Google Glass goes to class at CU Denver

"Is Glass a useful tool for a teacher to learn more about teaching?" asks CU Denver School of Education & Human Development Assistant Professor Robert "Bud" Talbot. It’s a question at the heart of new in-class research underway in his classes "Introduction to Science Teaching and Learning" and "Inquiry Science Pedagogy and Practice" this semester. 

Google Glass is a new technology currently being evaluated for its usefulness. Talbot was invited to become a "Glass Explorer" last December and began using the device in his classrooms in January. "Since first day of class [I’ve made] sure I wear it everyday. I also ask everyone if they want to try it, too," he says. 

"When it first came out the thing interesting to me was the idea that…it would record video from the point of view of the teacher," Talbot says. "The other thing was the idea that you could somehow leverage the idea that that information could be revealed to you in real time."

This could allow for unprecedented access to information about students’ performance in the class. Using Google Glass Talbot can check students’ attendance or send them messages during class. "I could take a photo of problem a student is working on on paper and add that to a database. I could see all of the student’s work, keep a recording of calls. All those things we don’t normally save," he explains. He can assimilate all that data and share it with the students to see if it helps improve their performance in the class. 

The device is still new but Talbot’s already seen some differences in using Glass. "The Glass video is really different.…I notice how much I move my head and look around the classroom," he says. "It seems to be a rich video but I’m not sure what I’m going to find yet."

Talbot will evaluate the effectiveness of Glass throughout the semester, as well as investigate designing teaching specific apps for the device. He also plans to release preliminary findings as well as speak at conferences by this summer.

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