IoT & Wearables - Opportunity Cost Of The Always There Internet

IoT & Wearables - Opportunity Cost Of The Always There Internet

Blog Post by Nick Scott

Just Imagine

Imagine, for a moment, being a physical education teacher and your task is to ensure that your students are not only having fun, but working towards meeting physical fitness goals.  You’ve got a lot of options available to you to measure success, such as measuring the increased amount of push-ups or pull-ups a student can do, and the decreased amount of time it will take him/her to run 1 mile from the beginning of the ranking period to the end.  Sure there are tried and true, albeit simplistic, ways of measuring these tasks, including counting off the amount of push-ups completed and using a stopwatch to time a run. But what if there were a better and more comprehensive way of measuring overall student health and fitness?  Enter the Internet of Things (IoT).  

 "Internet of Things(IoT)" by ThinkGizmo is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

IoT refers to things that we own that ordinarily wouldn’t be connected to the internet, but are.   Watches, cameras, T.V.s, and even pills, are all examples of objects that are part of the IoT. Currently there are more “things” connected than there are people that live on earth and that number is expected to exceed 20 billion by the year 2020.  Educators have started to use this quickly growing field to enhance their students’ learning experiences and with good reason, for when it is properly integrated into the classroom setting it has the ability to be transformative.

Physical Education Reimagined

Garmin Run Image captured by N Scott 2018

Now let's revisit that classroom filled with PE students and reimagine what it could be.  What if instead of students having to prove their fitness during a block of about 80 minutes, they’d showcase their lifestyle.  Intrigued? Studies show that a traditional PE class has problems with being able to tease out the physical and physiological differences in students and therefore are often ignored completely.  Unfortunately, this can create an issue of motivation for students who aren’t as physically gifted, meaning they simply aren’t as engaged in PE as their more athletic peers. In order to motivate all students regardless of physical and physiological abilities and facilitate a better learning environment intricate student data is needed (Yang, Hwang & Sung, 2018). Technology capable of giving PE instructors the data necessary to identify such differences in student physical capabilities and physiological differences already exists in many forms.  One such wearable device looks a lot like a wrist watch. Made by a variety of companies, and available as a fitness tracker, sports, or even smart watches, these devices can record and showcase all the variables of human health.  Reporting factors such as average low, high and resting heart rate, calories burned, steps taken, and hours spent sleeping in both light and deep cycles. Such devices can even break down activities like running, swimming, and cycling into such fine details that you can analyze the length and frequency of a person’s stride while running, the rotations per minute while on a bicycle, or even the length and rate of a person’s swimming stroke.  Physical education could literally never end as every minute, of every hour, of everyday a person could be receiving information on their habits while working on being a healthier, more fit person. Several studies have indicated that applying mobile technologies as a learning method can improve learning performances and increase learners’ motivation (Yang, Hwang & Sung, 2018). Imagine the endless possibilities that a PE teacher could employ with this type of data.  

The field of education could benefit from taking a cue from the world of business which has already seen the advantage of utilizing wearables such as fitness trackers, sports and smart watches.  Until very recently, in order to improve the bottom line businesses have long made their top priorities both productivity and profits. However, with the increase in the availability of wearable technology as previously described, the focus has shifted to health and wellness.  In the last couple of years company wellness programs that unitize wearable fitness devices have increased from 200,000 to more than 13 million.  Evidence suggests this new approach appears to be working as businesses have reported a more productive workforce as well as an environment of strong colleague rapports, happiness, and employee retention (Goldstein, 2018).  If properly implemented schools around the country could also use wearable technology to benefit from healthier and happier teenage students.

Some schools have already started to utilize wearable technology.  Hidden Valley High School in Roanoake, VA has equipped students enrolled in PE class with fitness trackers produced by Polar.  Through the use of this wearable technology, the course instructor is able to coach students in setting highly personalized goals and measure their progress with real time feedback.  At the beginning of the course, students are assigned a fitness tracker and enter their personal information such as height and weight. After participating in the PACER test a baseline of student fitness is established and each following class students can work towards achieving their goals with real time feedback (Gregory, 2018).  This is just one example of how wearable technology can help instructors differentiate, help students develop or refine a growth mindset, and allow for authentic and highly personalized assessment.

