Tag: Glass

Google Glass provides South Carolina students with high tech learning tools

Those enrolled at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies are trying out various forms of technology.

The Center for Advanced Technical Studies in Lexington County, South Carolina is not a typical high school experience, particularly now that students there are learning through the use of high tech gadgets ranging from Google Glass to robots and drones.

Students in the school do not receive the traditional type of classroom education, but are surrounded by tech.

While in some schools, kids would be punished for throwing paper airplanes, in this one, they are encouraged to do it, particularly when they are comparing the various aspects of those planes to that of flight simulators. It is all a part of the lessons in this school that is also pioneering one of the hottest new technologies on today’s market: Google Glass. Those augmented reality glasses that are connected to the internet and essentially work as a mobile device that is worn on the face.

Students have been quite enthusiastic about being able to try out Google Glass for a hands on experience.

Google Glass - learning toolsAccording to aerospace engineering class senior, William Blanks, “I wish I was able to take more classes like this.” That is one of the courses that uses augmented reality wearable technology as well as other tech such as flight simulators and drones, as a part of its regular curriculum. Blanks went on to say that “This gives us hands-on technology that’s actually useful in the real world and lets us do real-world scenarios. … It’s amazing that we have all this.”

The Center gives priority to creation and innovation, when it comes to its budget. Its classrooms have technologies that range from the latest in tractors from John Deere for its agriculture science program, to a media technology program that has a video editing lab and production studio. Now, the augmented reality glasses – which come with a price tag of $1,500 each – have been brought into the aerospace engineering classes.

That said, while the Google Glass use is starting in aerospace engineering, the goal is to bring the devices into every classroom in the school.

Google Glass overuse has lead to a case of internet addiction

A man has been treated for internet addiction disorder brought on by excessive use of Google’s wearable tech.

The man was treated by scientists and he is believed to be the first patient to have suffered from internet addiction disorder that was allegedly caused by overusing Google Glass, which the man had reportedly been using for about 18 hour every day, only removing it to wash and sleep.

The man said he felt argumentative and irritable without the wearable gadget.

In September 2013, the 31 year old man, a US navy serviceman, checked into the US Navy’s Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program (SARP) for alcoholism treatment. For 35 days, patients who take part in the program must stay away from addictive behaviors, including alcohol, cigarettes drugs and even electronic devices.

When observing the man, the doctors noticed that he would tap his right temple with his index finger repeatedly. The man said the movement was an involuntary mimic of the action required to turn on the device. The man claimed he was going into Google Glass withdrawal. He used the device to improve his work performance. It allowed him to carry out his job faster.

It was reported that when the man first checked into the facility he was suffering from cravings, involuntary movements, memory trouble and dreaming as if he were wearing the device. By the end of the program he was less irritable, his short-term memory had improved, and he made less compulsive movements.

Internet addiction disorder and its link to Google Glass and other tech is a hot debate.

Google Glass  - addictionIt is a hot debate among psychiatrists whether internet addiction disorder is connected to conventional devices, such as personal computers and smartphones. Many researchers believe to this day that the effects of the disorder are only symptoms of other psychological problems. In fact, in the 2013 update to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, it was not included as a clinical diagnosis.

However, Dr. Andrew Doan, who is the co-author of the paper on the patient, which was published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, and who is head of addictions and resilience research at the United States navy’s SARP, believes there is evidence that people suffer from the disorder.

Dr. Doan stated that “People used to believe alcoholism wasn’t a problem – they blamed the person or the people around them.” He added that “It’s just going to take a while for us to realise that this is real.” The doctor also said that while there isn’t anything “inherently bad about Google Glass” the issue with wearable tech is that while the user appears to be present in the moment, they are “almost constantly in the closet.”