad et al., 2021, p. 412).

Rodriguez et al. (2019) note that "automatic classification of daily activities can be used to promote health-enhancing physical activity and a healthier lifestyle" (p. 3). Because monitoring sensors can detect changes in regulatory systems within the body, they are useful tools for promoting learner health. Physical activity is important to learners of all ages, and wearable devices have been shown to support it by assessing "physiological and kinematic signals of the body during exercise" (Rodriguez et al., 2019, p. 3). The overall impact of wearable devices on learners' health has therefore been found to be positive.

Conclusion

Wearable technology has a great deal of utility in facilitating the learning process and improving learners' health through monitoring of learners' engagement, motions, and bodily functions. Physical and cognitive development is crucial to strengthening learner health, and wearable devices have been found to assist in this process. Educators cannot always know how well students are engaged when distance learning is in effect, but wearable devices can monitor engagement and provide meaningful feedback about instructional approaches. Wearable devices can help learners acquire skills in human-to-human interaction, and they can help learners with disabilities engage more readily alongside non-disabled peers. They also support physical learning — particularly in sports — which further promotes overall learner health.

References

Camarillo-Abad, H. M., Sánchez, J. A., & Starostenko, O. (2021). An environment for motor skill transfer based on wearable haptic communication. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 25(2), 411–435.

Carroll, M., Ruble, M., Dranias, M., Rebensky, S., Chaparro, M., Chiang, J., & Winslow, B. (2020). Automatic detection of learner engagement using machine learning and wearable sensors. Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science, 10(3), 165–178.

Nugent, G., Barker, B., Lester, H., Grandgenett, N., & Valentine, D. (2019). Wearable textiles to support student STEM learning and attitudes. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 28(5), 470–479.

Rodriguez, D. Z., de Oliveira, F. M., Nunes, P. H., & de Morais, R. M. A. (2019). Wearable devices: Concepts and applications. INFOCOMP Journal of Computer Science, 18(2).