Even still the possibilities of wearable technology in PE class reach much further than the benefits realized through enhanced classroom teaching and learning.  It ultimately has the potential to redefine what it is meant to enroll in such a course. Using valuable data collected through their device, students could design and implement their own workout plans based on a highly personalized review of strengths and weaknesses (Hart, 2017).  Not only could this bring gym class to a whole new level by linking all the collected data directly to a health or PE curriculum, but it could also alter how students ‘take’ a PE class.  Once students had taken the course in a traditional way, learned classroom material, and developed the skills to connect personal fitness data to the creation of workout plans, they could conceivably be ‘enrolled’ in a health/wellness class much the way adults can enroll in such a program through their workplace.  There would be plenty of differences between the two programs, but the potential to have a blended PE class is a real and powerful opportunity for high school students who often don’t have the room in their schedules to enroll in a PE class multiple times during their high school tenure.

Something Gained & Something Lost

Author and self described quasi historian John Green once said with every choice that is made something is gained and something is lost.  By equipping every student with a wearable device such as a smart watch and enabling teachers to be a gatekeeper of such highly personal data there is clearly much to gain and unfortunately, much to lose.  There is no questioning that the onset of ubiquitous technology has had profound consequences on the human race. However there are several issues that a school district should carefully consider prior to enabling wearable technology to be used for classroom purposes.  Among those issues are student privacy, mental health, happiness, and the monetary cost associated with such devices.

In order to get the full benefit of a wearable device it needs to be synched to a mobile device such as a smartphone.  This could potentially be a point of contention when it comes to implementation as such devices have been associated with the degradation of mental health.  In fact there has been a spike in the unhappiness of teens since 2012, which happened to be the year that the number of Americans owning a smartphone topped 50%. A survey conducted in 2017 showed that three out of four American teens owned a smartphone.  This along with the rise of social media has led to unprecedented changes in the social interaction and mental health of teenagers. Teen depression and suicide has risen sharply since 2011 and today adolescents are on the brink of the worst mental health crisis in decades.  More than ever, teens are addicted to technology, most reporting that they sleep with their phones. As a result they are more sleep deprived than ever before, many not even achieving a full seven hours a night, which is far below the recommended nine hour minimum. Based on survey results and medical advice, if there were one sure way to help ebb the tide of teen unhappiness it would be to convince them to put down the phone, turn of the laptop, and do anything that did not involve a screen.  Even Steve Jobs, the man responsible for putting such mobile devices as the iPhone, iPad, and iWatch into the hands of consumers greatly limited the amount of time his kids were allowed to use any mobile device (Twenge, 2017).  As educators we’d have to accept that placing fitness trackers on the wrists of our students could potentially lead to more interaction with their devices and more screen time.  

Is the trade off worth it?  Does potentially improving an academic experience through the use of ubiquitous technology outweigh the potential negatives caused from the relentless pressures of the always demanding world at one’s fingertips?  One of the greatest elements of education is its social immersion. Physical education in particular often has positive impacts on learners in multiple dimensions, such as social skills, self-confidence, and patience (Yang, Hwang & Sung, 2018).  Will being more connected and data driven lead to healthier, more fit students who can provide evidence of their lifestyle through wearable technology? Certainly the ability to use statistical information on sleep patterns and activity levels are motivational factors for self improvement.  Coupled with the watchful eye of an education professional trained in both physical and mental well being it has the potential to redefine how physical and health education are instructed. Through repeated practice and skill development, the long term hope would be to promote health and fitness as a lifestyle and not just a class, hobby, or game (Hart, 2017).  

Every breath you take, Every move you make… I’ll Be Watching You

Listen carefully enough and echoes of George Orwell’s 1984 Big Brother can be heard around every virtual corner.  At what point does all this data we are sending out into the world, become too much?  The era of big data is upon us and the surging popularity of the IoT is expanding its reach significantly.  Personal security and privacy should be of top concern for anyone, but it should be of utmost concern whenever dealing with minors.  “While these devices are capable of providing increased convenience and improved health services, they are also “collecting, transmitting, storing, and often sharing vast amounts of consumer data, thus creating a number of privacy risks” (Ramirez, 2015).  

