Category: Technology News

A new report predicts that the rate of wearables in U.S. classrooms will notably increase in the coming years.

According to a report from Research and Markets, the classroom wearables technology market will accelerate at an impressive rate over the next four years, growing at a CAGR of 45.52% between 2016 and 2020. Reportedly, this growth trend is mostly due to the development of wearable devices designed to sync with smartphones.

More companies in the telecommunications, mobile and apps industries are seeking to expand into the wearables market.

The 63-page report features big-name companies such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft, who are associated with the education sector and who manufacture wearable devices. It also mentions other leaders in the wearable tech market, including Fitbit, Samsung and Nike.

According to the report summary, “various technology companies are investing heavily in R&D to remain competitive. This is resulting in the incorporation of innovative functionalities, such as gesture recognition and augmented reality, in classroom wearable technology devices. Devices such as Fin, Ring, Kapture, and Myo are some of the products equipped with such modern features.”

It notes that Fin is a smart wearable device designed to be worn on the thumb and functions based on finger gestures.

Improved student engagement is one of the key growth drivers of classroom wearables technology.

Improved digitalization in education, school and institutions has lead to the adoption of digital gadgets and tools like e-learning modules and tablets to better student engagement. Wearable technology has taken this improvement further and has enhanced engagement in ways that were once not considered possible.

For instance, Google Glass gives students the power to harness augmented reality. They can create first-person videos and take part in unique point-of-view experiences. Meanwhile, virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift, introduces students into an entirely different immersive 3D learning experience. Such devices can assist students in learning languages among other useful subjects.

That being said, the report does note that one of the major challenges that the wearable tech market faces and will continue to face is the lack of security and data privacy. Still, even with these concerns, the classroom wearable technology market will only continue to evolve with the development and release of new tech.

A company in India is printing quick response codes on front pages following each chapter for PDF access.

The Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research (Balbharti) in India has announced the launch of new QR code textbooks that have been designed to make it easier for students to obtain digital copies and to lighten the load they need to carry in their schoolbags.

The books are being produced for the Class VI syllabus which was recently changed and re-printed.

The new QR code textbooks have barcodes printed on each of the front pages following the chapters which directs the smartphone or tablet user to the official Balbharti website, where all class textbooks can be obtained in PDF format. The hope is that the quick response codes will also be helpful in accessing a smartphone app that is currently in its planning stages.

By using QR code textbooks, students would be required to carry far less in their schoolbags each day.

The Balbharti website is also undergoing a makeover at the same time that the mobile app is being developed. The hope is that by making the site easier to use, students will be more likely to opt for the digital versions of the textbooks and will not have to carry as much in their bags. The site’s updates will include an e-learning link of both the Marathi and English language magazines such as Kishor. Kishor is a teen focused magazine that is published on a monthly basis by Balbharti. The magazine is celebrating its fortieth anniversary.

The Balbharti controller, Vivek Gosavi, has explained that the size of the textbook has grown to A4 page size to make it possible to print it in a larger font that is more legible and appealing to both students and teachers. However, because of the larger page size, it also means that the books have grown, making them bigger and heavier inside a student’s bag.

Gosavi explained about the QR code textbooks that they are currently being “used as pilot project this year. At least students in urban Maharashtra would get the benefit of this feature. We will observe the response of this feature and will decide on the scope of its introduction in other books next year.”