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Learning in a Digital World pp 113–133Cite as

A Broad View of Wearables as Learning Technologies: Current and Emerging Applications

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Part of the book series: Smart Computing and Intelligence ((SMCOMINT))

Abstract

Wearables have increasingly been appearing in various forms as technologies that have the potential to support teaching and learning. This chapter surveys a number of recent and current wearable technology projects in the educational technology, learning sciences, and human-computer interaction literatures to illustrate the diversity of wearable technologies. It also identifies some regularities in how various forms of wearables are being deployed to support learning. These forms of support include using wearables to: promote personal expression; integrate digital information into social interactions; support educative role-play; provide just-in-time notification in a learning environment; and produce records of bodily experience for subsequent inspection, reflection, and interpretation. While examples of each support are provided, two more extended descriptions from the authors’ recent and ongoing work with wearables are given as examples of how human and other animal bodily experiences can be harnessed to support learning. Future directions and considerations for educational technologists are discussed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Although, it is worth noting that worn body cameras in law enforcement are beginning to play increasingly important roles in shaping public opinion about differing accounts of citizen-officer encounters, driving community activism, and serving as evidence in high stakes court cases, all of which are sites where learning still takes place.

  2. 2.

    https://www.instructables.com/id/turn-signal-biking-jacket/.

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Acknowledgements

This work reported in this chapter was supported by funding from the US National Science Foundation under Grants No. DRL-1054280 and IIS-1736051. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, USA

    Victor R. Lee

  2. Department of Computer Science, ATLAS Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, USA

    R. Benjamin Shapiro

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  1. Victor R. Lee
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  2. R. Benjamin Shapiro
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Correspondence to Victor R. Lee .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Carlos III University of Madrid , Leganés, Spain

    Paloma Díaz

  2. Cyprus University of Technology , Lemesos, Cyprus

    Andri Ioannou

  3. Centre for Educational Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India

    Kaushal Kumar Bhagat

  4. University of North Texas , Denton, TX, USA

    J. Michael Spector

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Lee, V.R., Shapiro, R.B. (2019). A Broad View of Wearables as Learning Technologies: Current and Emerging Applications. In: Díaz, P., Ioannou, A., Bhagat, K., Spector, J. (eds) Learning in a Digital World. Smart Computing and Intelligence. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8265-9_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8265-9_6

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