"Big Data Network Graph" by Mark Smith is licensed under CC BY 2.0 

There are two primary ways that big data is concerned with keeping sensitive information private.  The first area of concern is in protecting personal information during acquisition. Here information may be easily acquired without the user even knowing.  The second scenario in which big data can be compromised is in the storage phase (Chen, Mao, & Liu, 2014).  In a race to get their products to the market first, companies don’t necessarily put the security of user data at the front of their concerns.  In fact companies are racing to take out insurance policies protecting them from the rise in hacking instances linked to information stored from devices such as fitness trackers.  Another major concern is who has the right to all of this data? If the parent company of the manufacture of fitness trackers goes out of business who is privileged to the massive stores of personal data?  Due to the relative newness of the technology there aren’t a lot of answers. What is clear though, is that insurance companies do use this type of information to offer incentives to their policyholders sometimes in the form of lower premiums (Maddox, 2018).  Could at some point in the future, these same insurance companies use data dating back to a person’s teenage years to justify charging a higher amount for a policy?  Privacy concerns circling wearable technology are justifiable and should be carefully considered by teachers, technology integrators, and school administration before selecting what type of wearable device and ultimately whether or not to even use such technology with students.

All Things Considered

Technology has the ability to make us more informed and data driven than at any other point in history.  With rare exception, by connecting traditionally ‘dumb’ objects to the internet we can derive rich, useful data that can make us better at whatever it is we are hoping to achieve.  While, the privilege of such data comes with a cost, which should always be carefully considered before being used, the benefits of utilizing wearable technology in a PE setting are vast. Physically activity students on average earn better grades, score better on tests, and generally speaking are more productive and happy in all aspects of their lives (Torlakson, 2012).  Not only can the careful implementation of fitness trackers elevate the in class experience of physical education students, but it can also usher in transformational change in the way that students take PE.

References

Chen, M., Mao, S. & Liu, Y. Mobile Netw Appl (2014). Big data: A survey. Springer 19: 171. https://doi-org.prxy4.ursus.maine.edu/10.1007/s11036-013-0489-0

Goldstein, R. (2018, September 07). The Benefits Of Fitness And Activity Trackers In The Workplace. Retrieved November 21, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeslacouncil/2018/09/07/the-benefits-of-fitness-and-activity-trackers-in-the-workplace/#1cf483e69cff

Gregory, S. (2018, February 21). The new heroes of high school gym: Fitness trackers. The Roanoke Times. Retrieved November 20, 2018, from https://www.roanoke.com/news/education/the-new-heroes-of-high-school-gym-fitness-trackers/article_0ba3f366-384c-5e40-a578-09187e575ac7.html

Hart, T. (2017, October 27). Wearable devices and the impact they have on classroom students. Retrieved December 28, 2018, from https://medium.com/@timhart_76101/wearable-devices-and-the-impact-they-have-on-classrooms-students-afbc010b3889

Maddox, T. (2015, October 7). The dark side of wearables: How they're secretly jeopardizing your security and privacy. Retrieved December 1, 2018, from https://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-dark-side-of-wearables-how-theyre-secretly-jeopardizing-your-security-and-privacy/

Ramirez, Edith, FTC Chairwoman, Opening Remarks at the International Consumer Electronics Show: Privacy and the IoT: Navigating Policy Issues 2 (Jan. 6, 2015), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/617191/150106cesspeech.pdf

Torlakson, T., & Ross, R. (2012, February 16). Physical activity helps improve academic achievement. Physical Activity Helps Improve Academic Achievement. Retrieved December 1, 2018, from https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/sdut-physical-activity-helps-improve-academic-2012feb16-story.html

Turtle, S. (2015, September 26). Stop Googling. Let’s Talk.  New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/opinion/sunday/stop-googling-lets-talk.html?_r=0

Twenge, J. (2017, September). Have smart phones destroyed a generation?  The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/

Qi-Fan Yang, Gwo-Jen Hwang & Han-Yu Sung (2018) Trends and research issues of mobile learning studies in physical education: a review of academic journal publications, Interactive Learning Environments, DOI: 10.1080/10494820.2018.1533478