Students study Google Glass’ effect on education
Three USC students are developing a weekly web series dubbed “Glass in the Class,” which aims to study the effect of Google Glass on education and show how new technology can improve or detract from learning.
Google Glass are wearable computer-like eyeglasses with a heads-up display. The smart headpiece will be released to consumers in 2014, and the students hope to show universities everywhere what its effects might be.
Michael Cherin, a senior majoring in communication and a spokesperson for the project, said the idea for the web series came out of an assignment in one of Cherin’s communication classes, where he had to speak about a new technology that would change the way people live.
“I decided to do [my presentation] on Google Glass,” Cherin said. “It’s something new, something different that no one really knows much about.”
His focus for the assignment was on Google Glass’ effect in an educational setting. In his research, he said he noticed no one had really tested this innovation in a classroom environment.
“What’s it going to be like in the classroom, are teachers going to accept it? Is it going to benefit, or will teachers see it as a negative effect on learning?” Cherin said. “All these questions I know people are going to want answered, and I wanted to find a way to do it and kind of be the first ones to pioneer in this field.”
The web series will center on the students’ experiences of testing Google Glass in the classroom.
“If I went through one of my communication classes, for example, and I realized [Google Glass] is kind of deterring me from learning and it’s not helping me in that particular situation, whether it’s taking notes or giving a speech in class, the episode would be based around that,” Cherin said.
Cherin noted that, rather than reading a study from a journal, the web series will reach out to people on a personal level.
“You get to see our faces, you get to see the work we’re going through. As a viewer you can connect with us, which is really a good thing,” he said.
So far, three professors from the communication department have agreed to allow the students to test out Google Glass in their classrooms.
Cherin and his team are financing the project through the use of the popular crowd-funding website Kickstarter. On its page, the project is touted as “the first research study about Google Glass and it’s benefits in an educational setting.”
They hope to raise $1,100 by Dec. 27, which Cherin states will go toward the first year of production and the cost of conducting studies.
Students on campus had mixed reactions toward the implementation of Google Glass in the classroom.
Alziz Abdulaziz, a sophomore majoring in business administration, said he saw it as being a potential distraction in a learning environment.
“From what I know, I think it would hurt the classroom as it’s more of a distraction than an actual asset,” Abdulaziz said.
Kevin Matre, a senior majoring in film and television production, believes that it could be useful, but also could infringe on privacy. “I think that it could be really beneficial to help students take notes and keep up with what’s happening in their class, but I think a downside of that is students’ privacy,” Matre said.
Not all students, however, saw the new technology as harmful. Patrick Fritz, a sophomore majoring in film and television production, is excited for the integration.
“I think it would have both [positive and negative effects,] but generally positive,” Fritz said. “I like it when technology is integrated into the classroom and I think it could do a lot of good.”
Cherin said his team’s ultimate goal with “Glass in the Class” is to clear up any confusion toward the possible effects of Google Glass in an educational setting.
“Before it even happens, we don’t want anyone to have to deal with getting kicked out of class for using Google Glass or anything,” Cherin said. “We want a university-wide position of, ‘We’re going to accept it, or we’re not.’”
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