Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Smart Kindergarten

Posted by michael on from the watch-johnny-pull-sally's-hair dept.

A UCLA professor is working on set of sensors and data-capture applications to record a school classroom in intimate detail. The project webpage has more information; see also an older story. The professor apparently envisions actually deploying these sensors in a classroom next spring, but doesn't mention what school is willing to participate.

8 of 140 comments (clear)

  1. Great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    We'll have statistics on which color playdough is the most popular, as well as the optimal nap time.

  2. Who's being watched? by jdray · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I wonder if the teacher realizes that he/she is also being watched in this little experiment. I can just see large scale future deployments of these systems, and the resulting end-of-year reviews by faculty management:

    "We see, Mr. Smith, that your students are fairly unruly in class, and that they often speak to each other in languages that your resume doesn't indicate that you know. Also, for the 14.6 minutes per hour (average, of course) that your back is to the students, a full 26% of your class cheats on exams and other work. We don't feel that you have effective control of your classrooms, and therefore are choosing to terminate your contract."

    Thbbttttt....

    --
    The Spoon
    Updated 6/28/2011
  3. A new method for assessing performance by aligma · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well, there is one possible positive effect of this system.
    Currently when students do badly on exams or assignments, they might miss some of the opportunities other children may have, due to being placed in 'lower' classes. This could be one way of watching how a student works - if they are able to come up with good things in a low pressure environment, perhaps this will allow some of the students who have been previously overlooked to have an opportunity to show what they can too can perform, but only in a less pressure intense situation.

    Some of our most promising scientists could be becoming bricklayers because they can't focus properly when they're stressed out, and get bad marks...

  4. Re:What parent would agree to this? by Megaslow · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe parents can elect to get e-mail (pager, sms) alerts: WARNING: Suzy is picking her nose! ALERT: Johnny's fly is down! What if the microphones happen to record the children during sing-along time? Will the RIAA have to get involved?

  5. Usenet by eclectic_echidna · · Score: 5, Funny

    It is bad enough that my 10 year old Usenet posts are available to my potential employers.

    Now they can download what I did in Kindergarten?

    --ee

    --
    Antiquated competence won't be a job skill forever.
  6. Re:Ethics? Where was the human studies committee? by MntlChaos · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you would RTFA you would notice that they are doing this to study learning patterns and advise teachers on what they are doing wrong. Advising CEO's on what they are doing wrong usually ends in somebody getting fired

  7. the results are in by meeotch · · Score: 5, Funny
    Students will wear caps with sensors called "iBadges" pinned to them, Srivastava said.

    5 years and 4.3 million dollars later, researchers report their findings: that you can't convince a first grader to wear a beeping, faintly warm hat for more than six minutes at a stretch.

  8. Unexpected consequences by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 5, Interesting

    And how will the little darlings day to day behavior be modified in response to all this monitoring?

    Students will wear caps with sensors called "iBadges" pinned to them,
    "Mom!! Do I hafta wear the stupid hat? All the other kids make fun of us!"

    as well as capture their speech with small microphones.
    (sotto voce)"Billy is a poopyhead. I'm gonna make him eat dirt at recess."
    And then the teacher may jump in..."Johnny...it's not nice to talk bad about Billy"
    [Johnny] "WTF? Get outta my head, Lady!"

    Objects, such as puzzle pieces or board games, will be wired with sensors
    So the child cannot take the puzzle piece across the room and show his friend?

    "The problem for teachers is that they cannot usually pay attention to each student across all groups," he said. "The feedback will allow teachers to better instruct their students."
    Obviously. You're not supposed to pay equal attention to each and every kid. SOme kids can get on with things themselves. Others need to be hald by the hand. That is why you hire competent teachers. And pay them a respectable wage.
    A competent teacher can recognize the attributes and students needing extra attention, by use of the best data mining tool yet discovered, the brain.

    "This will be an example of how humans will use computers to create smart environments," he said. "The use of sensors in this manner will allow people to talk and interact with the physical world."

    umm....haven't we been talking and interacting with the physical world for a few million years?


    When and who is supposed to do this data mining? The person who is in constant contact with these kids every day? When is s/he supposed to have time to do that?
    Or does she just get a report at the end of the week?
    "Johnny doesn't like Billy"
    "Jose' needs a little more help in English"
    "Mary is a little behind the curve in motor skills development"

    I can see a competent teacher saying "No shit, Sherlock! I see these kids every day, all day, and I know this."

    Whereas in the hands of an incompetent teacher....Johnny, Mary, and Jose' will be concentrated on even more, to the exclusion of the other kids.

    Kids are not data to be mined. Interaction, play, instruction are what grows respectable adults from these little darlings.

    How much could an extra $1.8M do for one classroom for a year?