The Paris School of Business is going to implement facial recognition software designed to track when students aren’t paying attention.
Called Nestor, the system was developed by LCA Learning, and is designed to track eye movements and facial biometrics to assess the level of focus among students watching lectures through laptops and computers. It is also capable of producing quizzes based on content that students may have missed when they lost focus.
Speaking to The Verge about the technology, University College London Knowledge Lab professor Rose Luckin expressed skepticism about the utility of testing students specifically on what they were likely to have missed, but also suggested that the system could be a useful learning tool if it can “show the student when they are focused, and how that relates to their performance.” Similarly, the system can also help teachers to see what content is best at engaging students, and thus to refine their lectures – the key aim of a similar system designed by China-base educator Wei Xiaoyong to track signs of boredom in students via facial biometrics.
The PSB (formerly ESG Management School) is scheduled to launch the technology later this year, with Nestor being used to monitor students watching lectures through laptops and computers. LCA Learning, meanwhile, aims to develop a version of the system that can be used in the classroom itself.
Sources: The Verge, New York Magazine, The Vanguard
–
May 30, 2017 – by Alex Perala
Follow Us